IMPROVING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS FIXED CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Purpose – This article aims to highlight, on the one hand, the factors that determine the demand for investments in fixed capital and which influence the investment decision and on the other hand, the role and importance of this demand (request) for the strategic management of the enterprise. Methodology/approach - The data sources used in the study are numerous: papers, documents, statistics and information obtained directly from firms. These data have been analyzed and interpreted by the authors. Findings – This article presents the main investment models that are able to explain the investment behavior of the companies and tests some investment models taking into account the Romanian energy sector. Precisely, the article refers to the activity that carries, according to the classification of activities in the Romanian national economy, the following name: electricity and heat, gas and water. The results obtained from these tests revealed that the demand for investments in fixed capital is not determined by a single factor but by a combination of factors. Our data analysis revealed factors such as: changes in the volume of investments made in the national economy, which occurred in the current period compared to the previous one, changes in the level of tangible fixed assets currently existing in the activity compared to the previous period, the current average interest rate and partially, the volume of industrial production obtained in this economic activity field. Research limitations/implications – The limits of this research are given by the analysis of a single field of activity, namely the activity that bears the name: electricity and heat, gas and water. Practical implications – Practical implications of this study, regarding the strategic management of an enterprise, are related to analysis, knowledge and anticipation of the demand for fixed capital investments. Based on an investment model, compatible with the economic activity carried out, allows the enterprise to take concrete measures, choosing the best global and partial strategies to ensure a certain competitive advantage. Originality/value – There are two main contributions of this paper: the first one refers to a model able to determine which are the main determinants of the demand for fixed capital investments in the analyzed activity field, after testing several investments; the second one, is to highlight the role and the importance of this demand for the company strategic management