Intellectual capital in the software industry: An empirical test

The switch to a knowledge-intensive economy will usher in an era where the value of the mental content of goods and services is eclipsed by the physical content. The market values of knowledge-based companies already reflect the new value placed on the intellectual capital of corporations. Knowledge-based companies trade at multiples of ten to twenty times traditional "asset" value. This dissertation examines the impact off-balance sheet assets such as the ability of the CEOs to "sell" the company, the excellence of the development engineers and the company's skill in capitalizing on these assets have on the market value of the firm. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods this research was conducted in the knowledge-intensive context of the software industry.;The human capital and customer capital of the firm did not have a significant effect on the market value of the firm directly. However the results indicate that the human capital of the firm does impact market share, which in turn has a significant effect on market value.