Master´s thesis deals with the evaluation of economic efficiency and risk analysis of change of two investment projects conducted in company Lucidum Millennio s. r. o. The thesis is divided into three main parts, which are theory, analysis and proposal. The theoretical part specifies the essential knowledge needed to evaluate the economic efficiency of investment. Analytical part is focused on the evaluation of the financial health of the company (strategic and financial analyses). The proposal is concerned with the introduction of investments, evaluating the economic efficiency of construction of the new production plan and analysing risks related to diesel generator.

This thesis deals with the determination of economic efficiency of business project, whose subject is the reconstruction of outbuildings at the hospital. The theoretical part is devoted to the business plan and its affiliates. There are also characterized by cash flows, the discount rate. The practical part describes the chosen project, determining cash flows, the assessment of economic efficiency and sensitivity to potential risks.

Purpose:This thesis is examining two of the most common valuation methods put into practice on firms of different sizes in order to see if the market capitalization has any impact on said valuations. Relevance: Despite the widespread use of the intrinsic valuation methods both in academia and the professional world the amount of coverage concerning real life usage and analysis seems to be somewhat lacking. The numerous studies that cover the pros and cons of different valuation models and their supposed accuracy towards current stock prices. The studies rarely try to analyze whether or not the invisible hand of the market treats the firms differently depending on the market capitalization. Method: In this thesis the Free Cash Flow to Equity and Dividend Discount Model have been applied to 10 different firms of different sizes. The 10 firms were from a market capitalization perspective viewed as  5 “large”  and 5 “small”. For comparison matter, for each of the “large”  firms there was one corresponding “small” firm that operates in a similar line of business. The future growth projections were based on historical data and for the discount rate the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) was used. Conclusion: The two valuation models showed remarkably similar results, even when applied to firms of greatly different market capitalizations. Within the constraints and delimitations of this thesis, the conclusion is that according to Free Cash Flow to Equity model and Dividend Discount Model models the market does not value the firms differently with regards to market capitalization. In fact the divergencies in terms of absolute numbers of the valuations as a whole only show a 1% percentage unit difference in the Dividend Discount Model and a 2% percentage unit of difference in the Free Cash Flow to Equity model between the large and small cap segments.

På senare tid har dagligdeal-företags affärsmodell blivit föremål för en debatt, där det ifrågasätts om partnerföretag går vinnande ur en dagligdeal-kampanj. Detta examensarbete har undersökt hur lokala företag påverkas ekonomiskt av att göra en kampanj med Groupon och hur vinsten av en kampanj kan maximeras. En kombination av kvalitativa fallstudier på partnerföretag till Groupon och kvantitativ analys av Groupon Sveriges försäljningsdata har använts för att undersöka detta. Studien är avgränsad till Groupons lokala erbjudanden i Stockholm, vilka innefattar kategorierna restaurang, skönhet och upplevelse. Fallstudieföretagens ekonomiska påverkan av en kampanj analyserades inom ramen för grundläggande investeringsbedömningsteori. Resultaten visade att samtliga nio fallstudieföretag gick med vinst, men att nivåerna för vinsten varierade kraftigt mellan ca 10 000-150 000 SEK. I restaurangkategorin är merförsäljning den mest vinstdrivande faktorn, i skönhetskategorin är det värdet av återkommande kunder och i upplevelsekategorin är det intäkt på deal efter rörliga kostnader. Grouponkampanjer verkar påverka lokala företags ekonomi positivt, dock måste dessa slutsatser sättas i relation till det begränsade urvalet om endast nio fallstudieföretag. Analys av försäljningsdata gav slutsatserna att företag kan öka vinst genom att ha hög rabatt och högt dealpris i utformningen av priset. I utformningen av produkten är slutsatsen att ett högt originalpris (vilket indikerar ett större erbjudande/sammansatt erbjudande) ger ökad vinst.  Ytterligare slutsatser är att företag med känt varumärke i centrala lägen går med mer vinst än företag med okända varumärken i mindre centrala lägen.  Slutsatser från försäljningsdata gäller i synnerhet kategorierna restaurang och skönhet då sambanden var svagare i upplevelsekategorin. Vidare gäller inte slutsatser vid extrema nivåer av rabatt, dealpris och originalpris. I de fall där resultat per kund efter rörliga kostnader var negativt var optimeringsmöjligheten begränsad. Generellt bör slutsatserna behandlas med försiktighet då försäljningsdata endast innefattar intäkt på dealen, inte det totala utfallet av en kampanj. Dock är intäkt på dealen en stark indikator för det totala utfallet. / The daily deal business model have recently become the subject of a debate in which it is questioned whether merchants benefit from a daily deal promotion. This thesis has studied how local businesses are affected financially by a Groupon promotion and how profits can be maximized. A combination of qualitative case studies on Groupon merchants and a quantitative analysis of Groupon sales data have been used for this purpose. The study is limited to local Groupon deals in Stockholm, which include the categories restaurant, beauty and experience. The financial effects of the case study businesses were analyzed within the scope of basic investment evaluation theory. The results showed that all nine case study businesses were profitable, although the levels of the profits varied widely between about 10 000-150 000 SEK. Upsell is the most important factor to drive profit in the restaurant category and the value of repeat customers is the most important factor in the beauty category.  The profit from the deal after variable costs is the most important factor in the experience category. Groupon promotions seem to affect local business economics positively; however, these conclusions have to be related to the limited sample of only nine case study businesses. The conclusions from the analysis of the sales data were that businesses can increase profits by using a high discount and a high purchase price in the design of the price. Concerning the design of the product it is concluded that a high original price (indicating a larger offer/composed offer) increases the profits. Additional conclusions are that businesses with well-known brands in central locations make more profit than businesses with unknown brands in less central locations. Conclusions of sales data are particularly valid in the restaurant- and beauty category, since the correlations are weaker in the experience category. Furthermore, conclusions are not valid at extreme levels of discount, purchase price and original price. In situations where the result per customer after variable costs was negative, the optimization possibilities were limited. Generally, conclusions should be treated with caution, since sales data only includes the profit of the deal, not the overall outcome of the promotion. However, the profit of the deal is a strong indicator of the overall outcome.

