Toward a systemic view to cost overrun causation in infrastructure projects: a review and implications for research.

Ahiaga-Dagbui, Dominic D.; Love, Peter E.D.; Smith, Simon; Ackermann, Fran

Abstract

Infrastructure cost overruns receive significant amount of attention in the academic literature as well as the popular press. The methodological weaknesses in the dominant approaches adopted to explain cost overrun causation on infrastructure projects are explored in this paper. A considerable amount of cost overrun research is superficial, replicative and thus stagnated the development of a robust theory to mitigate and contain the problem. Future research should move from single-cause identification and the traditional net-effect correlational analysis to a search for causal recipes through systems thinking and retrospective sensemaking to address the high-level interactions between multiple factors.

Citation

AHIAGA-DAGBUI, D., LOVE, P.E.D., SMITH, S.D. and ACKERMANN, F. 2017. Toward a systemic view to cost overrun causation in infrastructure projects: a review and implications for research. Project management journal [online], 48(2), pages 88-98. Available from: http://www.pmi.org/learning/library/systemic-view-cost-overrun-causation-infrastructure-projects-10703

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 6, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 1, 2017
• Publication Date: May 31, 2017
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 31, 2016
• Journal: Project management journal
• Print ISSN: 8756-9728
• Electronic ISSN: 1938-9507
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 88-98
• Keywords: Causality; Cost overruns; Systems thinking; Retrospective sense making
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1914
• Publisher URL: http://www.pmi.org/learning/library/systemic-view-cost-overrun-causation-infrastructure-projects-10703