Working Papers

These papers are working drafts of research which often appear in final form in academic journals. The published versions may differ from the working versions provided here.

SSRN Research Paper Series

The Social Science Research Network’s Research Paper Series includes working papers produced by Stanford GSB the Rock Center.

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Anticipated Information Releases Reflected in Call Option Prices

James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
1978

This study captures the ex ante information content of a financial reporting event (the annual earnings announcement) by examining the behavior of call option prices on dates leading up to and passing through the disclosure date. This approach…

Comparison of a Multi-Pass Heuristic Decomposition Procedure with Other Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Procedures

Charles A. Holloway, Rosser Nelson, Vichit Suraphongchai
1978

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a heuristic procedure for resource-constrained project scheduling. The procedure is a representative of a class of multi-pass procedures based on problem decomposition and is applicable to single or…

Defining and Improving Decision Making Effectiveness

Charles B. Stabell
1978

Evaluation is seen as key in any systematic attempt to improve decision making effectiveness in unstructured tasks. Decision Support Systems (DSS) are systems designed to extend a manager’s ability to deal with the complexity of the decision…

Using Probabilistic Information in Solving Resource Allocation Problems for a Decentralized Firm

James R. Freeland, Gerhard Schiefer
1978

This paper formulates a general linear programming problem for a multidivision firm where headquarters possesses probabilistic information regarding each division’s opportunities. It is assumed that headquarters is willing to risk implementing a…

Dynamic Choice Theory and Dynamic Programming

David M. Kreps, Evan L. Porteus
1977

Finite horizon sequential decision problems with a “temporal vonNeumann-Morgenstern utility” criterion are analyzed. This criterion, as developed in [7], is a generalization of vonNeumann-Morgenstern (expected) utility of the vector of rewards,…

Heuristic Algorithms for Capital Budgeting Decisions in Multi-Division Firms

Meir J. Rosenblatt, James R. Freeland
1977

This paper presents two versions of a heuristic algorithm to solve a model of the capital budgeting problem in a multi-division firm. These algorithms allow a final allocation of the budget to projects to be found in two information exchanges…

Information Environment Perception and Information Processing Behavior: An Empirical Investigation

Charles B. Stabell
1977

This study investigates the relationship between integrative complexity of managers’ perception of their information environment and the volume, breadth, and balance of their use of information sources. Twenty-nine portfolio managers participated…

An Application of Regression Smoothing for Forecasting Customer Utility Bills

Charles P. Bonini (1933–2025), James R. Freeland
1976

This paper develops the methodology for regression smoothing models and then applies it to the problem of forecasting utility usage rates for individual customers in a city in Northern California. A class of models which use regression as a…

Implementation of an Interactive Graphics Model for Design of School Boundaries

Charles A. Holloway, Patrick Mantey
1976

This paper contains a description of an interactive graphics model for the design of school boundaries which has been implemented in two settings. The first involved a school district in which the Superintendent and his staff used the system to…

Optimal Extrapolations for Discounted Finite Markov Reward Chains

Evan L. Porteus, John C. Totten
1976

Extrapolations are considered for use in conjunction with iterative methods for finding the infinite horizon values for discounted finite Markov reward chains. The iterative methods considered include the Jacobi, Gauss-Seidel, and successive over…

Seam, An Interactive File Simulator

Charles B. Stabell, Jorge J. Morales
1976

SEAM is an interactive file simulator for the evaluation of file alternatives. The simulator focuses on the storages space and access time tradeoffs that are affected by the choice of file organization, access methods and direct access storage…

Temporal Resolution of Uncertainty and Dynamic Choice Theory

David M. Kreps, Evan L. Porteus
1976

We consider dynamic choice behavior under conditions of uncertainty, with emphasis on the timing of the resolution of uncertainty. Choice behavior in which an individual distinguishes between lotteries based on the times at which their…

The Evolving Concept of Optimality

Peter G. W. Keen
1976

An Experiment in Computing the Expected Discounted Return in a Finite Markov Chain

Evan L. Porteus, John C. Totten
1975

An experiment with a certain transformation, leading to a new iterative method, was carried out with the intent of speeding the computation of the infinite horizon expected discounted return in a finite Markov chain. At first the method seemed…

Analysis of Linear Programs By Sequential Projection

Markku Kallio, Evan L. Porteus
1975

We apply what we call sequential projection to reformulate a block triangular linear program as a recursive optimization problem. We approximate the return function at each stage of the recursion by using either inner or outer linearization, and…

Design and Implementation of Decision Support Systems: Some Implications of a Recent Study

Charles B. Stabell
1975

This paper is an evaluation and critique of the Decision Support System (DSS) design and implementation methodology proposed by Gerrity (1970, 1971). A recent study (Stabell, 1974) of a system for portfolio management which was produced using…

Estimating Computational Effort for Linear Programming Algorithms

Markku Kallio, Evan L. Porteus
1975

Abstract not available.

Estimation Using General Convex or Concave Functions

Charles A. Holloway
1975

The estimation of an inner-linearized approximation to a general convex or concave function with n independent variables is formulated as a concave programming problem. An algorithmic procedure, based on relaxation, which generates constraints as…