This paper considers the widely successful employee discount pricing (EDP) promotional program of 2005 to uncover the nature of competition in the US automobile industry, with a specific focus on the big three automakers. In contrast to previous research on automobile competition, this paper uses quarterly average dealer-level transaction price data to capture the short term nature of inter-firm competition that might be embedded in such promotional programs. In doing so, a structural oligopoly model of differentiated products is setup explicitly incorporating the nature of competitive interactions. Results imply that the overall nature of competitiveness in the US automobile industry is consistent with a static model of Bertrand behaviour without any changes in conduct among the big three during the EDP promotion period. These results corroborate the problems of inventory backlog faced by the big three in recent years and indicate that the EDP program has been more of a novel marketing intent on part of the big three to clear up such backlogs.

The Swedish penalty system has created a fierce and lively debate during the past years. Thisdebate originates mostly from the youth discount that offenders between the age of 18 and 20can make use of. There is a clear division between the argumentative sides when it comes tothis particular debate. One side argues for the removal of this criminal discount for youngadults, whilst the other side are against it.The purpose of this study is to examine the different underlying perspectives that theserespective sides have. The method of evaluation I will be using in this study is a descriptiveideaanalysis of constructive ideal types. The theoretical framework that these ideal typesstems from are proportionality, justice, general prevention and individual prevention. Thestudy has displayed that the debate regarding this criminal discount for young adults has hadelements of all four of these attributes. There exists fundamental differences in the underlyingideas when it comes to both sides in this specific discount towards young adults. Theopposition side has clear general prevention ideas behind their arguments, whereas the sidethat are in favor of the discount inherently believes in the ideas that regard proportionality,justice and individual prevention.

