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...

Private and public mega projects — whether new plant facilities, IT systems, railways, or the Olympics — frequently entail dramatic cost and schedule overruns. Root causes are behavioral biases, such as optimism and deliberate deception, accompanied by principal–agent issues and a lack of...