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Abdi, A (2014) Efficient winter road maintenance: A study of technical and contractual issues, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-TSC-PHD, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Anund Vogel, J (2020) Incentivising Innovation in the Swedish Construction Industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Borg, L (2015) Procurement contracts, innovation and productivity in the construction sector: Five studies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-FOB-DT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Brunes, F (2015) Essays on behavioural economics and cost overuns, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

  • Type: Thesis
  • Keywords: infrastructure project; investment; monitoring; negotiation; policy; real estate; project manager; bias; optimism bias; rationality; questionnaire survey
  • ISBN/ISSN:
  • URL: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-168264
  • Abstract:
    This dissertation consists of five essays, four on cost overruns and one on behavioral economics with a focus on real estate investments. The main aim of the thesis was to answer the questions: Is it common with cost overruns in infrastructure projects? What explains the cost overruns? What can be done to prevent cost overruns? This thesis contributes to the current state of knowledge within the field: It is yet another evidence that cost overruns are a significant problem. Optimism bias is an explanation of cost overruns. However, the thesis adds, by Article two, a rationality explanation. Dismisses in part the Successive method as a tool to reduce cost overruns. Provide recommendations on how action against cost overruns can be systematized. The first article, which is a result of my Licentiate thesis deals with real estate investments and the fact that investors sometimes are influenced by behavioral aspects that make them deviate from what is rational. The result is somewhat uncertain but shows that investors in these cases were influenced by myopic behaviour. The second article deals with cost overruns and rationality. The question is whether it can be rational in a procurement, using a unit‐price contract, to expect cost overruns. The result shows that it is possible in situations where the decision-maker has to take renegotiation costs and monitoring costs into account. The third article examines how well the successive method can prevent cost overruns. Established results in research on cost overruns indicated that strategic factors, psychological factors (optimism bias) and technical factors are important to explain cost overruns. The review suggests that the Successive method has limitations as a method to reduce cost overruns because it cannot deal with strategic and psychological factors. The fourth article focus on why cost overruns occurred. The article presents a new framework based on microeconomic cost theory and also results based on a survey to project managers in infrastructure projects, suggesting that cost overruns are common, and that cost overrun mainly are due to optimism bias. The issue addressed in the fifth article is what can be done to prevent cost overruns. The conclusion, based on questionnaire survey and literature review, suggests that a variety of policy measures are needed at different levels such as (1): Organizational macrostructure where e.g. cost overruns in a project in one region leads to less projects in that region. (2) Organizational quality: improved transparency within organizations to see where and when cost overruns occur. (3) Organizational processes: e.g. the use of external reviewers.

Butt, A A (2014) Life cycle assessment of asphalt roads: Decision support at the project level, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-TSC-PHD, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Clausen Mork, J (2012) Dealing with uncertainty, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Eliufoo, H K (2005) Knowledge creation and transfer in construction organisations in Tanzania, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-BFE, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Faith-Ell, C (2005) The application of environmental requirements in procurement of road maintenance in Sweden, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-LWR. PHD, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Francart, N (2021) Decision support for the implementation of low-carbon measures in the building sector, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-ABE-DLT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Gohardani, N (2014) An approach towards sustainable building, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-BYTE, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Högberg, L (2014) Building sustainability: Studies on incentives in construction and management of real estate, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-FOB, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Hedborg, S (2022) ”It’s in the between”: Inter-Project Organising in Project Ecologies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Irumba, R (2015) Modelling of construction safety performance and housing markets in kampala, Uganda, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-KTH-CEFIN-DT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Jägbeck, A (1998) IT support for construction planning: A system design based on integrated information, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Karhu, V (2001) A generic construction process modelling method, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Löfgren, A (2008) Making mobile meaning: Expectations and experiences of mobile computing usefulness in construction site management practice, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-IEO, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Laitinen, J (1998) Model based construction process management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology .

Leiringer, R (2003) Technological innovations in the context of public-private partnership projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-IEO, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Lindblad, H (2019) BIM in translation: Exploring client organisations as drivers for change in construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-ABE-DLT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Lindfors, C (2003) Process oriented information management in construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-IEO, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Marteinsson, B (2005) Service life estimation in building design: A development of the factor method, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Mirzadeh, I (2014) More roads for the money, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Ntiyakunze, S K (2011) Conflicts in building projets in Tanzania: Analysis of causes and management approaches, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Nyström, J (2007) Partnering: Definition, theory and evaluation, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-BFE, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Parsanezhad, P (2019) Towards a BIM-enabled facility management: Promises, obstacles and requirements, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-ABE-DLT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Pourghazian, H (2008) Industrial construction methods for cost-effective and sustainable multi-storey buildings, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Meddelande. Institutionen för byggvetenskap, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Schönbeck, P (2022) Data based configuration decisions in hospital construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Stenbeck, T (2007) Promoting innovation in transportation infrastructure maintenance: Incentives contracting and performance based specifications, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-BKN. Bulletin, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Tarandi, V (1998) Neutral intelligent CAD communication: Information exchange in construction based upon a minimal schema, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Uggla, G (2021) Model and reality: Connecting BIM and the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-ABE-DLT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Unger, C (2006) Industrialised house building: Fundamental change or business as usual?, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-IEO, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Uttam, K (2014) Seeking sustainability in the construction sector: Opportunities within impact assessment and sustainable public procurement, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-LWR. PHD, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Vass, S (2017) The business value of BIM: Elaborating on content and perspective, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-FOB, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Warsame, A (2011) Performance of construction projects: Essays on supplier structure, construction costs and quality improvement, Unpublished PhD Thesis, TRITA-FOB, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Zika-Viktorsson, A (2002) The industrial project. Studies of the work situation of project members, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Trita-MMK, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.