Alliance Manchester Business School + 2 more · University of California, Berkeley
Why is the production of capital-intensive systems—like infrastructure, defence weapons, and science-enabling technologies—so central to economic growth and social welfare, yet still so poorly understood? And what lessons can we draw from these complex enterprises to tackle grand societal challenges—from climate adaptation and infrastructure in Africa to the housing crisis and even peace through preparedness? In my research—together with co-authors and students—I study these so-called megaprojects as social technologies: organizational tools built under pressure to reconcile investor and stakeholder freedoms with the need to generate collective welfare. Achieving this balance requires assembling a vast bundle of resources. Some are internal or tradable through markets (e.g., supplier capabilities). Others—like permits and approvals—are nonmarket resources acquired through political and regulatory processes. The cost of securing them has risen significantly, reflecting greater public concern over environmental and social harms, and a broader duty of care embedded in law. As a result, managers face growing pressure to reorient investment from narrow financial goals to broader societal purposes. Yet we still lack the institutional mechanisms and legitimizing narratives needed to support this shift in the eyes of investors. And we also lack ways to demand sacrifices when the cost of mitigating harms exceeds the benefits. My research explores questions such as: How do capital investments behave under different institutional and cultural conditions? How do technological architectures—modular vs. integral—shape collaboration and control? What role do procurement strategies—arm’s-length vs. relational—play in managing uncertainty? How can AI/ML, digitalization, and lean thinking improve project performance? How can sustainability reporting and impact accounting support purpose-driven megaprojects? As an educator, researcher, and advisor, I help prepare future leaders for a world where investment decisions must navigate social expectations that often conflict with complexity. Broadening the purpose of capital investment is a leadership imperative—but so is setting limits on how far that purpose can stretch. It’s time to stop pretending success means delivering on initial promises that were never credible. We must codify social and environmental gains and harms to create enabling environments where sustainable, inclusive outcomes—and necessary sacrifices—are possible.
The Infrastructure Development Research Group aims to further management scholarship and social science in relevant ways to tackle the grand societal challenges of our times –seemingly intractable problems that cannot be resolved without coordinated and sustained effort from multiple autonomous actors such as climate change, poverty, inequality and population growth. We pursue this goal with a focus on how to tackle pressing gaps between infrastructure demand and supply.
I chair the MBS Committe on Research Ethics and Governance, and I am a member of the University of Manchester Research Ethics Committee (UREC) I am the research director for the Infrastructure Development Research Group
I lead the research agenda of the Centre for Infrastructure Development. I get involved in staff recruitment, research proposal development, research dissemination, and external engagement