Real Options in Strategic Management

Advances in Strategic Management ∙ Volume 24 (2007)

Jeffrey J. Reuer and Tony W. Tong, Editors

 

 

 

Real options theory has attracted significant interest in the field of strategic management in recent years.  Advocates of the real options approach emphasize that importing concepts from financial economics on options holds out the potential of yielding new insights on strategic decision-making under uncertainty as well as boundary-of-the-firm issues that are the focus of competitive and corporate strategy, respectively.  Real options theory is distinctive because it highlights the combined importance of uncertainty and managerial discretion, and it presents a dynamic view of firms’ investment and organizational governance decisions.  Scholars also see promise in real options as a normative theory that can bridge corporate strategy and finance by injecting strategic reality into capital budgeting models while also bringing the discipline of financial markets into strategic thinking.

 

At the same time, there is much debate and confusion about the merits and promise of real options in strategy.  Despite its analytical appeal and history, the techniques of real options analysis have yet to take root in the world of practice in any broad-based fashion.  Others emphasize that many of the assumptions underlying standard financial option valuation models do not hold in strategic contexts for resource development and deployment, implying that any use of real options may be limited to simple metaphors at best.  While considerable progress has been made in conceptualizing different types of real options for various strategic investments, considerably less has been done to empirically validate the core propositions of real options theory.  Even less is known on the side of organization.

 

In light of the recent interest in real options as well as some of these trends in the field, this volume examines the ways in which real options theory can contribute to strategic management.  Given the boundary-spanning nature of this theory, both strategy and finance scholars have contributed chapters to take stock of our current understanding of real options and tackle the research agenda.  In addition to conceptual pieces that unearth some of the key stumbling blocks and trace out pathways for real options theory to move forward, several chapters offer theoretical and empirical analyses of real options in different strategic contexts.

 

The result is that the compendium provides a forum for readers interested in this area to find a dialogue on the theory’s progress and prospects and a catalyst for further research on real options in the strategy field.

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Real Options in Strategic Management

Tony Tong and Jeffrey Reuer

Advances in Real Options Research in Strategy

2. Real Options:  Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

Yong Li, Barclay E. James, Ravi Madhavan, and Joseph T. Mahoney

3. Real Options Theory and International Strategy: A Critical Review

Jing Li

4. Joint Ventures and Real Options: An Integrated Perspective

Ilya Cuypers and Xavier Martin

5. How Do Real Options Matter? Empirical Research on Strategic Investments and Firm Performance

Jeffrey Reuer and Tony Tong

Real Options and Strategic Investment Decisions

6. Strategic Growth Options in Network Industries

Lihui Lin and Nalin Kulatilaka

7. Market versus Managerial Valuations of Real Options

Timothy Folta and Jonathan O’Brien

8. Deferral and Growth Options under Sequential Innovation

Michael Leiblein and Arvids Ziedonis

9. Business Methods Patents as Real Options: Value and Disclosure as Drivers of Litigation

Atul Nerkar, Srikanth Paruchuri, and Mukti Khaire

10. Managing a Portfolio of Real Options

Jay Anand, Raffaele Oriani, and Roberto Vassolo

Organizational and Managerial Dimensions of Real Options

11. Capabilities, Real Options, and the Resource Allocation Process

Catherine Maritan and Todd Alessandri

12. Real Options Meet Organization Theory: Coping with Path Dependencies, Agency Costs, and Organizational Form

Russell Coff and Kevin Laverty

13. Real Options and Resource Reallocation Processes

Ron Adner

14. Why Invest in Firm-Specific Human Capital? A Real Options View of Employment Contracts

Todd Fister and Anju Seth

Performance Implications of Real Options

15. An Examination of Options Embedded in a Firm’s Patents:  The Value of Dispersion in Citations

Tailan Chi and Edward Levitas

16. Technology Switching Option and the Market Value of the Firm: A Model and an Empirical Test

Raffaele Oriani

17. Strategic Implications of Valuation: Evidence from Valuing Growth Options

Todd Alessandri, Diane Lander, and Richard Bettis

18. An Empirical Examination of Management of Real Options in the U.S. Venture Capital Industry

Isin Guler

 


·  Go to Advances in Strategic Management Main Page

·  Go to The Embeddedness of Strategy, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 13

·  Go to Disciplinary Roots of Strategic Management, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 15

·  Go to Interorganizational Learning and Industry Change, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 16

·  Go to Economics meets Sociology in Strategic Management, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 17

·  Go to Multiunit Organization and Multimarket Strategy, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 18

·  Go to The New Institutionalism in Strategic Management, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 19

·  Go to Geography and Strategy, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 20

·  Go to Strategy over the Industry Life-cycle, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 21

·         Go to Strategy Process, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 22

·         Go to Strategy Process, Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 23

 

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