ECONOMIC INVERSION IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: IMPLICIT INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF CORPORATE VALUE
Abstract
The economic nature of implicit intangible assets is examined, and the concept of economic inversion of value is substantiated as a manifestation of the transformation of the sources of corporate value creation in the digital economy. Current trends in changes in the structure of companies’ market value and the sectoral distribution of intangible assets are analysed. Contradictions arising between classical financial theories and contemporary business valuation practices are identified. The economic essence of implicit intangible assets is revealed, and their role in the formation of competitive advantages and the growth of companies’ market value is determined. The author’s definitions of the concepts of "economic inversion of value" and "implicit intangible assets" are proposed. A conceptual model is developed to illustrate the interrelationship between the digitalisation of the economy, the increasing dominance of intangible capital, and the need to transform approaches to accounting and business valuation.
References
2. Dong, F. & Doukas, J. (2025) The role of intangible assets in shaping firm value. European Financial Management, vol. 31(4), pp. 1325-1353. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12547 (accessed August 08, 2026).
3. Chowdhury, R.H. (2020) Accounting for data: a framework for valuing and reporting digital intangible assets. Journal of Frontiers in Multidisciplinary Research (JFMR), vol. 1(1), pp. 16-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54660/.IJFMR.2020.1.1.16-23 (accessed August 11, 2026).
4. Mohan, S.K., Bharathy, G. & Jalan, A. (2026) Enterprise data valuation – a targeted literature review. Journal of Economic Surveys, vol. 40(1), pp. 73-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12705 (accessed August 10, 2026).
5. Corrado, C., Haskel, J., Jona-Lasinio, C. & Iommi, M. (2022) Intangible capital and modern economies. Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 36(3), pp. 3-28. Available at: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.36.3.3 (accessed August 13, 2026).
6. Ma, S. & Zhang, W. (2023) How to improve IFRS for intangible assets? A milestone approach. China Journal of Accounting Research, vol. 16(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjar.2022.100289 (accessed August 10, 2026).
7. Intangible Asset Market Value Study. (2025) Ocean Tomo a part of JS|HELD. Available at: https://oceantomo.com/intangible-asset-market-value-study/ (accessed August 15, 2026).
8. Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT™) – the annual review of the world’s intangible value. (2025) Brand Finance. Available at: https://brandfinance.com/insights/gift-2025-the-annual-review-of-the-worlds-intangible-value (accessed August 15, 2026).
9. GIFT™ 2025: US surpasses Denmark to become most intangible market globally. (2025) Brand Finance. Available at: https://brandirectory.com/reports/global-intangible-finance-tracker-gift (accessed August 11, 2026).
10. International Accounting Standard 38 "Intangible Assets" (IAS 38). IFRS Foundation. Available at: https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ias-38-intangible-assets/#about (accessed August 18, 2026).
11. International Financial Reporting Standard 3 "Business Combinations" (IFRS 3). IFRS Foundation. Available at: https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ifrs-3-business-combinations/#about (accessed August 18, 2026).
Copyright (c) 2026 О.І. Степаненко

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


