Purpose – The purpose of our study is to investigate whether companies with higher voluntary IC disclosure are more likely to have a MBV gap larger than one, after controlling for the intellectual efficiency of the firms. Additionally, we aim to investigate – for the first time to our best knowledge – on the effectiveness of voluntary IC disclosure in improving the market valuation process, by testing the effects of additional IC information on the gap between market value and intrinsic value of firms characterized by higher incidence of IC components (mostly non-recognized on balance sheet). Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis is based on non-financial companies that are listed on the Milan Stock Exchange throughout the period from 2008 to 2011. To compute the extent of IC disclosure provided by companies, we build three IC indexes which consider specific IC categories: the internal structure, external structure and human capital (Guthrie and Petty, 2000b). In order to measure the corporate IC components, we follow the Pulic’s approach (Pulic, 2000a,b), by calculating the VAIC and its three components: capital employed efficiency (VACA), the human capital efficiency (VAHU), and the structural capital efficiency (STVA), respectively. To estimate the intrinsic value of firm, we follow the Ohlson (1995) and Frankel and Lee (1996) approaches, by using the analysts’ earnings forecasts as applied by Barth et al. (1998). Originality/value – This study contributes to the extant literature on the role of IC information for the efficiency of financial markets in two respects: by enhancing the understanding on the important role of information concerning internal structure of IC in the market valuation process; by testing – trough a new analysis approach – the supposed greater accuracy of market valuation process in presence of higher information transparency. The investors’ assessment is much more accurate as the market value reflects the intrinsic value of the firm. Therefore, this approach checks on the effectiveness of corporate IC voluntary disclosure in improving the accuracy of investors’ assessment, by testing whether firms with an intrinsic value more than book value which are characterized by higher incidence of IC components are more likely to have a MBV larger than one, when they disseminate more information on IC resources. Practical implications – This study has practical implications for various parties, such as investors and other stakeholders. It gives evidence on the important role played by voluntary IC disclosure in reducing information asymmetries between the internal and external parties’ valuation of companies, primarily increasing the information held by agents in the investment community. This, in particular, in an institutional setting like Italy characterized by companies with dominant shareholders, where the information asymmetries exacerbate the agency conflicts between dominant (controlling) shareholder and minority shareholders. Moreover, the findings contribute to shed light on the effectiveness and determinant role of voluntary IC disclosure practices (in annual reports) in improving the market assessment of high tech companies, thus reducing the possibilities of underestimation of their (more hidden) value creation drivers This paper aims to explore the significance of intellectual capital (intangible assets) to firm performance in the context of professional football clubs. Specifically, it investigates whether the efficiency of intangible assets investments affect positively the sporting performance in a sample of Italian top-tier football clubs. The conceptual and analytical model underlying this study is the VAIC (Value Added Intellectual Coefficient) model pioneered by Pulic (1999; 2000a,b) which is intended to measure the extent to which firms create added value based on intellectual capital efficiency (ICE).