A Framework for Integrating Capital Budgeting Analysis with Strategy

Abstract The exclusive use of discounted cash flow (DCF) capital budgeting models is being criticized because of the inability of these models to handle qualitative/intangible benefits and tie the capital budgeting decision formally to organizational strategy. In response, several authors have recently proposed the use of Saaty's Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for capital investment analysis. This paper extends that line of research by focusing on the fundamental problem of structuring the decision hierarchy appropriately so that the AHP can be implemented successfully in a capital budgeting context. Three approaches are presented for structuring AHP hierarchies, including the Mission, Objectives, and Strategy (MOS) framework for strategic planning. An example based on three actual companies in the petrochemical industry is developed using the MOS approach.