Valuation models for Australian biotechnology companies

Biotechnology generated solutions have been hailed as potential cures to many of the problems facing the world today. New therapeutics will eradicate disease, new agricultural products will solve food shortages, and industrial application will improve productivity with reduced environmental impact. Despite the much anticipated benefits of biotechnology, the industry faces significant challenges that must be overcome in the coming decades. Biotechnology is an inherently complex field with a high degree of uncertainty and associated risks. In addition to the risk associated with project development and delivery, businesses looking to extract an economic return from the provision of biotechnology products and services face significant financial risk. This is exacerbated by the long lead times in biotechnology product development and the expensive nature of research and development. This thesis looks investigates the multi faceted problem of biotechnology valuation in Australia using a multi method approach designed to provide greater insight into the valuation challenges facing the industry and identify key value drivers. The approach incorporates a broad qualitative investigation, complimented by more focused quantitative studies into specific valuation issues surrounding IPO and project valuation. Australian biotechnology firms face a significant challenge to raise sufficient capital in order to remain internationally competitive. The current industry structure and funding mechanisms encourage creation of small firms with narrow pipelines, exacerbating the risk of company failure and acting as an impediment to sustainability and, therefore, investment in the sector. Despite the challenges facing the Australian biotechnology industry, the nation possesses a competitive advantage in the strength of local science which, if fully leveraged, should see the development of an internationally competitive industry. Through improved funding mechanisms which encourage the creation of sustainable business models, increased investor participation in the industry should see a greater portion of the value generated through biotechnology retained by local participants. An IPO is likely the largest single capital raising in a company's history. A quantitative investigation into the factors influencing the amount of underpricing and money left on the table for Australian biotechnology IPOs found that the amount of money left on the table was more critical than the level of underpricing. Additionally the impact of market sentiment on biotechnology IPOs was investigated with increased media coverage found to be positively related to the amount of money left on the table. Using project valuation models, the drivers of value over the life of a typical biotechnology project were identified. Key drivers of biotechnology value are commercial viability, coupled with development cost and time. The ability of management to control these elements is crucial. Analysis of project valuations using a traditional DCF model found value estimates exhibited a greater level of uncertainty than those calculated using more contemporary methods of decision tree and real option analysis. Additionally, incorporation of management flexibility into valuation assessment using real options techniques increased the perceived value of biotechnology projects. The value of management flexibility was found to be most relevant for early stage projects where the option to abandon was found to greatly influence values

Understandings stakeholders' justifications : the case of cell-based meat innovation

