Media multiplicity and collaborative innovation with suppliers: evidence from China

PurposeBased on media choice theories and real option theory, this study aims to explore the role of communication media portfolio in achieving collaborative innovation with suppliers.Design/methodology/approachUsing data of the Study of Competitiveness, Technology and Firm Linkages 2002 collected by the World Bank and the Enterprise Survey Organization of the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, this study employed logit model to test the hypotheses. Moreover, some robustness analyses were conducted.FindingsThis study suggests that media multiplicity increases the probability for a firm to achieve collaborative innovation with suppliers on the basis of real option theory. Furthermore, distance from the suppliers and relationship formality make media multiplicity further important in collaborative innovation with suppliers.Originality/valueThrough investing how communication media portfolio affecting collaborative innovation with suppliers and the contingency factors, this study complements existing studies just concentrating on supplier capabilities, relationships with suppliers and characteristics of supplier network. Moreover, this study contributes in the information system field by exploring the role of media portfolio rather than individual media.

Decision Making on Government Subsidy for Highway Public-Private Partnership Projects in China Using an Iteration Game Model

Government subsidy is an important responsibility of fiscal expenditure in public-private partnership (PPP) projects. However, an improper subsidy strategy may cause over-compensation or under-compensation. In this research, an iteration game model combining game theory and real option is established to describe the periodic decision-making process. The strategy game model is applied to characterize the behavioral interactions between stakeholders, and the real option theory is used to predict the project performance under the influence of their decisions. Besides, two new indicators, the efficiency of fund (SE) and the total extra cost paid by the private sector (ME), are proposed to evaluate the extra project revenue caused by each unit of the subsidy and the incentive effects of the subsidy. Consequently, the preliminary results indicate that a periodic and iterative negotiations regarding the subsidy will effectively improve the efficiency of fund compared to the traditional way. The results also show that it is important for the public sector to give incentives, encouraging the private sector to make more efforts on the project, rather than merely providing fund support. Further study will focus on more detailed and complicated behaviors of stakeholders based on the model proposed in this paper.

Determination of Deposit Insurance Premium (LPS): Merton’s Option Theory with Co-Insurance Consideration

Indonesia is a developing country that implements a deposit insurance system. Deposit Insurance Agency or LPS is an Indonesian deposit insurance established in 2004, which is Indonesian still unfamiliar with LPS, both among researchers, and the general public. Almost all deposit insurance in every country including Indonesia has the same problem, the problem is how to calculate premiums and how to avoid moral hazard by banks, therefore in this study will discuss how to determine premiums from the development of Black-Scholes option theory (1973) conducted by Merton (1977). To prevent banks from engaging in moral hazard, co-insurance is considered in this study, which is banks take the risk to anticipate 'excessive risk-taking' behavior. that occurs if the value of the asset is smaller than value of the deposit after joining the insurance program. So it is expected to encourage banks to beware.

Cost of capital and asset characteristic value

We propose a possible alternative to WACC as cost of capital for a business investment decision through option theory. The cost of capital in this new definition becomes forward-looking and easy to compute with traded market information as inputs. More importantly, it is a fair value- based approach and does not depend on investors’ own expectation. An important parameter “asset characteristic value” is identified and its role is further illustrated by using Merton’s capital structure model. Asset characteristic value can be calibrated by using stock price or credit spread observed from a secondary market.

Design Flaws in United Kingdom Renewable Energy Support Scheme

Soon after the UK’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Scheme providing incentive prices for renewable energy was introduced in 2010, adjustments and modifications were made to eligibility criteria and incentive prices. Prices paid for renewable energy (RE) under the scheme were cut, deployment caps were introduced, and preliminary accreditation and efficiency standards were imposed. Controversy ensued as supporters sought help for the nascent RE technologies, while detractors claimed that the scheme was a wasteful means of reducing greenhouse gases. In this research, we examine how RE was incentivized under the FiT Scheme and its wider impact upon various stakeholders to assess its compatibility with liberalized electricity markets of the UK. We employ a financial performance metric to measure the direct costs of RE in compensation to investors and financial option theory to analyze the externalities of RE generation. As a means of reducing atmospheric CO2, the FiT Scheme was expensive, and the externalities imposed upon stakeholders were large. Whilst the UK scheme was effective in delivering RE capacity, our findings show that the scheme was flawed because the compensation provided to investors was greater than required while large indirect costs were ignored. Although eventually reducing feed-in tariffs addressed direct costs in compensation to RE investors, the externalities arising from stochastic renewable output under dispatch prioritization remain. Given the magnitude of externalities, large volumes of RE may be incompatible with the current design of electricity markets.

