The dissertation deals with rating and non-financial factors that form its important part. Rating described in the thesis shall be understood as credit rating, i.e. as an instrument that helps to asses creditworthiness of a company and its future prospects. Typical credit rating is based on an assessment of financial and non-financial factors of a company. Whereas financial factors are widely accepted as inputs of the assessment, the role of non-financial factors remains ambiguous. We have therefore formed a hypothesis that non-financial factors significantly improve the predictive power of rating with the aim to disperse doubts about usefulness of non-financial factors in credit rating assessments.

In order to evaluate the creditworthiness of the company not only outstanding financial and economic knowledge will be needed but also inter-personal skills, common sense and good judgment of human nature. As the issue of finding employees with all the above mentioned qualification will occur for commercial banks the main proposition will be either hiring an expert in psychology or providing systematic psychological training for the credit experts. The idea is not currently used in the vast majority of banks and the appropriate training would be of a high value for credit specialists for their self-development. The quality of the credit specialists will trigger higher standards of credit granting. All these efforts will be become a milestone for a more reliable banking system and trustworthy financial transactions.

The number of building projects in Taiwan has rapidly increased each year, and the vacancy rate has reached a peak at 19.7%, an astonishing number. Therefore, this study examines the financial performance of property firms who execute building projects by calculating their Economic Value Added (EVA) and Economic Value Added Momentum (EVA Momentum). In addition, because numerous financial factors may affect EVA, this study examines how these factors influence the EVA of property firms to ascertain which factors are relevant. Furthermore, this study monitors the EVA of these firms to determine their relationship with the property cycle index to establish whether a causality exists between them.

The growth of the market for electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing each year with record numbers of newly registered electric vehicles in 2022. Electric vehicles are considered the key component of a sustainable transportation sector. The knowledge of influential factors on purchase decisions for new EVs is high. The research attention within the field has been huge over the last decade. As the number of EVs in the transport sector increases, the number of used EVs is increasing. However, basically no research about influential factors for purchase decisions of used EVs can be found. As the prices of new EVs are high, the market for such vehicles is constrained to certain consumer groups. To succeed with the transformation of the transport sector, more consumer groups need to have access to EVs, which can be accomplished with a well-established market for used EVs. The knowledge about financial factors for used EVs need to increase. The purpose of this study is to understand if well-known financial factors influencing purchase decisions for new EVs have similar effects on purchase decisions for used EVs. As in previous studies, this study applies a quantitative research approach where an online survey has been designed with liker-scale questions. A total of 90 respondents in varying age groups answered the survey based on five categories of financial factors: financial incentives, purchasing price, operational costs, maintenance costs, and residual value. The data has been analyzed using Spearman correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and ordered logistic regression. The Spearman correlation found positive significance between the financial factors and the purchase intention of new and used EVs. The factors identified in the PCA are in line with the expected factors as the predefined research model. The ordered logistic regression could however support significant relation with purchase intensions of new EVs the aspect of financial incentives and residual value. For used EVs the regression was not successful. This study shows that the influence of financial incentives on the purchase intention of EVs, are similar to both new EVs as for used EVs. This result is however based on a small data sample that is much smaller than previous studies. For future research it is important to retrieve a larger data sample to improve reliability of the result. The regression analysis did not support the analytical outcome of the Spearman correlation and it needs to be further analyzed why a significant regression model could not be defined in relation to used EVs.

