Is outsourcing of intangibles a real source of competitive advantage?

Intangible investments constitute an emerging and important field of management. The objective of this article is to further consider the problem of intangible resource externalization from a theoretical as well as an operational point of view. The first section reviews the problem of defining intangibles; the second section considers the issue of outsourcing intangibles from a theoretical as well as an operational point of view; the third section reviews the practical issues (especially costrelated) of outsourcing, for two main intangible activities: research and development and information technology services (information logistics functions). The fourth section summarizes the main issues and discusses their implications for accounting analysis and practice.