The real options-based conceptual framework for alliance-making presented here responds to the challenge of developing a new metrics for managing strategic partnerships in the face of uncertainty. Such a framework involves: mapping (and selecting one of) the various staged paths envisioned for...

This paper utilizes the information collected in three Surveys on Italian Manufacturing Firms to make inferences about the characteristics of those enterprises using equity capital as the only source of finance when funding their investments. In fact, while the role of external bank debt to the...