TECHNICAL PAPERS
Jan 15, 2003

How to Evaluate and Invest in Emerging A/E/C Technologies under Uncertainty

This article has been corrected.
VIEW CORRECTION
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 129, Issue 1

Abstract

Many emerging architectural/engineering/construction (A/E/C) technology investments are of strategic importance and may create future growth opportunities. Therefore, from the strategic perspective, management needs a better method that can quantify the strategic value of technology investment and suggest optimal investment strategies when the future is uncertain. This paper presents a quantitative valuation method based on modern option pricing theory for evaluating major investments in emerging A/E/C technologies. This framework considers specifically the technology investment risk and embedded managerial options. It further aligns the investment evaluation process with the financial market. The analysis may help A/E/C firms more accurately evaluate investments in emerging technologies, such as information technology and automation, and make strategic investment decisions under uncertainty.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

Aggarwal, R. (1993). Capital budgeting under uncertainty: New and advanced perspectives, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Black, F., and Scholes, M.(1973). “The pricing of options and corporate liabilities.” J. Political Economy, 81, 637–654.
Copeland, T. E., and Weston, J. F. (1988). Financial theory and corporate policy, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Cox, J., Ross, S., and Rubinstein, M.(1979). “Option pricing: A simplified approach.” J. Financ. Econ., 7, 229–263.
Dixit, A., and Pindyck, R. (1994). Investment under uncertainty, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
Ho, S. P. (2001). “Real options and game theoretic valuation, financing and tendering for investments on build-operate-transfer projects.” PhD thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Ill.
Ho, S. P., and Liu, L. Y.(2002). “An option pricing based model for evaluating the financial viability of privatized infrastructure projects.” Constr. Manage. Econom., 20, 143–156.
Hull, J. C. (1997). Options, futures, and other derivatives, 3rd Ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Kemna, A. G. Z.(1993). “Case studies on real options.” Financial Management, 22, 259–270.
Kester, W.(1984). “Today’s options for tomorrow’s growth.” Harvard Bus. Rev., 62, 153–160.
Luenberger, D. (1998). Investment science, Oxford University Press, New York.
Majd, S., and Pindyck, R. S.(1987). “Time to build, option value, and investment decisions.” J. Financ. Econ., 18, 7–27.
McDonald, R., and Siegel, D.(1985). “Investment and the valuation of firms when there is an option to shut down.” Int. Econom. Rev., 26(2), 331–349.
McDonald, R., and Siegel, D.(1986). “The value of waiting to invest.” Quart. J. Econom., 101, 707–727.
Merton, R. C.(1973a). “An intertemporal capital asset pricing model.” Econometrica, 41, 867–887.
Merton, R. C.(1973b). “Theory of rational option pricing.” Bell J. Economics and Management Science, 4, 141–183.
Mitropoulos, P., and Tatum, C. B.(1999). “Technology adoption decisions in construction organizations.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 125(5), 330–338.
Myers, S. C. (1976). “Using simulation for risk analysis.” Modern developments in financial management, S. C. Myers, ed., Praeger, Westport, Conn.
Schwartz, E. S., and Moon, M. (2000). “Evaluating research and development investments.” Project flexibility, agency, and competition—New development in the theory and application of real options, M. Brennan and L. Trigeorgis, eds., Oxford University Press, New York.
Trigeorgis, L. (1996). Real options: Managerial flexibility and strategy in resource allocation, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Warszawski, A., and Navon, R.(1998). “Implementation of robotics in building: Current status and future prospects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 124(1), 31–41.
Ye, S., and Tiong, R. L. K.(2000). “NPV-at-risk method in infrastructure project investment evaluation.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 126(3), 227–233.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 129Issue 1February 2003
Pages: 16 - 24

History

Received: Dec 20, 2000
Accepted: Feb 26, 2002
Published online: Jan 15, 2003
Published in print: Feb 2003

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

S. Ping Ho, A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan Univ., Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Liang Y. Liu, M.ASCE
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share