Capital Budgeting in a Fast-Changing World

Abstract

This article analyses the capital budgeting systems of major Swedish corporations. It shows how and why their systems have changed during the last 30 years. Comparisons are made with Anglo-Saxon groups. Better knowledge of how modern capital budgeting systems work and have evolved, is essential to our understanding of such systems and the renewed debate on whether capital budgeting systems can cause over-investments in assets, which are easy to measure and classify, and under-investments in intangibles and organizational capabilities.