Overview of the Issue

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
JEFFREY BROWN ◽  
STEVEN HABERMAN ◽  
MOSHE MILEVSKY ◽  
MIKE ORSZAG

This issue features two original research articles, three issues & policy articles and a book review section. The lead article is by Geoffrey Kingston and Susan Thorp (University of New South Wales, Australia) and addresses the issue of Annuitization and asset allocation with HARA utility. One of the puzzles in retirement economics is why individuals do not choose to purchase annuities and Kingston and Thorp explore in detail a real options model in which individual preferences obey the broad class of hyperbolic absolute risk aversion utility. The theory of Real Options argues that people might want to delay annuitisation at relatively younger ages because the price of life annuities might improve and annuitisation is irreversible. However, Kingston and Thorp show that the implications of a Real Options approach varies across individuals considerably. For example, when individuals have a desired consumption floor as opposed to CRRA preferences, they are more likely to want to purchase annuities earlier than later. It would be interesting to see empirical tests done in this area to test the relatively new Real Options theory as it applies to irreversible personal financial decisions, such as annuitization.

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERTO C. YAP

The Philippine forest plantation lease is modelled as an option whose value arises from market uncertainty and the irreversibility inherent in sunk costs required to establish plantations. The value of this option could be a significant factor in the planting decisions of leaseholders. Real options theory could help explain why in spite of the prospects of adequate financial returns, Filipino leaseholders are slow to establish plantations. The opportunity cost of investing is demonstrated to be highly sensitive to uncertainty of the future value of the plantation. Real options analysis is also utilized to evaluate policies intended by the Philippine government to promote plantation development.


2013 ◽  
Vol 734-737 ◽  
pp. 1617-1620
Author(s):  
Wei Jin

Developing the waterway infrastructure construction can improve the efficiency of energy utilization, reduce the energy consumption intensity and carbon dioxide emissions. Till the year 2020, China plan to complete 19,000 kilometers high grade channel. Construction of water infrastructure construction requires a large capital investment. However, the main financial source of funding the construction of transportation infrastructure at present in China is special financial allocation of the government. The unitary financing structure as well as the funding pressure has leaded to some serious financing problems. This paper applied the real options theory to the waterway infrastructure construction financing, analyzed the limitations of the NPV method and the advantages of real option method in investment decision of waterway infrastructure construction, and took an example to show its feasibility.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Maley ◽  
Robin Kramer

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the practice of performance management in a cross-border context in times of global uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper. Findings – The findings expose global uncertainty to be wielding a significant influence on performance management. Practical implications – A practical framework is developed using real options theory. This approach offers suggestions for multinational corporations to increase the effectiveness of their performance management while at the same time focusing on profit-maximisation. Originality/value – This paper enhances international management research by recognizing that real options theory can effectively be applied to improve the effectiveness of performance management in global uncertainty.


2010 ◽  
pp. 1571-1589
Author(s):  
Ashley Davis

Open source software is becoming more prevalent in businesses today, and while still a relatively immature offering, open source enterprise resource planning (OS-ERP) systems are becoming more common. However, whether or not an OS-ERP package is the right software for a given organization is a little researched question. Building on the current real options thinking about platform acquisitions, this chapter proposes the five most critical factors to consider when evaluating an OS-ERP package. To adequately do this, a great deal of detail about the current offerings in OS-ERP software is presented, followed by a review of the real options theory and thinking behind using these factors to evaluate OS-ERP options. The international implications of OS-ERP are presented in the “Future Trends” section.


Author(s):  
Xiaotong Li

Many information resource managers have learned to be proactive in today’s highly competitive business environment. However, limited financial resources and many uncertainties require them to maximize their shareholders’ equity while controlling the risks incurred at an acceptable level. As the unprecedented development in information technology continuously produces great opportunities that are usually associated with significant uncertainties, technology adoption and planning become more and more crucial to companies in the information era. In this study, we attempt to evaluate IT investment opportunities from a new perspective, namely, the real options theory. Its advantage over other capital budgeting methods like static discounted cash flow analysis has been widely recognized in analyzing the strategic investment decision under uncertainties (Amram & Kulatilaka, 1999; Luehrman, 1998a, 1998b). Smith and McCardle (1998, 1999) further show that option pricing approach can be integrated into standard decision analysis framework to get the best of the both worlds. In fact, some previous IS researches have recognized the fact that many IT investment projects in the uncertain world possess some option-like characteristics (Clemsons, 1991; Dos Santos, 1991; Kumar, 1996). Recently, Benaroth and Kauffman (1999) and Taudes, Feurstein and Mild (2000) have applied the real options theory to real-world business cases and evaluated this approach’s merits as a tool for IT investment planning. As all real options models inevitably depend on some specific assumptions, their appropriateness should be scrutinized under different scenarios. This study aims to provide a framework that will help IS researchers to better understand the real options models and to apply them more rigorously in IT investment evaluation. As the technology changes, the basic economic principles underlying the real options theory do not change. We do need to integrate the IT dimension into the real options based investment decision-making process. Using electronic brokerage’s investment decision in wireless technology as a real-world example, we show the importance of adopting appropriate real options models in IT investment planning. By specifically focusing on the uncertainties caused by IT innovation and competition, our study also gives some intriguing results about the dynamics between IT adoption and the technology standard setting process.


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