This article builds within the existing configuration theory to show how the Value Added Intellectual Capital measure (VAIC) can be used better to understand the roots of a company’s crises. More precisely, the paper investigates two Italian provinces (Udine and Pordenone) and checks if companies that fell in a crisis from 2011-to 2021 had lower VAIC values compared to healthy companies. Additionally, the paper investigates companies with lower levels of VAIC to search if the ratios used by the National Chartered Accounting Association (CNDCEC) to predict insolvency might explain why companies with similar VAIC measures were or were not able to avoid falling in crisis. Results confirm that companies in crisis show statistically significant lower levels of VAIC and its determinants. At the same time, results demonstrate that companies with similar VAIC values that fall in a crisis had lower levels of the predicting ratios used by the CNDCEC. Interestingly, these results show how there still is a sample of companies that offer similar levels of VAIC and similar levels of the ratios used by the CNDCEC. Building on the critical accounting tradition, we discuss how a too conservative approach to protecting company’s stakeholders might lead to a managerial limitation, especially for innovative startups. Interestingly, while the CNDCED analysis distinguishes by company’s sector, it does not provide any particular recommendation for specific company types such as “innovative startups”.
Keywords: Business crises, Intellectual Capital, VAIC, Performance
