Historically, air and water have been considered common property resources and, therefore, over utilized as waste receptors. Dairy waste is a leading environmental concern in the North Bosque River watershed in Texas. Changing societal attitudes are forcing dairies and policymakers to balance environmental concerns with farm profitability. Dairies are entering a realm filled with technologies to combat waste concerns. Anaerobic digester technology may play a role in helping dairies balance profit and the environment. Digesters capture methane from livestock waste and transform it into electricity which can be sold to utilities or used on-farm. Because a digester facility is confined, air and water pollution can be reduced. Technological advancement and institutional factor changes allowing the sale of on-farm produced electricity and green power requirements have increased the economic feasibility of digesters. The study of the economic implications of anaerobic digesters for Texas dairies provides producers and policymakers with information to make good decisions concerning adoption and subsidization of this technology. At the beginning of this study, no digesters were operating in Texas. Dairies operating digesters in four states, therefore, were interviewed on-site to provide necessary data. The expected net present value, E(NPV), of a plug-flow digester is negative with and without selling electricity, indicating it should not be constructed based strictly on its financial contribution. At the current electricity-selling price, digesters are less economically feasible than current waste management strategies, lagoons, even after considering potential environmental penalties. However, selling electricity and capturing by-product heat for cost savings makes the digester's E(NPV) less negative than lagoons. The E(NPV) of a covered lagoon digester is positive. This indicates digesters are a potentially feasible waste management strategy. For plug-flow digesters to show a positive E(NPV), the selling price needs to be approximately 82.38% higher than the current price. The breakeven selling price is 12% higher than the current price. Below the breakeven price, lagoons have a larger E(NPV) than plug-flow digesters, therefore making lagoons the preferred waste management strategy. Results suggest changes in rules and technology efficiency make digesters economically competitive with current waste management systems.

<p>Capital investment decision is one of the most important decisions, because it is thought to be affecting the short and long run situations of firms, and according to theory, it is thought to be affecting shareholders’ wealth. The researchers have recognized the two previously mentioned phases and conducted this study.</p><p> </p><p>This study aims at identifying the extent to which capital budgeting techniques and its related practices are used by Jordanian listed services firms, and identifying reasonable justifications behind that pattern of this use. The study also aims at identifying if there is any relationship between firms’ performance and the degree of capital budgeting sophistication.</p><p> </p><p>The researchers planned the study by formulating 3 research questions; these are, what are the capital budgeting techniques and their related practices that used by Jordanian listed services firms? Why Jordanian listed services firms use some capital budgeting techniques rather than others? What is the effect of the technique used on the firm’s performance?</p><p> </p><p>To answer these questions, the researcher developed a questionnaire and addressed it to the capital budgeting decision makers of Jordanian listed services firms. The sample of the study is the whole population; 63 Jordanian listed services firms. The researchers received back 38 usable replies after which they started their statistical analysis to reach at findings about their first two questions. As to the third question, the researchers used a multiple regression model that explains performance by the degree of sophistication and size of the firm. The researchers run the analysis for the multiple regression model on 30 firms, the firms that have their financial statements available at JSC.</p><p> </p><p>The results showed that PBP is the most used technique by the Jordanian listed services firms, followed by NPV, PI, ARR, and IRR. The results showed that the practices related to capital budgeting techniques; cost of capital estimation methods, risk analysis techniques, and cash flow forecasting techniques, are not widely used by the Jordanian listed services firms because of the domination of subjective judgment.</p><p> </p><p>When started their study, the researchers expected that the selection of the capital budgeting techniques is explained by demographical characteristics, type of capital investment decision, and\ or the perception of the respondents to the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. The results showed that academic qualification has a positive effect on the use of DCF techniques, while the type of capital investment decision has no effect on the capital budgeting techniques selection. Based on the respondents’ perception to the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, the advantages of PBP and NPV explain their high use, and the disadvantages of IRR explain its low use. Finally, the results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that there is no relationship between the degree of capital budgeting sophistication and the performance of the firms.</p>

