Capital Budgeting Practices of Twelve Large Manufacturers
通过调查十二家大型制造企业，发现它们广泛使用折现现金流方法，但实践中常采用资本配给，导致项目间竞争而非按盈利标准筛选，揭示了理论与实践的差异。
Surveys of capital budgeting practices among large firms have indicated a widespread use of discounted cash flow (DCF) methods, especially internal rate of return.1 At the same time, many firms state that they also continue to use simple payback or related methods [8]. The study reported here sheds light on the differences between theory and practice in the implementation of DCF analysis. Surveys have shown that many firms use either a weighted average cost of capital or the cost of a specific source of funds in determining a hurdle rate. Most firms, however, employ some form of capital rationing that is, they restrict capital expenditures even though it generally means neglecting profitable projects.2 Under rationing, projects compete against each other, not against a profitability standard. The study reported here uses empirically determined hurdle rates and other data to examine these capital allocation practices.