This study investigates and measures the impact of intangibles on firm growth. We distinguish between internally and externally generated intangible assets and analyse the role played by firm size, measuring if it can alter the relationship between intangibles and performance. In doing so, we combine the resource-based view of the firm -as a cornerstone for this survey -with accounting principles. In particular, we focus on intangible 'assets' recorded in firms' books according to international accounting standards. The empirical analysis explores a proprietary database of 294 listed companies headquartered in Europe. Findings confirm that intangibles are crucial in fostering firm performance, show that this effect varies with firm size and that an additional boost is created by externally generated intangibles.

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Market multiples are more often used than studied. Equity analysts, investment bankers and other practitioners widely use market multiples to estimate the value of companies. Nevertheless, literature about multiples is not as rich as the wide use of these valuation tools would suggest. This paper, focusing on European listed companies, investigates how multiples can be used in the valuation of cyclical companies, a much less investigated research topic. We test the accuracy of multiples to understand whether their performance in valuing cyclical companies is better, worse or equal to the performance found in prior studies, where both cyclical and non cyclical companies are analyzed without distinguishing between them. We also attempt to verify whether the way in which multiples are calculated significantly affects the accuracy of estimation. Our aim is to develop a valuation approach consistent with valuation theory and helpful in everyday practice.

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Innovation is widely considered one of the most important drivers for firm growth in the contemporary economy. However, the ‘elusive’ as well as heterogeneous nature of innovation has generated a lively debate among scholars with regards to the best metrics to capture its features and effects. Often, this has led to a reliance on R&D and/or patent-related measures. We contribute to this debate by pushing forward the idea that a positive effect of investing in intangibles like patents can’t be taken for granted, since it is significantly influenced by the way a firm’s portfolio of patents is created, assembled, and renewed over time. Starting from a sample of 6677 observations derived from a sample of listed European companies with patents and intangibles booked in their financial statements, this study sheds a new light on how a company creates, composes, and renews over time their portfolio of intangibles, with specific attention on patents. In particular, this contribution discusses the different effects that emerge by making a distinction among different forms of patents, considering two dimensions: broadening vs. deepening investments, and application-specific vs. general purpose investments. We notice that as a company increases investments in intangibles and simultaneously enlarges the breadth of their range of activities, its growth becomes particularly remarkable.