This thesis aims to explore and investigate the state of current investment appraisal practices within Libyan firms. In particular, the thesis attempts to answer four research questions: (1) How do Libyan firms appraise capital investments? (2) Do Libyan firms incorporate risk into their capital investment appraisal processes? (3) Do Libyan firms face capital rationing and, if so, is it externally or internally imposed? and (4) Does the availability of Islamic Finance affect Libyan firms' view of the capital investment appraisal process? This study is based on a qualitative empirical approach, with a subjectivist orientation but a main concern with the sociology of regulation; the interpretive paradigm is employed in this thesis. Rather than simply providing a simple description of the phenomena under investigation, the aim of this thesis is to interpret and understand the issues surrounding the problem being considered. Thus, this study seeks to establish a better understanding about the nature of the capital investment appraisal process in Libyan corporations, and how it differs across Libyan economic sectors. In order to provide evidence and contribute to our knowledge about this topic, two research methods, both compatible with the interpretive paradigm and consistent with the methodology and the researcher’s beliefs about the topic under investigation, are employed. The research methods used are: (i) a semi-structured interviews; then (ii) a questionnaire survey based upon the literature review and on the key results from (i). For the former, 20 interviews were conducted, involving two groups: firm-based interviewees (‘insiders’ working in firms) in five economic sectors with different size and ownership structures and ‘outsider’ interviewees (bankers, academics and chartered accountants). In the second phase, 45 questionnaires were collected from firms which operate in five economic sectors, again with various size and ownership patterns. The main findings indicate that non-financial criteria (e.g. political priorities, State development plan and personal experience) play a more important role than financial factors. While Libyan companies use multiple techniques to appraise capital investments, usage of discounted cash flow techniques (DCF), although increasing is not yet as high as in developed nations, with payback remaining the most popular. The evidence shows that the source of the funding (followed by project size and nature of the project, respectively) also plays a role in choosing the appraisal techniques. Typically, the process of capital investment appraisal in Libya appears to have five stages (determination of budget, research and development, evaluation, authorisation, and monitoring and controlling). Libyan firms consider the first of these as the most important stage. The majority of the respondents employ a post-audit phase of two years or less; about half the sampled firms conduct the post-audit by comparing the actual performance with the feasibility study on which the project was based. The companies consider real options when looking at flexibility, but they have no effect on the choice of the appraisal techniques or the process generally. Similarly, there are no changes in the techniques or the process when advanced manufacturing technology investments are considered. Regarding risk evaluation, this is mostly subjective although scenario analysis and sensitivity analysis are employed to some extent. Around 50% of the firms calculate the cost of capital, but most of these firms do so subjectively (e.g. via interest rate observations), while the rest use CAPM to calculate the cost of capital. Fewer than one in ten of the firms that calculate the cost of capital employ project-specific rates. The majority of the companies noted their experience of capital rationing, mostly of the external variety (primarily reflecting State actions). The majority of the firms claimed to be considering the Libyan Stock Market as source of funding, but not in the near future, essentially because of a lack of knowledge among Libyan companies about its functioning. The findings suggest that use of Islamic finance is not yet common among Libyan firms. However, two thirds of the firms suggested that they would use Islamic financial products to finance their future projects for several reasons; mainly religion, to avoid paying interest or demurrage, plus risk sharing though the use of Islamic financial products such as Musharakah. Those firms, which did not view Islamic finance positively, mentioned the incompatibility of the current products with Islamic Shariah law, suggesting that in reality they are just traditional financial products with Islamic names. Some notable differences between theory and practice emerged in this research. For instance, certain non-financial criteria (e.g. political priorities) were more important than financial factors. Relatedly, there was evidence of external interested parties such as academics seeing practice and ideals differently. This type of finding suggests a key contribution of this study as highlighting the need for contextual specificities to be carefully considered when investigating an issue as (theoretically) straightforward as investment decision-making in practice.