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Management faces a paradox in managing discrepancies between actual demand and expected demand in daily operations, thereby requiring constant adjustments in pricing under the supervision of management in the short term. The purpose of this study is to determine how discount choices are created and to understand information processing related to the pricing and discounting decision-making process as well as narrating the events, stages, and cycles of choices made by hotel managers. This study also determines the role of human judgment based on contextual factors in the decision-making process. This mixed methods research design consists of three steps: observation, classification, and association. First, the observation stage includes the careful observation, documentation, and measurement of the phenomena within the social and institutional context through structured interviews with hotel managers. Second, abstractions are classified into categories based on the attributes of the phenomena. Information attributes are categorized into static and dynamic information, and the source of information is characterized in external and internal sources. Third, the association between the category-defining attributes and the outcome observed (discount or not) is explored using conjoint analysis. This last stage attempts to investigate not only the importance of information attributes, but also the role of social-, institution-, and human agency-related influences in managers’ discounting decisions. The major findings of the study are as follows. First, habitual practices are identified to show how the classification of events, activities, and institutions are put into practice as managers have developed their own knowledge and practices over time. Such practices become iii routine over time when managers encounter a similar problem, disequilibrium. Conventions such as the "less than 35 rule," the "80:20 rule," the call around, following suit, and trial and error are manifestations of the coping strategy for the hamstrung complexity in the hospitality industry. Human agency and its perception of reality within a specific context infuse meaning into business practices. The critical role of managers is recognized in making discount decisions as they use a collection of complex patterns in the lodging industry to perceive meaningful patterns in the environment to make a final judgment. The focus on the process of discount decision making allows for detecting how environmental stimuli are watched by managers with deeply held views. Managers use certain rules and patterns to complete their information search. Hotel managers place different values on the information attributes in making a discount choice. The average importance of an attribute represents how important it is to managers when making their discount choices. The results indicate that managers consider the booking window to be the most preferred information, followed by competitors’ room rates, the potential for cancelation, and occupancy rate. A discount choice is the product of human agency and social forces over time, distinct from the rational model. Different hotel operation structures and human agencies seek to make a difference in the process of discount decision making. Hotels in Road Warriors, which are smaller in size, are not located near major attractions but seem to fill the need for leisure travelers passing by the highways. Less competition exists because the regional area does not serve as a main attraction. These hotels in Road Warriors thus place great importance on the booking window and potential for cancellation when considering offering a discount. If they do iv not see enough reservations in the short term and foresee the potential for cancellation, hotels in Road Warriors tend to make a discount choice. These hotels do not seem to indulge in implementing other pricing strategies, but do drop the rate. Hotels in Stars in the Universe, which are larger in size and affiliated with chains/brands, are located near the main attractions (e.g., beach, downtown, or convention center). Hotels in Stars in the Universe consider the booking window to be the most critical information, followed by competitors’ room rates, occupancy rate, and potential for cancellation. The extent of how much time is left before an arrival date serves as the most important piece of information in making a discount choice. These hotels emphasize knowledge of competitors’ room rates as these hotels have many competitors around and consistently compete for more market shares in the area. Moreover, human agency, mostly grounded in industry tenure and age, determines how managers process discount choices. Market Movers consists of more experienced and educated, older, and predominantly male experts. These general managers, assistant general managers, or revenue managers have gained knowledge and know-how during their extended experience in the industry. Managers in Market Movers focus importance on the booking window, followed by competitors’ room rates, occupancy rate, and potential for cancellation. They monitor bookings ahead of time and consider offering a discount as the arrival nears. Managers in Market Movers also show great concern for competitors’ room rates. They compare their rates to competitors’ in order to ensure that their own rates do not go over competitors’ room rates. v Managers in Entourage are considered to be younger, less experienced, and less educated. Most managers in Entourage work in marketing/sales or front desk/operations and tend to follow and attend to the industry leaders. These novices try several trials and make errors along the way, but become rising stars in the industry when their trial-and-error approach succeeds. Entourage’s discount choice is influenced more by the booking window, followed by potential for cancellation, competitors’ room rates, and occupancy rate. Managers in Entourage consider the booking window to be the most critical in making a discount choice, and they act quickly to offer a discount when an arrival date nears. They tend to respond to immediate changes in booking; thus, the potential for cancellation determines the discount choice among Entourage managers. The main theoretical contribution of this study is to demonstrate that managerial frameworks based on a rational premise are not complete. These frameworks should be complemented with a human judgment framework, which provides a richer account of how managers in the lodging industry approach complex price-setting situations. Managerial discounting decision making often falls short of the purely rational model for managers and is bounded by nature. Managers are not always rational in compiling and assessing information leading to discounting that is compatible with the accessibility to information and the computational capacity. The human judgment process, discovered and examined in this study, provides a richer understanding of the process of discounting in the lodging industry. This process is featured by a non-conscious processing of information; the retrieval of the information is based on associations of patterns; the context in which this processing occurs is high paced; and the outcome of the decision is imbued with judgments. vi In terms of managerial implications, this study enables hotel managers to learn under what conditions other managers consider making discount choices. Information attributes such as the booking window and competitors’ room rates are thought to be more valuable than other information. Managers should observe booking windows carefully when making a discount choice. Managers should pay close attention to bookings more in advance so that they detect discrepancies between forecasting and reality in a timely manner. If so, managers can make operational adjustments to rate strategies by controlling not only room rates, but also length of stay (LOS) and channels. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

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No / Trade credit terms offer firms contractual solutions to informational asymmetries between buyers and sellers. The credit period permits buyers to reduce uncertainty concerning product quality prior to payment, while the seller can reduce uncertainty concerning buyer payment intentions by prescribing payment before/on delivery or through two¿part payment terms and other mechanisms. Variation in trade credit terms also offers firms price discriminating opportunities. This study, drawing on the responses of 700 large firms in the US, UK and Australia, explores trade credit terms through the twin objectives of reducing information asymmetries and discriminatory pricing. Support is found for both theories.