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The purpose of this paper is to explore the interrelationships of intangible assets to business performance. The paper reports an empirical evidence for the impact of three elements of intangible assets: learning and growth, internal business process, and external structure on the business performance of the firm. The linkages between intangible asset elements and business performance are investigated in companies of various business sizes, business sectors and establishment ages.

The proposed model was adapted from the balanced scorecard strategy map. The primary data for analyzing and investigating the interrelationships between intangible assets and business performance were gathered by subjective opinion survey questionnaire. In all, 3,084 questionnaires were distributed to the top management. The numbers of qualified responses were 304 and the data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique.

The commonly assumed causal relationships are confirmed, i.e. the element of learning and growth has influence on internal business process, the element of internal process has effect on external structure, and the element of external structure, in turn, has effect on business performance.

Following the research findings, top management in companies of different sizes, business sectors, and establishment ages should understand the nature of interrelationships and recognize the importance of intangible assets. These findings will enable top management to realize the impact of intangible asset elements on business performance so that long‐term strategies for effective intangible asset management may be emphasized for sustainable competitive advantage of the firm.

This paper aims to propose a framework for intangible asset management in business and industrial organizations. The proposed framework is applied to a case example company in the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The proposed framework refines the strategy map concept in the balanced scorecard approach for use in intangible asset management. There are two phases, the top‐down phase involving a four‐step intangible asset identification process and the bottom‐up phase establishing the cause‐effect relationships between the intangible assets of the various functional departments in the organization and its financial performance.

Intangible assets belong to different functional departments. They must be carefully monitored and properly nurtured by the organization. Intangible assets depend not only on the type of functional departments but also the type of industries. To be competitive in today's knowledge economy, it is vital for business and industry to identify and locate the intangible assets in their functional departments and then establish how they contribute to the financial performance of the organization.

Understanding of the framework will lead to tangible benefits and competitive advantage once the intangible assets are brought under control, properly managed, and suitably funded.