The manager for a growing firm is considering the launch of a new product. If the product goes directly to market, there is a 50 percent chance of success. For $167,000 the manager can conduct a focus group that will increase the products chance of success to 65 percent. Alternatively, the manager has the option to pay a consulting firm $382,000 to research the market and refine the product. The consulting firm successfully launches new products 80 percent of the time. If the firm successfully launches the product, the payoff will be $1.82 million. If the product is a failure, the NPV is zero. Calculate the NPV for each option available for the project. (Do not round intermediate calculations and enter your answers in dollars, not millions of dollars, rounded to the nearest whole number, e.g., 1,234,567.)

Which action should the firm undertake?

multiple choice

Go to market now

Focus group

Consulting firm