Abstract

Resource allocation is a core business milestone in a firm’s product development process: Maximize the final value derived from allocating resources into an appropriate product mix. Optimal engineering design typically deals with determining the best product based on technological (and, occasionally, cost) requirements. Linking technological with business decisions allows the firm to follow a resource allocation process that directly considers not only the resources to invest in different products but also the appropriate physical properties of these products. Thus, optimal designs are determined within an enterprise context that maximizes the firm’s value. The article demonstrates how this integration can be accomplished analytically using a simple example in automotive product development.

References

1.
Dixit
,
A.
, 1992, “
Investment and Hysteresis
,”
J. Econom. Perspect.
,
6
, pp.
107
132
.
2.
Onno
,
L.
, and
Pennings
,
E.
. “
The Option Approach to the New Product Development Process
,” Working paper,
Erasmus University
, 1998.
3.
McDonald
,
R.
, and
Siegel
,
D.
, “
The Value of Waiting to Invest
,”
Quart. J. Econom.
0033-5533,
101
, pp.
707
727
.
4.
Pindyck
,
R. S.
, 1991, “
Irreversibility, Uncertainty and Investment
,”
J. Econom. Lit.
0022-0515,
29
,
1110
1148
.
5.
Hazelrigg
,
G. A.
, 1998, “
A Framework for Decision Based Engineering Design
,”
J. Mech. Des.
1050-0472,
120
, pp.
653
658
.
6.
Marston
,
M.
, and
Mistree
,
F.
, 1998, “
An Implementation of Expected Utility Theory in Decision Based Design
,” in ASME DETC, Atlanda, GA. DETC1998/DTM-5670.
7.
Gu
,
X.
,
Renaud
,
J. E.
,
Ashe
,
L. M.
,
Batill
,
S. M.
,
Budhiraja
,
A. S.
, and
Krajewski
,
L. J.
, 2002, “
Decision-Based Collaborative Optimization
,”
J. Mech. Des.
1050-0472,
124
, pp.
1
13
.
8.
Li
,
H.
, and
Azarm
,
S.
, 2000, “
Product Design Selection Under Uncertainty and With Competitive Advantage
,”
J. Mech. Des.
1050-0472,
122
,
411
418
.
9.
Li
,
H.
, and
Azarm
,
S.
, 2002, “
An Approach for Product Line Design Selection Under Uncertainty and Competition
,”
J. Mech. Des.
1050-0472,
124
, pp.
385
392
.
10.
Wassenaar
,
H. J.
, and
Chen
,
W.
, 2003, “
An Approach to Decision-Based Design
,”
J. Mech. Des.
1050-0472,
125
, pp.
490
497
.
11.
Marston
,
M.
,
Allen
,
J. K.
, and
Mistree
,
F.
, 2000, “
The Decision Support Problem Technique: Integrating Descriptive and Normative Approaches in Decision-Based Design
,”
J. Eng. Valuation Cost Analysis
,
3
, pp.
107
129
.
12.
Carr
,
P.
,
Geman
,
H.
, and
Madan
,
D. B.
, 2001, “
Pricing and Hedging in Incomplete Markets
,”
J. Financ. Econ.
0304-405X,
62
, pp.
131
167
.
13.
Brealey
,
R. A.
, and
Myers
,
S. C.
, 2000
Principles of Corporate Finance
,
McGraw-Hill
, New York.
14.
McKinsey & Company
,
Copeland
,
T.
,
Koller
,
T.
, and
Murrin
,
J.
, 2000,
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies
,
Wiley
, New York.
15.
Trigeorgis
,
L.
, 1998,
Real Options, Managerial Flexibility and Strategy in Resource Allocation
,
The MIT Press
, Cambridge, MA.
16.
Teece
,
D.
, 1986, “
Profiting From Technological Innovation: Implications for Integration, Collaboration, Licensing and Public Policy
,”
Res. Policy
0048-7333,
15
, pp.
285
305
.
17.
WardAuto
, 1998–00,
Automotive Yearbook
,
Ward’s Communication
, Southfield, MI.
18.
Irvine
,
F. O.
, 1983, “
Demand Equations for Individual New Car Models Estimated Using Transaction Prices With Implications for Regulatory Issues
,”
Southern-Economic-Journal
,
49
, pp.
746
782
.
19.
Berry
,
S.
,
Levinsohn
,
J.
, and
Pakes
,
A.
, 1995, “
Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium
,”
Econometrica
0012-9682,
63
, pp.
841
890
.
20.
Clyde
,
P.
, 2001,
Business Economics 501
,
University of Michigan Business School
, Ann Arbor, MI.
21.
Berry
,
S.
, 1994, “
Estimating Discrete Choice Models of Product Differentiation
,”
RAND J. Economics
,
23
, pp.
242
262
.
22.
Georgiopoulos
,
P.
, 2003, “
Enterprise-wide Product Design: Linking Optimal Design Decisions to the Theory of the Firm
,” DEng thesis, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
23.
Pindyck
,
R. S.
, and
Rubinfeld
,
D. L.
, 1997,
Microeconomics
, 4th ed.,
Prentice-Hall
, New York, 4th ed..
24.
Besanko
,
D.
,
Dranova
,
D.
, and
Shanley
,
M.
, 2000,
The Economics of Strategy
, 2nd ed.,
Wiley and Sons
, New York.
25.
Wipke
,
K.
, and
Cuddy
,
M.
, 1996, “Using an Advanced Vehicle Simulator (Advisor) to Guide Hybrid Vehicle Propulsion System Development,” Technical Report S/EV96, NREL.
26.
WSJ
. “
Detroit Again Attempts to Dodge Pressures for a ‘Greener’ Fleet
,”
Wall St. J.
0099-9660, 1/28/2002.
27.
Koujianou-Goldberg
,
P.
, 1998, “
The Effects of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards in the Automobile Industry
,”
J. Ind. Economics
,
46
1
pp.
1
33
.
28.
Papalambros
,
P. Y.
, and
Wilde
,
D. J.
, 2000,
Principles of Optimal Design
, 2nd ed.,
Cambridge University Press
, New York.
29.
Tseng
,
C. L.
, and
Barz
,
G.
, 1999, Short-Term Generation Asset Valuation,
32nd Hawaii International Conference
.
30.
Bollen
,
N. P. B.
, 1999, “
Real Options and Product Life Cycles
,”
Manage. Sci.
0025-1909,
45
,
670
684
.
31.
Dixit
,
A. K.
, and
Pindyck
,
R. S.
, 1994,
Investment Under Uncertainty
,
Princeton University Press
, Princeton, NJ.
32.
Pindyck
,
R. S.
, 1988,
Irreversible Investment, Capacity Choice, and the Value of the Firm
,
Am. Econ. Rev.
0002-8282,
78
, pp.
969
985
.
33.
Duffie
,
D.
, 1996,
Dynamic Asset Pricing Theory
, 2nd ed.,
Princeton University Press
, Princeton, NJ.
34.
Jones
,
D. R.
, 2001,
The DIRECT Global Optimization Algorithm
, Vol.
1
,
Kluwer
, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp.
431
443
.
You do not currently have access to this content.