An approach to the measurement of intangible assets in dot com based on web metrics and financial information

A sample of 76 firms that operate in the Internet is studied in order to explore forms of identifying and measuring intangible assets in this area of business. The firms meet three conditions: operate in the Internet, have available accounting information, and be quoted in the stock exchange. Data was obtained on two successive years for four web metrics indicators, 30 ratios that combine accounting and web traffic information, 31 accounting ratios, a measure of stock exchange performance, and a measure of efficiency based on Data Envelopment Analysis. Modelling relied on multivariate statistical approaches: Factor Analysis, Scaling techniques, multivariate regression, and hierarchical cluster analysis. Two intangible assets were identified: one was related to internal structure and was associated with managerial efficiency; and another one was associated with external image and customer loyalty. Comparison between the two years found many changes, confirming the view that this is a very dynamic sector, although the main conclusions remained unchanged.