In this paper, the process for firms to decide whether or not to invest in corporate social responsibility is treated from a real option perspective. We extend the Husted (2005) framework with an important extra parameter that allows us to understand the timing of CSR investment and explain why...

Multi-staged R&D projects are copy-book cases of compound real options. Traditional compound option models assume a constant volatility over the lifetime of the project. Building on the n-fold compound option model of Cassimon et al. (2004), we extend this model to allow for phase-specific...

This paper applies an alternative model to analyze criminal behaviour by countries based on real option models. Criminal options incorporate a richer framework than traditional cost-benefit models and allow examining the optimal timing of a crime as criminals have the possibility but not the...

This paper investigates the effects of uncertainty on the investment behaviour using firm-level data for a sample of Belgian manufacturing firms. In general, the results confirm former analysis at the aggregate level, stating that uncertainty does matter but that the sign of the effect and its...

This paper develops a framework for devising an adequate financial architecture for the so-called "new economy" firms, suggesting that these firms need a distinct and different optimal capital structure and corporate control or corporate governance mechanisms. It is shown that an adequate...

Corporate Social Responsibility is a quite recent concept in Belgium which has gained significant momentum since 1995. In May 1997, Belgium set up a legal framework for sustainable development. In April 2006, the government adopted a Reference Framework for CSR followed in 2007 by the CSR action...