Author: Shelley Leigh MacDougall
Publisher:
Published: 1997
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
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This thesis studies the implementation stage of the capital budgeting process for investments in advanced manufacturing technology. Of interest is how companies resolve problems, or misalignments, arising in this stage, the nature of the evaluation of alternative adaptations and the implications for project goals, real options and success. The study builds on the capital budgeting literature by going beyond the pre-adoption stage and following projects through installation, commissioning and consolidation. Knowledge gained of implementation by researchers of innovation is introduced, marrying it with the concepts of wealth-maximization and measures of financial success. A new conceptualization of the capital budgeting process is presented. The case study method was used for the purpose of developing grounded theory. Four small-to-medium sized, privately owned organizations in Nova Scotia, Canada were studied in depth. They were in various stages of implementation on advanced manufacturing technology, including one in the pre-installation stage. All companies encountered misalignments and adaptations in the implementation of their investment. There were varying degrees of success and satisfaction with the projects. Collected data was grouped and regrouped by independent variables. As patterns emerged, propositions were developed summarizing these patterns. Observations pertaining to the evaluation of adaptations included the following:o The expenditure required to resolve a misaligrunent was measured against the overall project cost or the original benefits to be gained from making the equipment work.o Managers occasionally evaluated adaptations using a TINA (There Is No Alternative) rationale when dealing with economic investments and technical misalignments, when there was a sense of urgency or production was highly dependent on the technology.o Decisions were overshadowed by earlier decisions and the alternatives contemplated became fewer as implementation progressed.o There was a tendency of both operators and management to revert to old practices in the face of implementation misaligriments. Partial abandonment was also noted as a response to misalignments.o For the most part, companies held true to project goals, although these were modified as the limitations of the technology and the organization were learned and compromises were needed.o Measures of success were generally lowered and lengthened through implementation.o As the companies adapted to implementation misalignments, changes were made to the real options and their value. Changes to real options were observed and compiled. Most prevalent were delays in the earliest possible exercise and the changes to the quantity of options. The threats to real option value observed in this study urges us to revise the valuation of such investments. The development of options in the earliest stages of implementation was also observed, offering insight into how real options are created. Some of the characteristics of those companies whose emphasis on real options increased or decreased were noted in this study. The presence or absence of these qualities has implications for predicting changes to the real option value of investments. Finally, the study joins up with the post-auditing literature by making recommendations for post-auditing to help achieve project success. Overall, this study serve's to broaden the definition of the implementation stage of capital budgeting to include decision and evaluation of adaptations for the misalignments that almost invariably occur and open it up for further study. It gives recognition to the importance and complexity of the implementation stage and the impact of misaligrunents and adaptations on real options, achievement of project goals and project feasibility.