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Germano Glufke ReisDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração. Defesa : Curitiba, 25/01/2021Inclui referências: p. 110-118Resumo: A carne celular (CBM) é uma inovação emergente que cultiva células animais em um biorreator, sem recorrer ao abate de animais. Tal inovação disruptiva está embutida em um contexto de incerteza e ambiguidade onde as perspectivas dos stakeholders moldam sua legitimidade e desenvolvimento. Ao enfrentar situações de incerteza e novidade, as partes interessadas mostram e/ou tentam estabelecer seus valores empregando justificativas. Assim, este estudo se baseia na Teoria dos Stakeholders (ST) e na Teoria da Justificação (JT) para analisar o caso da inovação da carne celular ao responder à seguinte pergunta: quais são as justificativas empregadas pelos stakeholders dentro da indústria emergente da CBM? Analisando como os stakeholders primários e secundários justificam - ou não - a legitimidade da CBM e suas interações - convergência ou divergência - é possível ilustrar a convenção - valores e práticas compartilhados - da futura indústria de CBM. Para este fim, foram coletadas entrevistas com representantes de cinco grupos de stakeholders recorrentes na literatura da CBM - startups, investidores, multinacionais de carne convencional, ONGs e pesquisadores - e trianguladas com dados secundários, a partir de websites e notícias de 2019 e 2020. A Análise de Justificativa Pública foi aplicada para analisar os dados coletados à luz do modelo da JT para identificar as justificativas priorizadas e para fornecer uma ilustração das convenções de CBM. Os resultados demonstram que as ordens de valor priorizadas entre as partes interessadas foram do mundo verde, de mercado e industriais. Embora tenham sido observadas ambiguidades - por exemplo, o mundo verde usado com propósitos de mercado, os stakeholders analisados convergem para a legitimidade e desenvolvimento da CBM, compartilhando propósitos e valores semelhantes. Além disso, verificou-se também que disputas e justificativas contrárias à legitimidade da CBM estão principalmente relacionadas ao mundo doméstico. As conclusões também indicam que existe uma hierarquia dentro de ordens de valor priorizadas e dentro de tópicos da mesma ordem de valor - por exemplo, em relação ao mundo verde, os impactos ambientais são priorizados quando comparados aos benefícios de bem-estar animal. Assim, este estudo mapeia os principais tópicos relacionados a cada ordem de valor em um estudo de caso de uma inovação; argumentando a favor da aplicação da teoria da justificação em estudos de estratégia. Além disso, a representação das convenções predominantes pode ser usada para influenciar comportamentos e as decisões entre os stakeholders. Palavras-chave: Stakeholders. Teoria da justificação. Inovação da carne celular.Abstract: Cell-based meat (CBM) is an emerging innovation that cultivates animal cells in a bioreactor, without resourcing to the slaughter of animals. Such a disruptive innovation is embedded in a context of uncertainty and ambiguity wherein stakeholders' perspectives shape its legitimacy and development. When facing situations of uncertainty and novelty, stakeholders show and/or attempt to establish their values by employing justifications. Thus, this study builds on Stakeholder Theory (ST) and Justification theory (JT) to analyze the case of the cell-based innovation by answering the following question: what are the justifications employed by stakeholders within the upcoming CBM industry? By analyzing how primary and secondary stakeholders justify - or not - the legitimacy of CBM and their interactions - convergence or divergence - it is possible to illustrate the resulting convention - shared values and practices - of the forthcoming CBM industry. To this end, interviews with representatives of five recurrent stakeholder groups in CBM literature were collected - startups, investors, conventional meat processing multinationals, NGOs, and researchers - and triangulated with secondary data, from websites and news from 2019 and 2020. Public Justification Analysis was applied to analyze the collected data in light of the JT framework to identify the prioritized justifications and to provide an illustration of CBM conventions. The results demonstrate that prioritized orders of worth among stakeholders were green, market, and industrial. Although ambiguities were observed - for instance, the green world used with market purposes, the analyzed stakeholders converge towards CBM legitimacy and development by sharing similar purposes and values. Moreover, it was also found that disputes and justifications contrary to CBM legitimacy are mainly related to the domestic world. The findings also indicate that there is a hierarchy within prioritized orders of worth and within topics from the same order of worth - for instance, regarding the green world, environmental impacts are prioritized when compared to animal welfare benefits. Hence, this study maps the main topics related to each order of worth in a case study of an innovation; thus, arguing for the application of JT in strategy studies. Furthermore, the illustration of predominant conventions may be used to influence future behavior and decisions among stakeholders. Keywords: Stakeholders. Justification theory. Cell-based meat innovation

Digital Entrepreneurship

This open access book explores the global challenges and experiences related to digital entrepreneurial activities, using carefully selected examples from leading companies and economies that shape world business today and tomorrow. Digital entrepreneurship and the companies steering it have an enormous global impact; they promise to transform the business world and change the way we communicate with each other. These companies use digitalization and artificial intelligence to enhance the quality of decisions and augment their business and customer operations. This book demonstrates how cloud services are continuing to evolve; how cryptocurrencies are traded in the banking industry; how platforms are created to commercialize business, and how, taken together, these developments provide new opportunities in the digitalized era. Further, it discusses a wide range of digital factors changing the way businesses operate, including artificial intelligence, chatbots, voice search, augmented and virtual reality, as well as cyber threats and data privacy management. “Digitalization mirrors the Industrial Revolution’s impact. This book provides a complement of perspectives on the opportunities emanating from such a deep seated change in our economy. It is a comprehensive collection of thought leadership mapped into a very useful framework. Scholars, digital entrepreneurs and practitioners will benefit from this timely work.” Gina O’Connor, Professor of Innovation Management at Babson College, USA “This book defines and delineates the requirements for companies to enable their businesses to succeed in a post-COVID19 world. This book deftly examines how to accomplish and achieve digital entrepreneurship by leveraging cloud computing, AI, IoT and other critical technologies. This is truly a unique “must-read” book because it goes beyond theory and provides practical examples.” Charlie Isaacs, CTO of Customer Connection at Salesforce.com, USA "This book provides digital entrepreneurs useful guidance identifying, validating and building their venture. The international authors developed new perspectives on digital entrepreneurship that can support to create impact ventures.” Felix Staeritz, CEO FoundersLane, Member of the World Economic Forum Digital Leaders Board and bestselling author of FightBack, German

