Share-Based Compensation (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Schedule of Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Allocation of Recognized Period Costs

The following table summarizes the impact on MRV's results of operations of recording share-based compensation for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands):



	Three months ended				Nine months ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2015		2014		2015		2014
Cost of goods sold	$	35	$	34	$	90	$	87
Product development and engineering	68		49		161		122
Selling, general and administrative	222		148		531		497
Total share-based compensation expense (1)	$	325	$	231	$	782	$	706


(1)	Income tax benefits realized from stock option exercises and similar awards were immaterial in all periods.

Schedule of Share-based Payment Award, Stock Options, Valuation Assumptions

MRV uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock option awards or related modifications. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of subjective and complex assumptions including the option's expected life and the underlying stock price volatility. MRV bases volatility on the Company's historical quoted prices and peer company data. There were no options modified during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014.



Nine months ended September 30,	2015		2014
Risk-free interest rate	1.7	%	2.0	%
Dividend yield ₍₁₎	—		—
Volatility	43	%	51	%
Expected life (in years)	6.0		5.9


(1)	As the Company does not pay a dividend on a regular basis, and dividends paid in the past have been special in nature, a dividend rate of zero was used.