La thèse comporte trois parties, dont l’objet d’étude est l’immobilier soit en s’intéressant directement au marché immobilier résidentiel parisien, soit indirectement en analysant les REITs dont l’actif sous-jacent est l’immobilier. La première partie porte sur l’examen des facteurs macroéconomiques et financiers qui ont influencé, au cours de la période 1996-2010, les prix résidentiels à Paris en appliquant un modèle VAR (vector autoregressive). Dans la deuxième partie, nous analysons, au cours de la période 2007-2012, l’interaction entre les rendements des REITS et les facteurs macroéconomiques/financiers dans dix pays développés (les Etats-Unis, le Canada, l’Australie, l’Europe, la Zone Euro, le Japon, Hong-Kong, la France, le Royaume-Uni et l’Allemagne) en appliquant un modèle VAR. Les REITs investissent sur l’immobilier, mais ils sont cotés sur un marché boursier. Par conséquent, ils héritent des caractéristiques à la fois de l’immobilier et des actions. Ce caractère hybride des REITs nous conduit à nous interroger sur leur risque et le rôle qu’ils peuvent jouer dans la gestion de portefeuille. C’est pourquoi dans la troisième partie nous examinons, au cours de la période 2001-2012, l’effet des deux composantes du risque (bêta et le risque idiosyncratique) et certains facteurs spécifiques aux REITs (taille, rapport Actif Net Comptable / valeur de marché et la mesure d’illiquidité) sur les rendements des REITs européens (la France, l’Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni, les Pays-Bas et l’Italie) en appliquant le modèle à trois facteurs de Fama et French et la méthodologie de Fama et MacBeth. / The thesis consists of three parts, whose purpose is the real estate market either being interested directly in the residential real estate market in Paris, or indirectly by analyzing REITs, whose underlying asset is the real estate. In the first part entitled “Which Macroeconomics and Financial Factors Affect Real Estate Prices in Paris”, we employ a vector autoregressive (VAR) model in order to examine, during the period 1996-2010, the relation between residential prices in Paris and several macroeconomic/financial factors. In the second part entitled “How Legislation, REIT System and Taxes Influence REITs Returns Sensitivity to Macroeconomic and Financial Factors? An International Perspective”, we analyze, by applying a VAR model, during the period 2007-2012, dynamic interactions among REITs returns and macroeconomic factors for ten developed countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Eurozone, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Britain and Germany). REITs invest in real estate and they are publicly traded. Thus they inherit the characteristics of both real estate and stocks. This hybrid nature of REITs reveals the importance of their risk and the role they can play in portfolio management. Therefore, in the third part entitled “Cross-Sectional Expected European REITs Returns : does Volatility Matters ?”, we investigate, during the period 2001-2012, the effect of the two components of risk (beta and idiosyncratic risk) and some specific factors of REITs (size, Net Asset Value to Market Value and illiquidity measure) on European REITs returns (France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy) by applying the Fama and French model and cross-sectional regressions.

With a growing risk of food insecurity in the face of extreme population growth, the world is in need of hands-on solutions that could combine a significant increase in food production while decreasing the effects of agriculture on the environment. Such a solution could be provided through cultivating staple crops in Indoor Vertical Farming facilities, however, due to its high expenses, these developments have stagnated, lacking financial support. As this financial support could be provided by Impact Investors, this thesis explores the relevance of non-financial factors and how they relate to the financial returns as well as how much it influences an Impact Investors decision to invest. The primary data was collected through a quantitative survey, including a fictional scenario based upon the cultivation of wheat in an Indoor Vertical Farming. The results were analyzed and interpreted through the lens of the Willingness to Pay concept and the Rational Choice Theory.The results showed that in the case of this study, the respondents were most willing to pay for the factors water, yield, and emissions. However, regardless of the positive impact of these factors, they lacked the influence to get them to commit to the presented scenario as they still prioritized financial returns as the base of decision. Lastly, another prominent driver behind the investors likelihood to invest was found to be age, where younger investors were much more likely to invest than the older respondents. / Med en ökande risk för livsmedelsosäkerhet parallellt med extrem befolkningstillväxt behöver världen praktiska lösningar som kan kombinera en betydande ökning av livsmedelsproduktionen utan ökad belastning på miljön från intensifierat jordbruk. En sådan lösning kan tillhandahållas genom odling av stapelgrödor i vertikala jordbruksanläggningar inomhus, men på grund av dess höga kostnader blir denna utveckling stagnerad på grund av saknat ekonomiskt stöd. I och med att en möjlig väg att säkra ekonomiska stöd kan tillhandahållas av Impact Investors undersöker denna avhandling relevansen av icke-finansiella faktorer och hur de relaterar till den finansiella avkastningen samt hur mycket det påverkar ett Impact Investors beslut att investera. De primära uppgifterna samlades in genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, baserat på ett fiktivt scenario om odling av vete i ett vertikalt jordbruk inomhus. Resultaten analyserades och tolkades genom perspektiven 'Willingness to Pay' och 'Rational Choice Theory'. Resultaten visade att respondenterna i den här studien var mest villiga att betala för faktorerna vatten, avkastning och utsläpp. Oavsett de positiva effekterna av dessa faktorer saknade de dock tillräckligt inflytande för att få investerarna att helt engagera sig i det presenterade scenariot eftersom de fortfarande prioriterade ekonomisk avkastning som främsta beslutsunderlag. Slutligen visade sig att en annan framstående drivkraft bakom investerarnas sannolikhet att investera var ålder, där yngre investerare var mycket mer benägna att investera än de äldre respondenterna.