TIMING DECISIONS OF HOUSING SALES AND DEVELOPMENT BASED ON REAL OPTION THEORY

Based on the real option theory, this paper studies the impact of uncertainty on the timing decisions required in housing development and sales. Data of newly-built houses and corresponding plots in Hangzhou, China, are used for empirical analysis. In order to better reflect the changes in market demand under frequent policy intervention, in addition to the usual price volatility, this paper introduces the volatility of trading volume to measure the uncertainty of China’s real estate market. The results show that the volatility of trading volume has a significant impact on timing decisions. Also, trading volume volatility can better reflect the characteristic of deferred option than can price volatility, especially during the sales phase. This study provides evidence to support Bar-Ilan and Strange’s (1998) research of sequential investment. Because of the existence of the second option, i.e., sales timing, the starts in the first stage are not too sensitive to uncertainty. In the case of the second option, the longer the construction period is, and the lower the cost of the first stage is, the higher will be the probability of triggering the start. In addition, the characteristics of market risk aversion are obvious in the study area, especially in the suburban area.

Influence of cooperative period of municipal PPPs on transaction cost – a case study

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to numerically investigate the relationship between the increase in transaction cost and prolongation of cooperative period acting as a nonmonetary incentive for municipal PPP projects.Design/methodology/approachA model that combines real option theory and the concept of prospect theory is proposed in the study. Three municipal road PPP projects published by China Public Private Partnerships Center are selected as cases. The data of these cases are analyzed based on the model established.FindingsThe prolongation of the cooperative period affects the increase in transaction cost, which gradually decreases when the prolonged cooperative period increases. Furthermore, the large-investment PPP projects own more transaction cost compared with less-investment projects. The decrease in transaction cost in the former is less than that in the latter. The increase in transaction cost is evidently alleviated in a project with less investment when the cooperative period is prolonged further.Originality/valueThe study systematically analyzes the relationship among transaction cost economics, real option theory and prospect theory and proposes a theoretical flowchart of the effect of nonmonetary incentive on the transaction cost. A model to quantify the effect of nonmonetary incentive (i.e. prolongation of cooperative period) on the transaction cost is proposed for the first time. The results of the study verify that the nonmonetary incentive affects transaction cost.

Real options in franchise contracting: an application of transaction cost and real options theory

Previous research has not explained the use of real option clause in franchise contracting. The real option clause has two economic functions: To reduce transaction costs by mitigating opportunism risk and to increase strategic rents by exploiting the profit potential from future upside opportunities under uncertainty. We argue that franchisors will more likely use a real option clause (ROC) in franchise contracts under high behavioral uncertainty, high franchisors’ transaction-specific investments relative to franchisees’ and long contract duration. In addition, by combining transaction cost theory and real option theory, our study provides a new explanation for the impact of environmental uncertainty on the use of ROC in franchise networks by showing that there exists a U-shaped relationship between environmental uncertainty and the franchisor’s use of ROC. Overall, the data from German and Swiss franchise systems provide support of the research model.

A Real Option Approach to Sustainable Corporate Tax Behavior

Aggressive tax planning has become a sustainability problem, as governments have to cope with less tax revenue, which is crucial for investments in sustainable development goals. The OECD and the EU authorities have taken several initiatives against aggressive tax planning, such as the Action Plan against BEPS. However, these initiatives lack effectiveness, and aggressive tax planning is still omnipresent. We analyze the fight against aggressive corporate tax planning from a Real Option Theory perspective, in order to find an explanation for the difficult shift of companies’ aggressive tax planning strategies to more sustainable tax behavior. The Real Option Theory shows that, as long as the option to ‘delay’ the investment in sustainable tax behavior has too much value because the benefits of such investment are uncertain, companies will wait. Based on this new understanding, we suggest additional public policy interventions against aggressive tax planning. These interventions aim directly at reducing this real option value (of waiting).

Stackelberg Game Model of Railway Freight Pricing Based on Option Theory

In recent years, although rail transport has contributed significantly to the productivity of the Chinese economy, it has also been faced with the fierce competition and challenge from other modes of transportation, and therefore, freight-pricing issue has received more attention by researchers. In this paper, the rail freight option (RFO) based on option theory is proposed to study the optimal pricing decision of the railway transportation enterprise and contract customers’ optimal purchase decisions. To obtain an effective RFO contract, the railway freight contract transaction process is first analyzed. Then, the theoretical framework for the RFO contract trading is put forward in the railway freight market. Next, a two-stage Stackelberg game theoretic approach is presented based on the principle of utility maximization to achieve the optimal decision of RFO contract. Subsequently, the reverse reasoning method in dynamic programming is used to solve the optimal combination decision of the contract customer. Finally, the optimal pricing decision of RFO is discussed using Kuhn–Tucker conditions and Lagrangian function. The result shows that the railway transportation enterprise should pay more attention to the option strike price w1 in terms of maximizing system utility and achieving Pareto optimal.