Abstract
Purpose - In recent years companies are often involved in decisions concerning not only the external acquisition of technology, but also the opportunity to sell or to cooperate. Whatever the form of transaction, the valuation of technology and, in general, of the intangible assets represents a common and relevant problem. The paper aims at providing an analytical framework for valuing a technological asset. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on a deep analysis of the academic literature, as well as corporate practice, and multiple case studies. They have been elaborated through the involvement of intellectual property managers of Italian firms and Intellectual Property consultants. An in-depth case study has been conducted in order to obtain more insights to enrich the framework, and discuss some of the theoretical and practical problems affecting the appraiser during a technology valuation. Findings - The results show that the valuation process is not simple, but quite multifaceted and that it is not systematic either in the literature or corporate practice. Originality/value - The proposed framework developed in the paper points out the most critical elements that could lead to a misleading and/or unusable and/or biased valuation; forces the appraiser to perform a systematic and rational analysis, coherent with the context of the valuation, solve some critical trade-offs and deal with contrasting elements; and increases the bargaining power of the appraiser during the negotiation with a potential counterpart, allowing a clear and complete understanding of the asset value.