Intangible Assets in Finnish Business

Abstract

This working paper investigates intangible investments in Finnish firms from 2014 to 2019, utilizing comprehensive, register-based data from Statistics Finland. We analyze seven categories of internal intangible investments and observe that these investments are highly concentrated, with the top 10% of investors accounting for approximately two-thirds of the total. However, this concentration is comparable to that of employment, value added, and tangible investments. Firms that invest in intangibles generally exhibit higher productivity levels. Specifically, organizational capital and new financial products demonstrate a positive and statistically significant correlation with labor productivity. These findings highlight the significance of intangible investments for firm performance and offer insights into their distribution patterns within the Finnish business sector.

Publication info

Results of research
Intangibles as drivers of change and renewal: Firm dynamics underlying the next stage of the knowledge economy (InChange)
Research group
Business renewal
Series
ETLA Working Papers 129
Date
18.06.2025
Keywords
Intangible investments, Finnish firms, Labor productivity, Concentration
ISBN
2323-2420
2323-2439 (Pdf)
JEL
D22, L25, O32, O34
Pages
26
Language
English