One morning in the early 1990s, at the Lutheran Uhuru Hostel at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, my colleagues Tumsifu Nnkya and Fred Lerise were getting ready, after months of preparation, to go out to begin fieldwork for case studies for their doctoral dissertations. As their supervisor, I asked...

This article presents results from the first statistically significant study of cost escalation in transportation infrastructure projects. Based on a sample of 258 transportation infrastructure projects worth US$90 billion and representing different project types, geographical regions, and...

Results from the first statistically significant study of the causes of cost escalation in transport infrastructure projects are presented. The study is based on a sample of 258 rail, bridge, tunnel and road projects worth US$90 billion. The focus is on the dependence of cost escalation on: (1)...

The Supplementary Green Book Guidance on Optimism Bias (HM Treasury 2003) with reference to the Review of Large Public Procurement in the UK (Mott MacDonald 2002) notes that there is a demonstrated, systematic tendency for project appraisers to be overly optimistic; and that to redress this...

Vilka stora projekt börjar verkligen byggas? Mina medarbetare och jag fann att det inte nödvändigtvis är de bästa, utan snarare de där projektets tillskyndare lyckats bäst med att – medvetet eller ej – skapa en ren fantasivärld av för lågt beräknade kostnader, överdrivna...

Phronetic organizational research is an approach to the study of management and organizations focusing on ethics and power. It is based on a contemporary interpretation of the Aristotelian concept phronesis, usually as ‘prudence’. Phronesis is the ability to think and act in relation to...

Large infrastructure projects are being planned and designed all over the world. As these projects require state funding and have a strong spatial and environmental impact, they tend to figure prominently in all parts of the national political ball game. Though the physical results of...

Lock-in, the escalating commitment of decision makers to an ineffective course of action, has the potential to explain the large cost overruns in large-scale transportation infrastructure projects. Lock-in can occur both at the decision-making level (before the decision to build) and at the...