Integrated method for assessing and planning uncertain technology investments

Abstract

We propose a method for assessment and planning of uncertain technology investments, in the context of corporate venture capital. It addresses three main issues. It is an integrated approach that starts from the technology, and proceeds to exhaustively cover the entire process that precedes valuation; it explicitly supports the identification of synergies between parent corporation and technology venture; it provides an improved treatment of uncertainty, adopting a broader view on the identification of uncertainty and sources of managerial flexibility, and starting to address it sooner, in the opportunity development phase. It is facilitated by a suite of practical tools. We provide a detailed description of the method and demonstrate its application with an illustrative case study.