This thesis investigates the role of intangible capital and intangible investment (the intangibles) in explaining modern economic activity. It presents an in depth analysis of the context in which the intangibles are studied in the economic literature, and modifies existing theoretical real business cycle (RBC) models to account for the presence of the intangibles. The newly developed models are further used to address previously documented issues such as the Canadian productivity puzzle and the quantity anomaly. Chapter 1 provides a detailed explanation of the concept of the intangibles in the economic literature. It also highlights the importance of accounting for the intangibles during economic analysis and presents a detailed analysis of how they are measured and modeled in practice. The main findings indicate that the intangibles have contributed positively to economic growth and productivity. The need for improvements in the measurement and modeling of the intangibles is also identified. Specifically, there is a need to improve the estimates of the depreciation rates and price deflators that are used in the measurement of intangible assets; and a need for proper model specification testing to validate the inclusion of the intangibles when modeling economic activity. Chapter 2 explores the role of the intangibles in explaining business cycles in a small open economy. The benchmark two-sector model developed in this chapter is tailored to the Canadian economy and allows for the examination of the relationship between intangible investment and the trade balance, which has not been attempted to date in the RBC literature. Overall, this chapter finds that technological change in the production of intangible investment plays an important role in explaining labour productivity and business cycles in a small open economy. Simulations based on the benchmark two-sector model highlight the circumstances under which the trade balance to business sector output ratio tends to be procyclical. The extended model is further used to make predictions about the Canadian productivity puzzle, where the main findings reinforce the need to re-evaluate the traditional measure of productivity in business cycle models. Chapter 3 is motivated by the rising levels of intangible investment in the U.S. and Europe. These investments have been expensed in the national accounts rather than capitalized (unmeasured investment) and this practice has resulted in the traditional measures of investment, productivity and output underestimating their true levels. In order to investigate the economic impact of this practice in an international setting, the standard two-country business cycle model is extended to include such intangibles. The main results imply that the traditional measures of output and labour productivity differences across countries are understated when intangible investment is not properly accounted for. The modeling of intangible investment also improves the fit of the model based upon recent data on international business cycles. This is most evident in the international correlation of investment, which the standard model predicts to be low (0.13) and the extended model correctly predicts to be high (0.66) as seen in the data (0.74). / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Nous étudions les méthodes de management stratégique de l’entreprise familiale qui favorisent l’internationalisation performante et durable. Sur base de quatre cadres théoriques, la création de valeur économique durable, le socle stratégique, le modèle séquentiel d’Uppsala et l’apprentissage organisationnel, nous avons émis l’hypothèse qu’une stratégie d’internationalisation est performante et durable si les méthodes de management stratégique de l’entreprise familiale reposent sur des variables endogènes sociales et économiques. Au travers d’un cas longitudinal de recherche-intervention qualimétrique, nous avons ainsi identifié et mesuré les facteurs endogènes de performance durable de son internationalisation. Deux facteurs dominants de performance et deux de durabilité lui procurent un avantage concurrentiel : des pratiques de pilotage et de contrôle de trois natures incrémentales managériale, organisationnelle et informationnelle, la renégociation fréquente du « pacte organisationnel de vie commune », la mesure de ces facteurs incorporels et endogènes mobilisés et l’organisation de l’apprentissage tiré de l’expérience. / We study family businesses’ strategic management methods that promote sustainable and efficient internationalization. Based on four theoretical frameworks, sustainable economic value creation, strategic base, Uppsala’s sequential model, and organizational learning, we have ventured the following research hypothesis: the internationalization strategy boosts sustainable performance if family businesses’ strategic management methods rely on social and economic endogenous variables. Through a longitudinal intervention-research case, we have identified and measured its internationalization sustainable performance endogenous factors. Two main performance factors and two main sustainability factors provide competitive advantage for it: steering and controlling practices with three incremental functions (management, organization, and information), regular negotiation on “how to live together organizational agreement”, measurement of intangible and endogenous factors, and organization of experience-based learning.

