The Opagio 12: Intangible Value Drivers
A strategic framework that maps the 12 value drivers powering modern business growth — from brand and customer capital to network effects and culture.
Twelve drivers. One complete picture of intangible value.
- 1Brand & Reputation
- 2Customer Capital
- 3Technology & Innovation
- 4Content & IP
- 5Data & Intelligence
- 6Switching Costs & Lock-In
- 7Network Effects & Platforms
- 8Human Capital
- 9Organisational Capital
- 10Culture & Ways of Working
- 11Regulatory & Compliance
- 12Ecosystem & Partnerships
Every asset in your Opagio Value Drivers Register™ belongs to exactly one driver — including the internally generated assets traditional accounting cannot recognise.
Why the Opagio 12 exists
Over 90% of the value in modern enterprises is driven by intangible assets. Yet most businesses cannot name, measure, or manage the specific drivers behind that value.
Traditional accounting frameworks like IFRS 3 and IAS 38 recognise only a fraction of these assets — typically 20-40% of total intangible value. The rest represents strategic value that goes unmeasured.
The Opagio 12 provides a complete taxonomy of 12 strategic value drivers that captures the full spectrum of intangible value. Each driver is mapped to established classification systems — the Corrado-Hulten-Sichel (CHS) framework, IFRS 3 intangible asset classes, and the Six Capitals model — giving you a 360-degree view of where your value truly lies.
What accounting sees
20–40%
Of intangible value is recognised on the balance sheet under IFRS 3 / IAS 38 — acquired brands, customer contracts, patents.
What actually drives value
60–80%
Sits in managerial assets — people, culture, network effects, data — that traditional accounting can’t recognise. The Opagio 12 makes all of it visible.
Research-backed framework
The Opagio 12 is published as a working paper on SSRN. Read the full paper on SSRN →
Your intangible balance sheet at a glance
Twelve axes, one profile. The radar shows where value is concentrated, where investment is thin, and how the shape compares with your sector — before a single valuation is run.
Radar chart representation: UK registered design 6518475.
All 12 Value Drivers
Each driver represents a distinct category of intangible value. Together, they form a complete picture of what drives enterprise growth.
Tags show how each driver maps to CHS framework IFRS 3 class Beyond traditional accounting
Brand & Reputation
Registered trademarks, brand equity, domain names, market recognition, and reputation capital.
Customer Capital
Customer contracts, relationships, retention rates, lifetime value, and strategic accounts.
Technology & Innovation
Patents, proprietary software, R&D capability, trade secrets, and technical architecture.
Content & IP
Published content, research, proprietary frameworks, copyrights, educational content, and thought leadership.
Data & Intelligence
Proprietary datasets, predictive models, customer behavioural data, and competitive intelligence.
Switching Costs & Lock-In
Contractual lock-in, integration depth, retraining costs, data portability friction, and ecosystem dependencies.
Network Effects & Platforms
Multi-sided marketplaces, platform ecosystems, viral growth, API networks, and user-generated content.
Human Capital
Team talent, specialised expertise, institutional knowledge, training programmes, and key-person value.
Organisational Capital
Documented processes, playbooks, management frameworks, operational efficiency, and decision-making systems.
Culture & Ways of Working
Company values, innovation culture, psychological safety, customer-centric orientation, and organizational structure.
Regulatory & Compliance
Operating licences, regulatory approvals, certifications (ISO, SOC 2), legacy exemptions, and compliance infrastructure.
Ecosystem & Partnerships
Strategic partnerships, distribution networks, platform integrations, co-marketing relationships, and advisor networks.
How the Opagio 12 map to established taxonomies
Each value driver is mapped to three classification systems used in academic research, accounting standards, and integrated reporting.
