Assessing Intellectual Capital efficiency and productivity: An application to the Italian yacht manufacturing sector

In this paper we evaluate the efficiency and productivity of Intellectual Capital (IC) through the assessment of Bests Practices, that have successfully implemented strategies of Intellectual Capital management. The techniques selected for appraising the productivity of intangibles are the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI). This approach allows a direct comparison between firms of the same industry in the perspective of improvement through benchmarking. It overcomes one of the main limitations of the current intangibles metrics comparing enterprises on the basis their Intellectual Capital management. The paper gives both academic and practical insights that could be used for the operational and strategic Intellectual Capital management. Actually, the outcome of the application gives to inefficient companies some directions for progress, that should constitute the basis for the formulation of future Intellectual Capital management strategies. Finally, we apply the analysis to the Italian yacht manufacturing sector in order to offer yachting companies guidelines for Intellectual Capital management.