Calculate the Expected Value for Sell Company

Success Moderate Success Failure
Probability 0.3 0.3 0.4
Sell Company 106 106 106
Form Joint Venture 210 120 74
Sell Software on own 420 185 100

1 answer

To calculate the Expected Value (EV) for each option (Sell Company, Form Joint Venture, and Sell Software on own), we'll use the formula for Expected Value:

\[ EV = (P(Success) \times Payoff(Success)) + (P(Moderate Success) \times Payoff(Moderate Success)) + (P(Failure) \times Payoff(Failure)) \]

Where:

  • \(P\) is the probability of each outcome.
  • Payoff is the corresponding payoff for that outcome.

1. Sell Company

  • Success: 106
  • Moderate Success: 106
  • Failure: 106

\[ EV_{\text{Sell Company}} = (0.3 \times 106) + (0.3 \times 106) + (0.4 \times 106) \]

Calculating each term:

  • Success: \(0.3 \times 106 = 31.8\)
  • Moderate Success: \(0.3 \times 106 = 31.8\)
  • Failure: \(0.4 \times 106 = 42.4\)

Adding these together: \[ EV_{\text{Sell Company}} = 31.8 + 31.8 + 42.4 = 105.99 \]

2. Form Joint Venture

  • Success: 210
  • Moderate Success: 120
  • Failure: 74

\[ EV_{\text{Joint Venture}} = (0.3 \times 210) + (0.3 \times 120) + (0.4 \times 74) \]

Calculating each term:

  • Success: \(0.3 \times 210 = 63\)
  • Moderate Success: \(0.3 \times 120 = 36\)
  • Failure: \(0.4 \times 74 = 29.6\)

Adding these together: \[ EV_{\text{Joint Venture}} = 63 + 36 + 29.6 = 128.6 \]

3. Sell Software on own

  • Success: 420
  • Moderate Success: 185
  • Failure: 100

\[ EV_{\text{Sell Software}} = (0.3 \times 420) + (0.3 \times 185) + (0.4 \times 100) \]

Calculating each term:

  • Success: \(0.3 \times 420 = 126\)
  • Moderate Success: \(0.3 \times 185 = 55.5\)
  • Failure: \(0.4 \times 100 = 40\)

Adding these together: \[ EV_{\text{Sell Software}} = 126 + 55.5 + 40 = 221.5 \]

Summary of Expected Values

  • EV for Sell Company: 105.99
  • EV for Form Joint Venture: 128.6
  • EV for Sell Software on own: 221.5

Thus, the expected values for each option are as follows:

  • Sell Company: 105.99
  • Form Joint Venture: 128.6
  • Sell Software on own: 221.5

Recommendation: Based on the Expected Values, the best option is to Sell Software on own, as it has the highest EV of 221.5.