GOODWILL, PROFITABILITY, AND THE MARKET VALUE OF THE FIRM

Despite the importance of goodwill to the survival of many businesses, and to the easy working of most, the concept has been the focus of little theoretical and empirical research in accounting or financial economics. This paper identifies a number of firm-specific characteristics with a consistent influence on goodwill, and a consistently positive influence of accounting goodwill numbers on both profitability ana the market value of the firm in the nonmanufacturing firm. As such, current accounting goodwill measures offer a useful perspective on the firm's intangible capital.