Updated and revised, this second edition applies advanced financial analytics within a strategic framework that recognizes an environment where sustainable competitive advantage is a progressively more difficult task. Real Options offer the link to value and the strategic opportunities that lie in an increasingly dynamic landscape

In the 1990s shareholder value was applied to all aspects of corporate strategy and management decisions as a result of intense competition, globalization, advances in technology, deregulation and the financial markets. As we enter the twentyfirst century the business environment is one of increasing creative destruction, where competitive advantage is much harder to sustain. Real Options , a type of advanced financial analysis, applies financial option theory to real assets and offers a strategic framework that recognizes the need for management flexibility and to leverage risk in this corporate environment.

The surge of innovation in information technology at the end of the twentieth century reduced the cost of communications, which facilitated the globalization of the production and capital markets. Globalization has in turn spurred competition and consequently innovation. Sustainable competitive advantage is an increasingly difficult proposition in this environment, a fact which raises a number of issues for organizations: how to create and manage value, how to improve an organization's capabilities to respond and adapt, how to manage the effect of competition on industry structures and how to foster and manage innovation. € In response to these issues one concept is having an impact and influence on organizations. Real options, a form of advanced financial analysis, apply financial options theory to real assets. The concept offers a framework that can link value to risk and uncertainty, and the ability to manage the strategic opportunities that lie in an increasingly dynamic environment. Updated and revised, this second edition illustrates the issues with detailed case studies.

Corporate finance and corporate strategy have long been seen as different sides of the same coin. Though both focus on the same broad problem, investment decision-making, the gap between the two sides--and between theory and practice--remains embarrassingly large. This book synthesizes cutting-edge developments in corporate finance and related fields--in particular, real options and game theory--to help bridge this gap. In clear, straightforward exposition and through numerous examples and applications from various industries, Han Smit and Lenos Trigeorgis set forth an extended valuation framework for competitive strategies. The book follows a problem-solving approach that synthesizes ideas from game theory, real options, and strategy. Thinking in terms of options-games can help managers address questions such as: When is it best to invest early to preempt competitive entry, and when to wait? Should a firm compete in R&D or adopt an accommodating stance? How does one value growth options or infrastructure investments? The authors provide a wide range of valuation examples, such as acquisition strategies, R&D investment in high-tech sectors, joint research ventures, product introductions in consumer electronics, infrastructure, and oil exploration investment. Representing a major step beyond standard real options or strategy analysis, and extending the power of real options and strategic thinking in a rigorous fashion, Strategic Investment will be an indispensable guide and resource for corporate managers, MBA students, and academics alike.

Using real-world examples and clear case studies, the authors provide investors and managers with an innovative method for assessing a company's non-financial assets, allowing them to assess opportunities whose financial rewards are less than certain.

In the 1990s shareholder value was applied to all aspects of corporate strategy and management decisions as a result of intense competition, globalization, advances in technology, deregulation and the financial markets. As we enter the 21st Century the business environment is one of increasing creative destruction, where competitive advantage is much harder to sustain. Real Options, a type of advanced financial analysis, applies financial option theory to real assets and offers a strategic framework that recognizes the need for management flexibility and to leverage risk in this corporate environment.

Examines the ways in which real options theory can contribute to strategic management. This volume offers conceptual pieces that trace out pathways for the theory to move forward and presents research on the implications of real options for strategic investment, organization, and firm performance.