A knowledge oriented approach to the investigation of Italian banks performances

The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the present role of intellectual capital (IC) in the Italian Banking Sector, giving as output a ranking representation of the banks involved in the analysis in terms of their efficient use of tangible and intangible assets in the creation of corporate value. The paper will investigate the components of IC and the impact that these components had on performance during the period 2003-2007. A multiple regression analysis is used to test the relationship between IC performance and certain independent variables. A model of analysis will be adopted from the literature in order to approximate the efficiency of banks in their use of intangible assets for the creation of value (VAIC Analysis). The results show that investors may place different values on each of the three components of value creation efficiency (physical capital, human capital, and structural capital).