Strategic investment decision-making in UK companies: The influence of pre-decision control mechanisms

This paper seeks to explore how aspects of pre‐decision control mechanisms impact managerial decision‐making behaviour with regard to strategic investment projects. This study adopted a mixed‐method research approach. Research evidence was collected using a questionnaire survey of 320 large UK companies and eight semi‐structured follow‐up interviews with financial directors who responded to the questionnaire. The study offers insights into the use and impact of pre‐decision control mechanisms such as: organizational strategy and operating objectives; expectations regarding the involvement of organizational personnel; formal approval procedures; financial evaluation requirements; pre‐determined hurdle rates; established authorization levels and the influence of managerial intuition. This study adds to prior understandings of capital investment practice by employing mixed methods to examine how pre‐decision controls shape the outcomes of strategic investment decision making. Pre‐decision controls have received little attention within the prior literature, which focuses primarily on project financial analysis