Capital investment decision is one of the most important decisions, because it is thought to be affecting the short and long run situations of firms, and according to theory, it is thought to be affecting shareholders’ wealth. The researchers have recognized the two previously mentioned phases and conducted this study.   This study aims at identifying the extent to which capital budgeting techniques and its related practices are used by Jordanian listed services firms, and identifying reasonable justifications behind that pattern of this use. The study also aims at identifying if there is any relationship between firms’ performance and the degree of capital budgeting sophistication.   The researchers planned the study by formulating 3 research questions; these are, what are the capital budgeting techniques and their related practices that used by Jordanian listed services firms? Why Jordanian listed services firms use some capital budgeting techniques rather than others? What is the effect of the technique used on the firm’s performance?   To answer these questions, the researcher developed a questionnaire and addressed it to the capital budgeting decision makers of Jordanian listed services firms. The sample of the study is the whole population; 63 Jordanian listed services firms. The researchers received back 38 usable replies after which they started their statistical analysis to reach at findings about their first two questions. As to the third question, the researchers used a multiple regression model that explains performance by the degree of sophistication and size of the firm. The researchers run the analysis for the multiple regression model on 30 firms, the firms that have their financial statements available at JSC.   The results showed that PBP is the most used technique by the Jordanian listed services firms, followed by NPV, PI, ARR, and IRR. The results showed that the practices related to capital budgeting techniques; cost of capital estimation methods, risk analysis techniques, and cash flow forecasting techniques, are not widely used by the Jordanian listed services firms because of the domination of subjective judgment.   When started their study, the researchers expected that the selection of the capital budgeting techniques is explained by demographical characteristics, type of capital investment decision, and\ or the perception of the respondents to the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. The results showed that academic qualification has a positive effect on the use of DCF techniques, while the type of capital investment decision has no effect on the capital budgeting techniques selection. Based on the respondents’ perception to the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, the advantages of PBP and NPV explain their high use, and the disadvantages of IRR explain its low use. Finally, the results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that there is no relationship between the degree of capital budgeting sophistication and the performance of the firms.

The Aviation Industry in South Africa is considered to be a budding industry with an expected growth rate of 14% for each of the next three years. Considering that, plenty investment and expansion possibilities are probably available in this industry. Nonetheless, given the current economic situation, challenges may exist that necessitates the development of a decision framework. The aim of this framework should thus be to assist with informed decision-making; whether to invest in, or utilize opportunities that may occur within a given prospective “high” growth situation. In the light of all of this, a specific aviation entity desires to exploit possible business opportunities that may occur. Provided the relative high growth situation in the Aviation Industry, as mentioned above, the entity has a specific need for a decision tool which could determine whether to invest in new projects or not. In order to meet this need, a decision framework has been developed during this study. Considering the emphasis currently placed on wealth creation in the business environment, it is considered appropriate to utilize the value-based management approach in this study, with specific reference to capital budgeting techniques in developing a decision framework. Data for the study has been obtained from the participating aviation entity, who was considering investment in a specific project, given the previously referred to prospective high growth situation in the Aviation Industry. The decision framework or model was developed using Microsoft Excel as the development platform. Based on the input data, as received from the aviation entity, the results from the decision model indicated that the considered project was indeed financially viable. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The Aviation Industry in South Africa is considered to be a budding industry with an expected growth rate of 14% for each of the next three years. Considering that, plenty investment and expansion possibilities are probably available in this industry. Nonetheless, given the current economic situation, challenges may exist that necessitates the development of a decision framework. The aim of this framework should thus be to assist with informed decision-making; whether to invest in, or utilize opportunities that may occur within a given prospective “high” growth situation. In the light of all of this, a specific aviation entity desires to exploit possible business opportunities that may occur. Provided the relative high growth situation in the Aviation Industry, as mentioned above, the entity has a specific need for a decision tool which could determine whether to invest in new projects or not. In order to meet this need, a decision framework has been developed during this study. Considering the emphasis currently placed on wealth creation in the business environment, it is considered appropriate to utilize the value-based management approach in this study, with specific reference to capital budgeting techniques in developing a decision framework. Data for the study has been obtained from the participating aviation entity, who was considering investment in a specific project, given the previously referred to prospective high growth situation in the Aviation Industry. The decision framework or model was developed using Microsoft Excel as the development platform. Based on the input data, as received from the aviation entity, the results from the decision model indicated that the considered project was indeed financially viable. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Civil Infrastructure is needed both in the developed world and in developing countries. However, governments alone can no longer deliver the much needed projects mainly because of lack of money, but also due to the lack of technical skills and a changing type of citizenry. In today’s world, governments have to consult the market place to efficiently and optimally deliver the much needed infrastructure. The case for Public-Private Partnerships being better than the options of government run projects or fully privatized projects is that Public-Private Partnerships offer real advantages in three major areas: 1) risk benefits (financial, legal and project related benefits), 2) management and communication benefits (within the partnership but also importantly between both partners and the general public), and 3) the value addition to the public common good. / text

