Question
Please provide me a detailed answer for this question. ICIs Canadian subsidiary (now part of AkzoNobel) discovered a new but unpatentable application for a chemical
Please provide me a detailed answer for this question.
ICIs Canadian subsidiary (now part of AkzoNobel) discovered a new but unpatentable application for a chemical agent to reduce pulp-mill water pollution.17 However, everything was quite uncertain, and the management was trying to decide whether to go ahead with its R&D or abandon the product. The following questions indicate the primary risks:
- Would market tests confirm that there is a significant market for the product and could the company develop a new process for making this productthat is, is it technically feasible?
- After a production process is developed, would the companys board sanction production on a commercial scale?
- Would the venture turn out to be commercially successful?
The management team assumed that each of these questions had a yes or no answer. The probabilities of yes answers are shown below. The plus-or-minus values indicate managements uncertainty about the true probabilities.
Significant market and technical feasibility (P1) | 0.36 0.09 |
Board sanctions plant (P2) | 0.8 0.2 |
Commercial success (P3) | 0.8 0.2 |
The primary economic factors and their expense/gain (in million dollars) were the following:
- The marketing development cost to determine whether there is a significant market, and research expenses to identify a new production process for the product (C1): $1 25%
- The process development costs, including pre-sanction engineering and commercial development (C2): $3.5 25%
- The commercial development costs after the boards sanction (C3): $1.0 25%
- The venture value (net present value) if successful (R): $25 50%
The plus-or-minus values indicate managements considerable uncertainty about the values.
Should management go ahead with R&D for this product? How can this question be fully answered?
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