Mapping to Six Capitals
The Six Capitals model (from the International Integrated Reporting Framework) groups value-creating resources into six categories. The Opagio 12 maps across four of them.
| Six Capital | Opagio 12 Drivers |
|---|---|
| Intellectual Capital | Technology & Innovation Content & IP Data & Intelligence Organisational Capital |
| Social & Relationship Capital | Brand & Reputation Customer Capital Switching Costs & Lock-In Network Effects & Platforms Ecosystem & Partnerships |
| Human Capital | Human Capital Culture & Ways of Working |
| Natural Capital | Regulatory & Compliance |
Mapping to IFRS 3 intangible asset classes
IFRS 3 defines five classes of identifiable intangible assets for purchase price allocation. Not all 12 drivers map to IFRS 3 — the unmapped drivers represent the hidden value that traditional accounting misses.
| IFRS 3 Class | Opagio 12 Drivers |
|---|---|
| Marketing-Related | Brand & Reputation |
| Customer-Related | Customer Capital Switching Costs & Lock-In Network Effects & Platforms |
| Technology-Based | Technology & Innovation Content & IP Data & Intelligence Network Effects & Platforms |
| Contract-Based | Switching Costs & Lock-In Regulatory & Compliance Ecosystem & Partnerships |
| Artistic-Related | Content & IP |
| Beyond traditional accounting | Human Capital Organisational Capital Culture & Ways of Working |
Mapping to the CHS framework
The Corrado-Hulten-Sichel (CHS) framework is the most widely used academic taxonomy for intangible investment. It groups intangibles into categories reflecting strategic business decisions rather than accounting standards.
| CHS Category | Opagio 12 Drivers |
|---|---|
| Brand | Brand & Reputation Customer Capital |
| Technology | Technology & Innovation Data & Intelligence Switching Costs & Lock-In Network Effects & Platforms |
| Human Capital | Human Capital Culture & Ways of Working |
| Organisational Capital | Switching Costs & Lock-In Organisational Capital Culture & Ways of Working Regulatory & Compliance Ecosystem & Partnerships |
| Intellectual Property | Content & IP |
Your 12-driver value profile
Every business has a unique intangible asset fingerprint. The Opagio 12 radar chart reveals which drivers are strong, which are underdeveloped, and where hidden value may be sitting.
Example radar profile for a mid-stage SaaS company. Your results will be unique to your business.
The hidden portfolio problem
Accounting assets (on balance sheet)
Recognised under IFRS 3 / IAS 38. Typically 20-40% of total intangible value.
- Acquired trademarks and trade names
- Customer contracts and relationships
- Patents and licensed technology
- Capitalised development costs
- Non-compete agreements
Managerial assets (hidden portfolio)
Fail IFRS recognition criteria but often more valuable. 60-80% of total intangible value.
- Network effects and platform power
- Proprietary data and intelligence
- Organisational culture and processes
- Human capital and expertise
- Switching costs and lock-in
The Opagio 12 captures both categories. Three of the 12 drivers — Human Capital, Organisational Capital, and Culture — have no IFRS 3 classification at all. These are the drivers that traditional accounting is structurally unable to measure, yet they are often the most powerful determinants of enterprise value.
This is why PE firms pay multiples that balance sheets cannot justify: the premium sits in the managerial asset portfolio that the Opagio 12 makes visible.
Frequently asked questions
What are The Opagio 12?
The Opagio 12 is a proprietary framework of 12 intangible value drivers that represent the full spectrum of intangible assets in a modern business. They span brand, customers, technology, data, people, culture, processes, partnerships, content, regulatory capital, network effects, and switching costs.
How do The Opagio 12 relate to IFRS 3 intangible asset classes?
Each of The Opagio 12 intangible value drivers maps to one or more IFRS 3 intangible asset classes (marketing-related, customer-related, technology-based, contract-based, artistic-related). Some drivers — like Human Capital and Culture — fall outside IFRS 3 recognition criteria entirely, which is precisely why traditional accounting misses them.
Can I score my business against The Opagio 12?
Yes. Opagio offers a free Quick Assessment that scores your business across all Opagio 12 intangible value drivers, identifies your strongest and weakest drivers, and shows where hidden value may be sitting. The assessment takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Score your 12 Value Drivers
Take the free Quick Assessment to discover which of the 12 drivers are powering your growth — and where hidden value may be sitting.