This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the overall magnitude of intangible investment and the impact of this intangible investment on the behavior of the capital stock and on the value of capital goods. I begin by constructing a data set to document firms’ expenditures on an identi- fiable list of intangible items in Canada. I then examine the implications of treating intangible spending as the acquisition of final (investment) goods on estimates of GDP growth for Canada. I find that investment in intangible capital by 2002 is almost as large as the investment in physical capital. Furthermore, the growth in GDP and labor productivity may be underestimated by as much as 0.1 percentage point per year during this same period. I proceed by measuring the size of the stock of the intangible capital in Canada using newly released data on the market value of all securities in the economy. The approach taken relies on a quantitative application of the q-theory of investment to generate the quantity of capital owned by firms. I find that the intangible capital stock accounted for approximately 30% of overall capital since 1994. Of this, the R&D reported by national accounts makes up only 23%. These results imply that official Canadian statistics failed to account for 26% of the value of the capital stock in their 2005 quarterly data collection. Finally, I extend the q-theory of investment to model explicitly the decision of firms to invest in intangibles. I then use the model to measure the contribution of intangible goods to the overall capital stock in the U.S. The model departs from the one mentioned earlier in that it highlights the embodiment of intangible goods in tangibles and the role of relative price movements in the measurement of the contribution of each type of investment to the overall capital stock. I find that the growth in the overall capital stock from the late-80s until 2000 was driven mainly by an increase in the contribution of intangibles. However, the contribution of intangibles fell consistently after 2000. These results underscore the importance of accounting for the movements in the price of intangibles rather than focusing only on their rising share in overall investment. / Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2008-06-26 09:32:06.389

Kandidatuppsats (2FE24E), Civilekonomprogrammet - Controller, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö, VT 2017 Titel: Den immateriella investeringsprocessen – En flerfallsstudie i tjänsteföretag Författare: Jesper Andersson, Linn Persson & Johan Stillerfelt Handledare: Pia Nylinder Examinator: Elin Funck Bakgrund och problem: Antalet tjänsteföretag växer ständigt och mer än hälften av alla företag i Sverige verkar inom denna bransch. Vidare är investeringar avgörande för ett företags framtida överlevnad. Mer än hälften av de investeringar som görs i svenska företag är av immateriell karaktär och den största andelen av dessa sker inom just tjänstesektorn. Trots detta faktum är forskning kring investeringsprocessen främst knuten till materiella investeringar i tillverkande företag. Hur ser då investeringsprocessen för immateriella investeringar ut i tjänsteföretag och hur konstrueras och används beslutsunderlag vid beslutsfattande? Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera och kartlägga processen för immateriella investeringar inom tjänsteföretag. Vidare är syftet att bidra med kunskap om problematiken kring konstruktionen av beslutsunderlag samt beslutslogik gällande dessa investeringar. Meningen är att belysa ett ämnesområde som inte tidigare undersökts och på så sätt göra ett bidrag inom ämnet. Metod: Uppsatsen utgår från en övervägande kvalitativ forskningsstrategi där undersökningsdesignen är en flerfallsstudie. Vidare har utgångspunkten för insamlande av empiriskt material varit semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Investeringsprocessen för tjänsteföretag avseende immateriella investeringar kan ses som en guide eller riktmärke och består vanligtvis av faserna initiering, bedömning, beslut, utveckling, implementering och uppföljning. Beslutunderlag konstrueras i regel av mellanchefer medan högre chefer tar det slutgiltiga beslutet om investeringen. Beslutet baseras främst på strategiska analyser som kompletteras med enklare kalkyler, erfarenhet och magkänsla. Nyckelord: Tjänsteföretag, investeringsprocess, immateriell