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Article
Publication date: 9 October 2023

Sachidanandam Sakthivel

Cost-benefit (C/B) analysis helps to determine the economic feasibility of business software investments. Research literature and published practices do not recognize substantial…

Abstract

Purpose

Cost-benefit (C/B) analysis helps to determine the economic feasibility of business software investments. Research literature and published practices do not recognize substantial software maintenance costs in C/B analysis. Current analyses emphasize the benefits of an initial investment but do not consider the recurring benefits of each enhancement during the software lifecycle. Such analyses could lead to incorrect investment decisions and lost business opportunities. This article aims to review current research on software lifecycle costs and develop a theoretically sound C/B analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

This article reviews current C/B analyses and discusses their shortcomings in treating the significant recurring maintenance costs. It analyzes the findings of various studies on software maintenance and synthesizes these findings to identify the nature of various maintenance costs and their benefits. Based on the synthesis, it theorizes various cost and benefit elements for inclusion in a revised C/B analysis.

Findings

This article identifies each recurring maintenance cost relevant to C/B analysis. It also identifies recurring benefits from each enhancement that hitherto have been omitted. Finally, this article discusses how these costs and benefits should be treated in the revised C/Bs analysis.

Research limitations/implications

This is a conceptual paper proposing a new C/B analysis and requires an empirical validation.

Practical implications

This article provides a revision of the C/B analysis that is long overdue. It will help to justify a software investment correctly, rank software projects that compete for limited funds and help create a sound software project portfolio. Since 20% of software products may incur 80% of software investment, this analysis will help to make correct software investments and avoid lost business opportunities. This article also describes a practical method to use the revised C/B analysis.

Originality/value

This article provides a revision of the C/B analysis that is long overdue. It will help to justify a software investment correctly, rank software projects that compete for limited funds and help create a sound software project portfolio. Since 20% of software products may incur 80% of software investment, this analysis will help to make correct software investments and avoid lost business opportunities. This article also describes a practical method to use the revised C/B analysis.

Details

American Journal of Business, vol. 38 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1935-5181

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1985

Yash Gupta and Wing Sing Chow

This article surveys the literature dealing with theory and applications of life cycle costing (LCC). It deals with the literature published in the last 25 years and provides 667…

1033

Abstract

This article surveys the literature dealing with theory and applications of life cycle costing (LCC). It deals with the literature published in the last 25 years and provides 667 references.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1973

IN 1971 there were 1,207 scaffolding accidents, 14 of them fatal. This revelation was made by Mr. Dudley Smith, M.P., Parliamentary Under‐Secretary of State at the Department of…

Abstract

IN 1971 there were 1,207 scaffolding accidents, 14 of them fatal. This revelation was made by Mr. Dudley Smith, M.P., Parliamentary Under‐Secretary of State at the Department of Employment, in his recent speech at the Scaffolding Training Centre. In view of his further comments, and the fact that many construction companies operate work study departments, much of what he had to say is worth more publicity than it has so far received.

Details

Work Study, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0043-8022

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2017

Sang Kyum Kim

The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the alternative way of discounting, such as the hyperbolic discount method, for the economic feasibility test on Free…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the alternative way of discounting, such as the hyperbolic discount method, for the economic feasibility test on Free Trade Zone development project that needs intergenerational analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyze the effects of applying alternative discounting method in the cost-benefit analysis, this paper uses the hyperbolic discount method and HM-Treasury’s method (Britain), as well as the traditional exponential discount method. Also, this study uses benefit and cost data from the actual feasibility test of the Free Trade Zone development project in Korea, to obtain better policy implication.

Findings

For the case of long-term analysis, using the exponential discounting method in the benefit-cost analysis could not give us balanced analytic results, because it discounts too much on future generation’s benefits. In contrast, if we use the hyperbolic discounting method, we could obtain better balanced results since it can control the generational effects. This paper also finds that for the results to be valid, the analysis period must be expanded long enough (a minimum of 100 years).

Originality/value

The major findings of this paper confirm the results of previous studies regarding long-term benefit-cost analysis. Also, the result of this paper is properly compatible with the findings of behavioral economics, such as the time inconsistency of preferences. However, no research has been done with the proper length of analytic periods for using hyperbolic discounting yet. To examine this matter, this paper performs benefit-cost analysis with actual data from the feasibility studies in Korea. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to find the proper length of analytic periods that can be compatible with the hyperbolic discount method.

Details

Journal of Korea Trade, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1229-828X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 November 2022

Murat Kizildag, Jeffrey Thomas Weinland and Ilhan Demirer

The main stance of this paper is to draw an authentic and rigorous outlook in terms of the financial and operational performance of small lodging establishments (SLEs) and put…

Abstract

Purpose

The main stance of this paper is to draw an authentic and rigorous outlook in terms of the financial and operational performance of small lodging establishments (SLEs) and put forth achievable and practical economic solutions that demonstrate the relative effectiveness of the adopted measures. This paper also suggests practical solutions to help minimize SLEs' financial vulnerability to long-term crisis and to boost their resilience with relative measures by applying recovery revival strategies for this particular segment of the lodging industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have picked a locally owned resort hotel in Central Florida area and structured a real-life, case study-based inductive approach that is purposeful and offers rich economic outlook and analysis for the entire lodging industry, especially for the resort-hotel type of accommodation facilities. The main reason for why they only focus on one company is that they can fully understand the financial effects of COVID-19 on resort type of hotels and layout countering strategies. To achieve paper objectives, they have implemented cost–benefit (CB), break-even (B-E) analyses along with a sensitivity testing approach.

