Verena Hagspiel
| Date of PhD defense: | 20 December 2011 |
| Title of thesis: | Flexibility in Technology Choice: A Real Options Approach |
| ISBN: | 978 90 5668 306 1 |
| Promotor: | Prof.dr. Peter Kort |
| Co-promotor: | Dr. Kuno Huisman |
Abstract:
Advances in manufacturing technologies and changing market conditions have led to a shift in production from dedicated to flexible production systems during the last decades. And, the importance of flexible technologies continues to increase in many sectors of industry. Therefore, firms need to understand the specific advantages of flexible technologies and take this knowledge into account when making investment decisions.
This thesis contains three studies that evaluate investment decisions under uncertainty applying the theory of real options. The first two studies analyze investment decisions in flexible technology taking into account demand uncertainty, investment timing and size. More specifically, the first study analyzes the investment decision in production flexible capacity compared to production inflexible capacity. The second study derives an optimal investment strategy in product-flexible production systems and specifies the value of product-flexibility.
The third study addresses the timing of technology adoption taking into account that the arrival and value of new technologies are uncertain. Specifically, it is assumed that the rate of arrival of new technologies changes over time.
Global / English