"Over budget, over time, over and over again" appears to be an appropriate slogan for large, complex infrastructure projects. This article explains why cost, benefits, and time forecasts for such projects are systematically over-optimistic in the planning phase. The underlying reasons for...

This paper gives an overview of good and bad practice for understanding and curbing cost overrun in large capital investment projects, with a critique of Love and Ahiaga-Dagbui (2018) as point of departure. Good practice entails: (a) Consistent definition and measurement of overrun; in contrast...

This article explores ways that behavioral decision theory can predict and explain patterns of decisions that managers make in their efforts to maximize the economic value and scarcity potential of a firm's portfolio of resources. The authors argue that psychology can offer a deeper and more...

Modern strategic decision theory focuses on those actions taken by senior executives (on behalf of the owners) that commit substantial resources, set precedents, and create waves of less important decisions. This chapter explores key behavioral assumptions that dispute the notion that strategic...

The Economist recently reported that infrastructure spending is the largest it is ever been as a share of world GDP. With $22 trillion in projected investments over the next ten years in emerging economies alone, the magazine calls it the "biggest investment boom in history." The efficiency of...