From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Piyush Kumar, Mayukh Dass, Shivina Kumar. The From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity (referred as “Nodal Ecosystem” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Supply chain.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity Case Study

In today's interconnected world, a web of entities rather than predominantly a single firm coordinates a set of activities that deliver utility to mutually connected consumers, thus creating ecosystems. In this article, we suggest that in the current, ecosystem-based production and consumption environment it is important to identify a new set of factors that determines business success. We then propose that in order to develop a network-centric strategic mindset it is important to make a transition from the notion of firm-based competitive advantage to ecosystem-based nodal advantage by which products, services, or processes held by a single firm and affecting one or more ecosystems are exploited individually to improve business. To this end, we offer a new set of five forces that are likely to affect not only a node's financial profitability but also its vulnerability within its ecosystem and the survival of the ecosystem itself. Based on these forces, we recommend strategic triangulation and the formulation of policies to prevent infra-nodal substitution, increase nodal stranglehold, and improve nimbleness to accommodate ecosystemic transitions.

Case Authors : Piyush Kumar, Mayukh Dass, Shivina Kumar

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Supply chain

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003625)	-10003625	-	-
Year 1	3444712	-6558913	3444712	0.9434	3249728
Year 2	3980863	-2578050	7425575	0.89	3542954
Year 3	3936718	1358668	11362293	0.8396	3305344
Year 4	3229412	4588080	14591705	0.7921	2557997
TOTAL			14591705		12656023

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2652398

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Profitability Index
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Payback Period

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Nodal Ecosystem have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Nodal Ecosystem shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Strategy & Execution Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Nodal Ecosystem often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Nodal Ecosystem needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003625)	-10003625	-	-
Year 1	3444712	-6558913	3444712	0.8696	2995402
Year 2	3980863	-2578050	7425575	0.7561	3010104
Year 3	3936718	1358668	11362293	0.6575	2588456
Year 4	3229412	4588080	14591705	0.5718	1846427
TOTAL					10440389

The Net NPV after 4 years is 436764

(10440389 - 10003625 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003625)	-10003625	-	-
Year 1	3444712	-6558913	3444712	0.8333	2870593
Year 2	3980863	-2578050	7425575	0.6944	2764488
Year 3	3936718	1358668	11362293	0.5787	2278193
Year 4	3229412	4588080	14591705	0.4823	1557394
TOTAL					9470669

The Net NPV after 4 years is -532956

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9470669 - 10003625 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Nodal Ecosystem to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Nodal Ecosystem has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Nodal Ecosystem can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Nodal Ecosystem, then the stock price of the Nodal Ecosystem should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Nodal Ecosystem should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity

References & Further Readings

Piyush Kumar, Mayukh Dass, Shivina Kumar (2018), "From competitive advantage to nodal advantage: Ecosystem structure and the new five forces that affect prosperity Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.