Does the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) add value to the IC research and practice?

The Chapter offers a critical analysis of the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) proposed by Pulic (1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2004a; 2004b; 2008) as a measure of intellectual capital efficiency. The analysis identifies three interrelated groups of relevant criticisms against the VAIC, which refer to the concepts employed by Pulic, to the mechanics of the model, i.e. the formulas linking the components of the model, and, finally, to the use of the VAIC in empirical analyses investigating its association with the firm’s financial and market performance. The analysis is also extended to the modified-VAIC models some scholars have proposed to overcome some of the pitfalls of the VAIC and focuses on the contribution the model has brought to the IC field as for the methodological approach adopted by Pulic and for the relevance assigned to the statistical significance to validate the soundness of a theoretical model.