Digital Entrepreneurship

This open access book explores the global challenges and experiences related to digital entrepreneurial activities, using carefully selected examples from leading companies and economies that shape world business today and tomorrow. Digital entrepreneurship and the companies steering it have an enormous global impact; they promise to transform the business world and change the way we communicate with each other. These companies use digitalization and artificial intelligence to enhance the quality of decisions and augment their business and customer operations. This book demonstrates how cloud services are continuing to evolve; how cryptocurrencies are traded in the banking industry; how platforms are created to commercialize business, and how, taken together, these developments provide new opportunities in the digitalized era. Further, it discusses a wide range of digital factors changing the way businesses operate, including artificial intelligence, chatbots, voice search, augmented and virtual reality, as well as cyber threats and data privacy management. “Digitalization mirrors the Industrial Revolution’s impact. This book provides a complement of perspectives on the opportunities emanating from such a deep seated change in our economy. It is a comprehensive collection of thought leadership mapped into a very useful framework. Scholars, digital entrepreneurs and practitioners will benefit from this timely work.” Gina O’Connor, Professor of Innovation Management at Babson College, USA “This book defines and delineates the requirements for companies to enable their businesses to succeed in a post-COVID19 world. This book deftly examines how to accomplish and achieve digital entrepreneurship by leveraging cloud computing, AI, IoT and other critical technologies. This is truly a unique “must-read” book because it goes beyond theory and provides practical examples.” Charlie Isaacs, CTO of Customer Connection at Salesforce.com, USA "This book provides digital entrepreneurs useful guidance identifying, validating and building their venture. The international authors developed new perspectives on digital entrepreneurship that can support to create impact ventures.” Felix Staeritz, CEO FoundersLane, Member of the World Economic Forum Digital Leaders Board and bestselling author of FightBack, German

'Public and Private Sector Advanced Materials Strategies in the Late 1990s as Illustrated by the Case of Advanced Metals and Ceramics in Greece'

The thesis investigates the conditions under which technological strengths can be transformed into corporate and industrial competitive advantages. The thesis focuses on advanced materials and advanced materials technologies and argues that this task can be achieved if a minimum set of practices is followed by firms, industries and nations. The thesis builds a set of internationally accepted “codes of practice”, which act as a globally accepted analytical basis, and tests them in the case of Greece and selected Greek industrial sectors (i.e. cement and consumer ceramic producers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals producers, the defence industry and the construction industry). Given that Greece is an economy under transition (with weak R&D tradition and national system of innovation), the central research hypothesis examines whether the international “codes of practice” have to be modified first before being applied to each industrial sector and the national level or significant structural and institutional changes have to occur first in either the case of a specific industry or that of the national economy or both. The combination of all the available evidence (literature review, evaluation and analysis of empirical research results such as in-situ data collection and interviews results) and findings lead to the conclusion that: At corporate level, the international "codes of practice", can be universally and successfully adopted and applied even in the case of industrial sectors or corporations operating within weak national innovation systems or in environments significantly different from those where the "codes of practice" have been fonnulated. At national level, the international “codes of practice” per se are relevant as a coherent whole at the conceptual level, even in the case of transition economies with weak R&D infrastructure or institutional arrangements as in the case of Greece. The problem becomes one of policies and institutional mechanisms for supporting them and implementing them. This leads to the proposition that in the case of industrial sectors or corporations operating within weak national innovation systems and especially in the case of transition economies with weak R&D infrastructure or institutional arrangements (national level), organisational and institutional changes have to occur first before these industries and economies become able to fully develop and implement complex and multilevel materials strategies in response to the intensification of global competition

The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

Emerging States at Crossroads

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license. This volume analyzes the economic, social, and political challenges that emerging states confront today. Notwithstanding the growing importance of the ‘emerging states’ in global affairs and governance, many problems requiring immediate solutions have emerged at home largely as a consequence of the rapid economic development and associated sociopolitical changes. The middle-income trap is a major economic challenge faced by emerging states. This volume regards interest coordination for technological upgrading as crucial to avoid the trap and examines how various emerging states are grappling with this challenge by fostering public-private cooperation, voluntary associations of market players, and/or social networks. Social disparity is another serious problem. It is deeply rooted in history in the emerging states such as South Africa and many Latin American countries. However, income distribution is recently deteriorating even in East Asia that was once praised for its high economic growth with equity. Increasing pressure for political opening is another challenge for emerging states. This volume argues that the economic, social, and political problems are interwoven in the sense that the emerging states need to build political consensus in order to tackle the economic and social difficulties. Democratic institutions have not always been successful in this respect

Australian innovation system report 2011

Key points Metrics and baseline indicators which track progress against the Government’s innovation priorities and targets – these metrics are presented under four themes: skills and research capacity, business innovation, links and collaboration and public sector and social innovation Features and trends of the Australian innovation system and performance as a whole by comparing Australia’s innovation performance to other OECD countries in areas such as framework conditions for entrepreneurship and innovation, the ways Australian firms innovate, investment in intangible capital, collaboration and skills used and shortages Actions, achievements, and forward plans of various participants in the national innovation system, including governments, public sector researchers, and industry