The impact of political and economic events on the asset pricing model described by the arbitrage pricing theory (APTM) was examined in order to establish if they had caused any changes in its specification. It was concluded that the APTM is not stationary and that it must be continuously tested before it can be used as political and economic events can change its specification. It was also found that political events had a more direct effect on the specification of the APTM, in that their effect is more immediate, than did economic events, which influenced the APTM by first influencing the economic environment in which it operated. The conventional approach that would have evaluated important political and economic events, case by case, to determine whether they affected the linear factor model (LFM), and subsequently the APTM, could not be used since no correlation was found between the pricing of a risk factor in the LFM and its subsequent pricing in the APTM. A new approach was then followed in which a correlation with a political or economic event was sought whenever a change was detected in the specification of the APTM. This was achieved by first finding the best subset LFM, chosen for producing the highest adjusted R2 , month by month, over 87 periods from 20 October1991 to 21 June 1998, using a combination of nine prespecified risk factors (five of which were proxies for economic events and one for political events). Multivariate analysis techniques were then used to establish which risk factors were priced most often during the three equal subperiods into which the 87 periods were broken up. Using the above methodology, the researcher was able to conclude that political events changed the specification of the APTM in late 1991. After the national elections in April 1994 it was found that the acceptance of South Africa into the world economic community had again changed the specification of the APTM and the two most important factors were proxies for economic events. / Business Leadership / DBL

The impact of political and economic events on the asset pricing model described by the arbitrage pricing theory (APTM) was examined in order to establish if they had caused any changes in its specification. It was concluded that the APTM is not stationary and that it must be continuously tested before it can be used as political and economic events can change its specification. It was also found that political events had a more direct effect on the specification of the APTM, in that their effect is more immediate, than did economic events, which influenced the APTM by first influencing the economic environment in which it operated. The conventional approach that would have evaluated important political and economic events, case by case, to determine whether they affected the linear factor model (LFM), and subsequently the APTM, could not be used since no correlation was found between the pricing of a risk factor in the LFM and its subsequent pricing in the APTM. A new approach was then followed in which a correlation with a political or economic event was sought whenever a change was detected in the specification of the APTM. This was achieved by first finding the best subset LFM, chosen for producing the highest adjusted R2 , month by month, over 87 periods from 20 October1991 to 21 June 1998, using a combination of nine prespecified risk factors (five of which were proxies for economic events and one for political events). Multivariate analysis techniques were then used to establish which risk factors were priced most often during the three equal subperiods into which the 87 periods were broken up. Using the above methodology, the researcher was able to conclude that political events changed the specification of the APTM in late 1991. After the national elections in April 1994 it was found that the acceptance of South Africa into the world economic community had again changed the specification of the APTM and the two most important factors were proxies for economic events. / Business Leadership / DBL