investering, beslutsunderlag, investeringsbeslut / Bachelor Thesis (2FE24E), Degree of Master of Science in Business and Economics - Controller, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University in Växjö, S 2017 Title: The intangible investment process – A multiple case study in service companies Authors: Jesper Andersson, Linn Persson & Johan Stillerfelt Supervisor: Pia Nylinder Examiner: Elin Funck Background and problem: The number of service companies is continuously growing and more than half of all companies in Sweden operate within this branch. Investments are furthermore crucial to the future survival of a company. More than half of the investments in Swedish companies are of intangible character and the major part of these are made within this service companies. Despite this fact research about the investment process are mainly bound to tangible investments in manufacturing companies. Then how does the investment process for intangible investments look in service companies and how is decision basis constructed and used when making decisions? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyse and map the process for intangible investments in service companies. The purpose is furthermore to contribute with knowledge about the problems connected to the construction of basis for the decision and the logic behind the decision for these investments. The meaning of this is to lighten a subject that is not previously investigated. Method: The thesis is based on a predominantly qualitative research strategy in which the survey design is a multiple case study. Furthermore, the starting point for collection of empirical material has been semistructured interviews. Conclusion: The investment process for service companies in respect to intangible investments could be regarded as a guideline and usually consist of the phases initiation, evaluation, decision, development, implementation and follow-up. Decision basis is commonly constructed by middle-level bosses and the higher management usually makes the final decision about investment. The decision is primarily based on strategic analysis completed by simpler calculations, experience and gut feeling. Keywords: Service company, investment process, intangible investment, decision basis, investment decision

Nous étudions les méthodes de management stratégique de l’entreprise familiale qui favorisent l’internationalisation performante et durable. Sur base de quatre cadres théoriques, la création de valeur économique durable, le socle stratégique, le modèle séquentiel d’Uppsala et l’apprentissage organisationnel, nous avons émis l’hypothèse qu’une stratégie d’internationalisation est performante et durable si les méthodes de management stratégique de l’entreprise familiale reposent sur des variables endogènes sociales et économiques. Au travers d’un cas longitudinal de recherche-intervention qualimétrique, nous avons ainsi identifié et mesuré les facteurs endogènes de performance durable de son internationalisation. Deux facteurs dominants de performance et deux de durabilité lui procurent un avantage concurrentiel : des pratiques de pilotage et de contrôle de trois natures incrémentales managériale, organisationnelle et informationnelle, la renégociation fréquente du « pacte organisationnel de vie commune », la mesure de ces facteurs incorporels et endogènes mobilisés et l’organisation de l’apprentissage tiré de l’expérience. / We study family businesses’ strategic management methods that promote sustainable and efficient internationalization. Based on four theoretical frameworks, sustainable economic value creation, strategic base, Uppsala’s sequential model, and organizational learning, we have ventured the following research hypothesis: the internationalization strategy boosts sustainable performance if family businesses’ strategic management methods rely on social and economic endogenous variables. Through a longitudinal intervention-research case, we have identified and measured its internationalization sustainable performance endogenous factors. Two main performance factors and two main sustainability factors provide competitive advantage for it: steering and controlling practices with three incremental functions (management, organization, and information), regular negotiation on “how to live together organizational agreement”, measurement of intangible and endogenous factors, and organization of experience-based learning.