Denna studie bidrar med kunskap kring kapitalbudgetering i SMEs och de faktorer som styr denna. Tidigare studier har funnit att faktorer som exempelvis storlek, utbildningsbakgrund, utbildningsnivå och bransch haft en inverkan på kapitalbudgetering. Främst är det stora företag i förhållande till SMEs som undersökts i tidigare studier, vilket gör det intressant att undersöka SMEs. Studien har baserats på primärdata från 104 svenska SMEs och har undersökt relationen mellan kapitalbudgetering och faktorer som företagets karaktärsdrag, utövarens karaktärsdrag och om företagen möter kapitalrestriktioner. Multipel regression har använts för att undersöka om det föreligger samband mellan faktorerna och kapitalbudgeteringen i SMEs. Studien fann signifikanta samband mellan utövarens ålder, högskoleutbildning samt yrkeserfarenhet och användandet av osofistikerade kapitalbudgeteringsmetoder.

Companies and organizations must make decisions concerning capital budgeting. Capital budgeting is a decision-making process that determines whether a firm should purchase equipment to be used on a long-term basis. The initial investment in the equipment is predicted to be returned through revenue gained by the use of the equipment over its lifetime. However, there is inherent risk associated with these investment decisions. Therefore, potential purchasers must decide whether the risk involved with investing in the equipment is justified. This dissertation addresses risk-based technology assessment for capital equipment acquisition decisions in small firms. Technology assessment, here, is concerned with understanding the uncertainty associated with assessing the value predicted in the capital budgeting process. When analyzing the risk for a given technology, we assign a probability law to its net present value. Our primary research contribution is providing an analytical framework together with a computational strategy to support capital equipment budgeting in firms where the value of candidate technologies can represent nearly all the firm’s value. Since small firms typically have limited budgets, spending for technology is always a difficult budgeting decision. The organization’s administration must decide which, if any, among the available technologies will be best for their operation. The process for acquiring technology in many small firms can be filled with challenges. Most important among them is that capital budgeting is typically a “one-off” decision. These decisions are difficult since the candidate technologies may not have operational data available. Thus, decision makers need some means to predict how the proposed technology (e.g., equipment or machinery) will be used. Hence, firms should follow techniques and procedures based on appropriate normative principles and well-established theory. Senior company executives and/or governance boards are often authorized to approve capital equipment purchases. However, these company leaders may not have adequate expertise in the operations of candidate technologies or may lack the understanding necessary to determine how new technologies may impact other company operations. Appropriate financial evaluation measures and selection criteria that incorporate risk are critical to making sound, quantitative acquisition decisions. The research reported here offers an analytical framework for comparing different technology alternatives in capital budgeting decisions. Comparison is based on the expected net present value and the risk (i.e., probability law on net present value) associated with each decision alternative. To this end, the operational characteristics of each technology alternative are connected to their potential revenue and cost streams. The framework is embedded within a computational architecture that can be customized to account for operations and technologies in specific application scenarios. One major barrier addressed by this research is overcoming the fact that new technologies typically have no historical operational data. Therefore, characterizing the uncertainty of operations (e.g., distribution of the equipment lifetime) can be very difficult. Discrete- event simulation is used to generate potential revenue and cost estimates. We demonstrate the tractability and practicality of the analytical framework and computational architecture via a healthcare technology assessment decision. Data extracted from a published journal article detailing a hospital’s technology assessment decision are used to find the risk of the medical technology using the computational architecture developed. Widely-available, no-cost software tools are employed. Results of the health care example suggest that the financial analysis in the original technology assessment was in- adequate and simplistic. Small firms may find this research particularly beneficial because potential investments can be a significant portion of a small firm’s value.

