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Strategy is ultimately aimed at creating shareholder value. We examine the relationship among intrinsic (DCF) value, market value, and the value of growth options using a “perfect foresight” model. Our findings suggest that Kester's (1984) initial assessment of growth option values may not hold under alternative valuation models. We highlight important issues in the valuation of growth options related to market expectations, modeling assumptions and estimation methods. The findings suggest that the firm's growth option value depends on three factors, each of which impacts investor expectations: (1) the macroeconomic environment; (2) the industry in which the firm participates; and (3) firm specific factors.

The “time value of money principle,” a building block of finance theory and practice, states that money today is worth more than money in the future. In this chapter, we argue that this principle is not consistent with intergenerational equity or sustainability.

We demonstrate that standard capital budgeting negatively affects sustainability by presenting two numerical examples and by discussing the role of financial markets in the time value of money and the discount rate. We then discuss Silvio Gesell’s (1862–1930) concept of Freigeld as a possible alternative framework for a “socially optimal” discount rate.

We show that the time value of money principle, as employed in standard capital budgeting techniques, tends to reject sustainable projects (that only break even in the long run) and accept unsustainable projects (that break even in the short term but entail significant long-term negative externalities). We find that fiat currencies offer interesting perspectives in the context of sustainability.

We show that money, interest rates and investment valuation techniques are not merely technical tools, but have important institutional, social, and political attributes. Taken together with current global demands for sustainability, this observation could justify a new research agenda seeking to redefine current capital budgeting techniques.

We stress that the “time value of money principle” should not be viewed as a technical tool, but rather, as a social and political construct. We argue that the principle needs to be reconsidered given the current global sustainability crisis.

The economics literature considers that externalities indicate a market failure, to which policy makers should respond by introducing optimal tax incentives and regulation. At the same time, the management studies literature has proposed a set of initiatives to align corporate governance with sustainability principles. This chapter examines an issue that concerns both these literatures, that is, the relationship between sustainability and the time value of money.

The purpose of this chapter is to outline new methodological developments in business valuation, with particular attention to how those developments are being used in litigation involving lost profits and the value of operating businesses. In addition to methodological developments, the chapter also includes a discussion of recent legal developments, particularly selected cases that affect the use and standards for business valuation techniques within litigation settings. Finally, the chapter includes a mathematical appendix.

Country risk is an important determinant for foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. Over the lifetime of an FDI project, country risk can change due to political, social, or economic events in a country. However, how changing country risk influences FDI decisions has not been fully investigated. Therefore, the goal of this study is to provide a theoretical conceptualization of how dynamic risk developments affect FDI. We follow a financial theoretical perspective and base our propositions on discounted cash-flow models. We propose that a positive trend in country risk, where country risk is expected to decrease over time, increases FDI probability. What is more, we propose that predictability of this trend positively moderates this effect, but that high amplitude and high frequency in risk changes reduce the positive effect of a positive trend on FDI. Finally, our theoretical model proposes that firms of different size can manage dynamic risk developments differently: large firms can better deal with high-amplitude changes, whereas small firms can better deal with high frequency changes in country risk. With this study, we want to contribute to a better understanding of how dynamic environments influence investment decisions and introduce a long-term perspective of country risk.

The purpose of this chapter is to serve as a basic guide to introduce the reader to different types of valuation techniques utilized when valuing new technologies. The goal is to familiarize the reader with the differing techniques along with some of the issues in utilizing them. The chapter begins with the foundation of corporate finance – the time value of money – and moves through brief discussions on discounted cash flow, decision tree analysis, Monte-Carlo analysis, and real option analysis. The chapter ends with a discussion emphasizing the need to place valuation into a larger context of firm control rights and ownership.