Bakgrund: Investeringar i namnrättigheter för en arena eller idrottsanläggning kan definieras som en transaktion där pengar byter ägare för att säkra rätten att namnge en idrottsanläggning. Denna typ av investering har under de senaste decennierna ökat dramatiskt. Trots den fortsatta ökningen finns det begränsad forskning om vilka motiv som finns bakom investeringarna och vilka effekter företagen upplever av genomförda namnrättsinvesteringar. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och kartlägga hur svenska företag motiverar och resonerar kring namnrättsinvesteringar samt vilka effekter företag upplever av dessa investeringar. Metod: Uppsatsen har med hjälp av en intervjustudie samlat in det empiriska materialet med personer som varit strategiskt och operativt inblandade i namnrättsinvesteringar och dess investeringsprocess. Tio svenska företag medverkade i studien. Slutsats: Studiens slutsats är att investeringar i namnrättigheter har en rad olika motiv. Bland annat ökad exponering, stärkt varumärkesbyggande, förbättrad kompetensförsörjning och att vara en god kraft i samhället. De upplevda effekterna är bland annat ökad varumärkesmedvetenhet, varumärkesspridning, lägre personalomsättning, stolta medarbetare och lokala effekter. Motiv, uppföljning och upplevda effekter kan kategoriseras utifrån tre olika perspektiv. Dessa är ekonomiska, mänskliga samt samhälleliga. Med hjälp av intressentteorin har denna studie också dragit slutsatsen att det finns olika logiker och att de tre stegen kopplade till motiv, uppföljning och utvärdering samt upplevda effekter drivs av intressenternas krav och behov. Mängden intressenter som berörs av investeringen ses därför också som ett tydligt motiv till investeringen i namnrättigheter. / Background: Investments in naming rights for an arena or stadium can be defined as a transaction where currencies change hands to secure the right to name a sports facility. These investments have increased exponentially in the recent decades. Despite the continued investment of naming rights, there is limited research on the motives behind the investments, and what perceived effects are identified from completed naming rights investments. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate and map how naming rights investments are motivated by Swedish companies and what perceived effects can be identified from these investments. Method: This study has with the help of an interview-study collected the empirical data with people which have been strategic and operative involved in naming rights investments and their investment processes. Ten Swedish companies participated in the study. Conclusion: The study's conclusions and results point at various types of motives regarding the naming right investments, such as increased exposure och results, strengthened branding, improved supply of skilled labor force and being a good force in society amongst others. The perceived effects include brand awareness, brand spread, lower staff turnover, proud employees and local effects. All motives can be categorized into three main topics which are Economic, People and society and the local community. With the help of the stakeholder theory, this study has been able to describe that there are different logics and that the three steps linked to motive, follow-up and evaluation as well as perceived effects are driven by stakeholders who have their demands and needs. The number of stakeholders affected by the investment are therefore also a clear motive for investing in naming rights.

Tangible and intangible investment goods, its determination, disposition, evaluation, technical improvements, depreciation, disabling, comparing czech legislature and IAS/IFRS

Les mutations de l’organisation du travail, et de la place de l’Homme dans l’entreprise ont mené, au cours de trois années de recherches-interventions socio-économique au sein d’une PME, à étudier l’objet complexe et dynamique que représente l’articulation entre les compétences individuelles et collectives à la stratégie de l’entreprise. Cette recherche a pour objet l’étude d’une des composantes du potentiel humain, les compétences, dans leurs dimensions individuelles et collectives, mises en œuvre au niveau de la stratégie de l’entreprise. Elle questionne notamment la mobilisation de l’ensemble des acteurs de l’entreprise ainsi que la mise en adéquation entre des objectifs stratégiques définis et les moyens alloués à leur mise en œuvre. Après avoir mis en exergue les impacts sociaux et économiques des défauts d’articulation entre compétences et stratégie, ces résultats sont discutés et analysés au regard de la littérature. Puis, la thèse présente les outils et processus expérimentés, qui ont permis d’améliorer l’articulation entre compétences individuelles et collectives à la stratégie de l’entreprise. Mobilisant en particulier le concept d’Investissement Immatériel en Développement Qualitatif du Potentiel Humain, la thèse souligne la contribution stratégique, à la fois en termes sociaux et économiques, des ressources humaines à la mise en œuvre stratégique et à la performance globale de l’entreprise. / The changes in the work organization, and the place of human beings in the companies led, during three years of socio-economic intervention-research within an SME, to study the complex and dynamic object that represents the articulation between the individual and collective competencies to the strategy of the company.The purpose of the thesis is to study one of the components of human potential, the competencies, in their individual and collective dimensions, implemented at the level of the company's strategy. In particular, it questions the mobilization of all the company's stakeholders as well as the alignment between the defined strategic objectives and the resources allocated to their implementation.Following an emphasis on the social and economic impacts of the lack of articulation between competencies and strategy, these results are discussed and analyzed in relation to the literature. Then, the thesis presents tools and processes experimented in order to improve this articulation between individual and collective competencies to the company's strategy.Mobilizing in particular the concept of Intangible Investment in Qualitative Development of Human Potential, the thesis highlights the strategic contribution, both in social and economic terms, of human resources to the strategic implementation and the overall performance of the company.