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the susceptibility of capital budgeting decisions to bias. Based on the political nature of many of these decisions, attribute framing effects were analyzed in a capital budgeting decision context. Specifically, two independent variables were analyzed: accounting data and attribute frames. This research proposed that attribute framing effects would be conditional on the nature of the accounting data being considered. When the accounting data elicited a positive or negative evaluative reaction, attribute frames were expected to be unobtrusive to capital budgeting decisions. However, when the accounting data was neutral, eliciting an ambiguous evaluative reaction, attribute frames were predicted to bias these decisions. An experiment was conducted that considered the issue across two types of capital budgeting decisions: accept/reject decisions (dichotomous decision) and strategic alliance judgments (monetary allocations). Experimental findings strongly support the predicted relationships. These results suggest that persuasive descriptions are not effective in capital budgeting contexts when accounting data provides a clear picture as to the investment's future success; however, these tactics may be vitally important when accounting information is unclear about the investment's future success. / Ph. D.

Tidigare forskning har identifierat ett gap mellan teori och hur företag använder kapitalbudgeteringstekniker i praktiken. Forskning tyder på att gapet är särskilt stort vid SME-företag, eftersom de tenderar att använda de enkla kapitalbudgeteringsteknikerna. Genom att försöka förklara förekomsten av fenomenet the theory-practice gap  har forskare reflekterat kring vilka bakomliggande faktorer som ligger till grund för valet av kapitalbudgeteringsteknik i SME-företag. En bakomliggande faktor som påverkar valet av kapitalbudgeteringsteknik är en individs humankapital, i form av utbildningsnivå och yrkeserfarenhet. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur humankapitalet påverkar valet av kapitalbudgeteringsteknik vid strategiska investeringar i svenska SME-företag. För att undersöka och analysera studiens syfte har en kvantitativ datainsamlingsmetod använts i form av en internetbaserad enkät. Studien har en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi som utgår från en deduktiv forskningsansats som används för att möjliggöra hypotesprövningar. Studiens resultat baseras på 56 respondenter vilka är beslutfattare vid strategiska investeringar i svenska SME-företag, där resultaten illustreras med hjälp av statistiska analysmetoder. Studiens resultat och slutsats visar att beslutfattare i svenska SME-företag med högre utbildningsnivå eller högre grad av yrkeserfarenhet ökar användningen av avancerade kapitalbudgeteringstekniker. Dock kan inte studiens resultat signifikant påvisa att en beslutsfattare i svenska SME-företag med låg utbildningsnivå eller lägre grad av yrkeserfarenhet använder enkla kapitalbudgeteringstekniker. / Previous research has identified a gap between theory and how companies actually use capital budgeting techniques in practice. Research highlights that the gap is particularly large among SMEs, as they tend to use simpler capital budgeting techniques. By trying to explain the phenomenon of the theory-practice gap, researchers have reflected on underlying factors that influence the choice of capital budgeting techniques in SMEs. An underlying factor, that influences the choice of capital budgeting techniques, is on the individual level in terms of educational degree and occupational level of experience. The aim of this thesis is therefore to increase the understanding of how the human capital influences the choice of capital budgeting techniques in Swedish SMEs. To examine the aim of the study, a quantitative method is used by a web-based survey. Furthermore, the study is based on a positivism research philosophy that evolve from a deductive research method in order to draw general conclusions. The result of the study is based on 56 responses from decision makers for strategic investments in Swedish SMEs, where the results are illustrated using statistical analysis methods. The results and conclusions of the study shows that decision makers in Swedish SMEs with higher degree of education or higher level of occupational experience increase the use of more advanced capital budgeting techniques. However, the results do not support that decision makers in Swedish SMEs with a lower degree of education or lower level of occupational experience use more simple capital budgeting techniques.