Making the Intangible more Manageable : A study of categorizations of intellectual asset and value creation inindustrial born company undergoing digital transformation

Abstract

The rise of intellectual assets comes on the back of the knowledge economy and the increase in the amount of a company’s market value that can be accredited to intangibles. The ongoing march of digitalization around the world further shifts the focus away from tangible assets and traditional industrial manufacturing com- panies are adopting more digital technologies. There is a lack of comprehension, a knowledge deficiency, and plenty of ambiguity associated with concepts such as intangibles, intellectual capital, intellectual assets, and intellectual property. This creates misunderstandings and increases communication difficulties. This paper includes a multiple case study within the setting of an industrial company undergoing digital transformation. The aim has been to assess which intellectual assets contribute to value creation and how these assets can be divided into categories. Furthermore, in relation to the setting of digital transformation, the study aimed to investigate if it might have affected the categorization of intellectual assets. In addition, the study aimed to investigate how intellectual assets may contribute to value creation through control mechanisms to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Reviewed literature shows that theories that cover intellectual capital categorization stem from the 90s and they tend to converge into three main groups which divide Intellectual Capital into Human Capital, Structural Capital, and Relational Capital. All these concepts and categories are still ambiguous and sometimes contradictory. The findings in this study suggest that six main categories could be adopted, Knowl- edge Assets, Organizational Assets, Technology Assets, Data Assets, Brand Assets, and Relational Assets. Which forms the base of a proposal for an intellectual asset framework. Furthermore, the importance of knowledge as an asset was especially highlighted for industrial companies undergoing digital transformation. Digitalization also leads to an increase in what might be considered to be an intellectual asset, almost everything at least holds the potential to be an intellectual asset. Traditional industrial companies should highlight knowledge as an asset in itself as they strive to adopt more digital solutions. In order to control all potential assets and achieve sus- tainable competitive advantage there is a need to look beyond traditional Intellectual Property Rights to ensure protection.