Measuring value creation: VAIC and EVA

Purpose – This study proposes a comparison between Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) and one of the most important performance evaluation methods, the Economic Value Added (EVA), starting from a re-interpretation of the VAIC. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were gathered from AMADEUS Bureau van Dijk and consist of 2,596 companies operating in Northern Italy, from six different economic sectors, observed for the year 2011. A correlation analysis was carried out in order to highlight whether there is a relationship between the two concepts of VAIC and EVA. Findings – Results show that EVA and VAIC have no significant relationships; as a matter of fact, EVA is based on financial theory, whereas VAIC is focalised on the assessment of Intellectual Capital Efficiency (ICE). Practical implications – Managers could be misled due to the fact that they often make decisions by taking into account only financial indicators such as EBIT, EVA, etc. Although methods like EVA have improved modern accounting systems, they do not take into account information linked to ICE. Therefore, these two perspectives can be useful in a context in which firms' performances are measured through multi-criteria methodologies (i.e. Balanced scorecard). Originality/value – The proposal describes the differences between VAIC and EVA considering these two concepts as not contrasting. In fact, in order to better measure firms' performances, it could be useful to consider VAIC and EVA as an integrated vision in order to develop multi-criteria evaluation systems, rather than consider them separately.