Findings

The most striking result was that during the state-mandated shutdown period in 2020, overhead and overall operational costs associated with room sales and revenues were very high during this period that shrank the contribution margin ratio for rooms CMRw (room) and eventually yielded high sales volumes to be achieved at the B-E points vs lower sales volumes with almost the same average daily rate (ADR) levels needed for the B-E levels.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies should specifically delve further into a portfolio of SLEs in the region or state or nation wise because the units comprising the SLEs might be too small to muster the changes required to bounce forward for the entire lodging industry in the world.

Practical implications

The resort's revenue re-optimization focus should center on financial re-benchmarking and business re-viability stress under different levels of shock scenarios. According to the different scenarios and calibrations for the ADRs, room nights, net present values (NPVs) of cash flows and profit margins derived from our main analyses, minimizing expenses and preserving cash would be the best key strategy for financial recovery during an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

It is obvious that the lodging, hospitality and tourism industry are the hardest-hit industries by the harsh and adverse effects of COVID-19. The effects of pandemic are differently shaped on operations in different industries and subsectors. Therefore, the operational and financial evaluation for the SLEs as the core and a catalyst in the entire lodging industry can shed a light on the strategic financial recovery procedures with broadly applicable real-life and endogenous capabilities and reasoning.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 March 2023

Anderson Ferreira De Lima, Walter Cardoso Satyro, José Celso Contador, Marco Aurélio Fragomeni, Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves, Mauro Luiz Martens and Fabio Henrique Pereira

This study aims to broaden the understanding of the additive manufacturing (AM) body of knowledge, presenting a model better suited to the current level of technological…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to broaden the understanding of the additive manufacturing (AM) body of knowledge, presenting a model better suited to the current level of technological development that supports the decision to implement AM in industries, based on the experience of companies in the industry of orthopedic medical implants.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the design-science research, the model for the decision to adopt the AM was designed and submitted to experts from the industry of orthopedic implants in Brazil for refinement. For the empirical test of the final model, interviews were used in a company that was considering implementing AM and in another that was not, to evaluate the model.

Findings

The model considers seven dimensions for decision analysis of AM implementation: legal constraints, financial, technological, operational, organizational, supply chain and external factors, being subdivided into 42 criteria that play a relevant role in the implementation decision. The analysis factor of each dimension and criteria are also presented.

Originality/value

The model seeks to be as complete as possible and can be used by various industrial productive sectors, incorporating the analysis of the requirements of health regulatory agencies, suitable for the analysis of the decision to implement AM for the manufacturing of medical implants, not found in other models.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1975

J.P. Bannister and F. Withey

This is the fourth comprehensive register of current research in marketing to appear in this Journal. It is hoped that it will prove useful as a source of information to all those…

Abstract

This is the fourth comprehensive register of current research in marketing to appear in this Journal. It is hoped that it will prove useful as a source of information to all those with interests in the subject. The projects listed do not include research work undertaken by commercial organisations or studies conducted in educational institutions where the results are not intended to be generally available. Otherwise, every effort has been made to obtain basic information from research workers willing to discuss their efforts with other interested individuals.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2004

Göran Svensson

The author argues that the unidirectional measurement and evaluation of the dependence in a specific relationship is not enough to understand the existing dependence between two…

Abstract

The author argues that the unidirectional measurement and evaluation of the dependence in a specific relationship is not enough to understand the existing dependence between two actors in a dyadic relationship, but a bi‐directional approach may be necessary. Furthermore, a bi‐directional approach may not always be sufficient to understand the dependencies in a specific relationship. The incorporation of a third actor may improve the understanding of dependencies in dyadic business relationships. Therefore, a method is applied to analyze the dynamics of dependence in triadic business networks.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2009

Hsin‐I Huang and Jau‐Chuan Ke

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cost/benefit (C/B) analysis of four configurations for a repairable system with two primary components/units and one standby.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cost/benefit (C/B) analysis of four configurations for a repairable system with two primary components/units and one standby.

Design/methodology/approach

The four configurations are set to the status of the detection and switching failure of standby, as well as the possible reboot of failed units. The time to failure for each of the primary and standby is assumed to follow an exponential distribution. The time to repair and the time to reboot is assumed to have a k‐stage Erlang distribution. The paper develops the explicit expressions of the mean time to failure (or MTTF) and the steady‐state availability (or A) for four various configurations and performed some comparative analysis. Based on the C/B criterion, comparisons are made for specific values of distribution parameters and of the costs of the units. The four various configurations for a repairable system are ranked by using MTTF, A and C/B, where B is either MTTF or A.

Findings

Although it is uncertain which configuration is the optimal one among the four ones, the paper provides much comparative information to manager and manufacturers. Managers can use these results to choose the best configuration according to the used data of parameters and selections of the weight of MTTF or Cost/MTTF.

Originality/value

This paper shows a comparative analysis for a two‐unit online repairable system with one standby under four different configurations. It is the first discussion of comparable work on reliability and availability models for redundant repairable systems in which the units are characterized by detection, switching failure and reboot.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1978

Peter J. Taylor

In beginning its work at the end of the 1950s, the Aslib Research and Development Department inevitably faced the task of identifying the most significant problems for…

Abstract

In beginning its work at the end of the 1950s, the Aslib Research and Development Department inevitably faced the task of identifying the most significant problems for investigation, at the same time having the need to establish appropriate experimental techniques. Most of the projects undertaken since that time have dealt with current problems, and to an extent the advent of new technologies and techniques to the information world (mechanization in the 'sixties, management studies in the early 'seventies, on‐line working and publication problems in more recent years) is reflected in the work reported below. What follows is a complete bibliography of publications by members of the Department from its formation up to the end of 1977.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

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