Investment Selection in Complex Multinational Projects

Project executives believe complex multinational investment selection is complicated because there are many criteria to evaluate and the decision-making theories are difficult to implement in practice. The 2008 global recession has forced companies to rebalance existing programs and products. Thus, project selection is not merely a go/no-go decision for a single project but instead it is a multiple-criteria factor analysis of multiple new proposals – and whether to continue existing projects. Different selection approaches can produce opposite outcomes when applied to the same situation. Qualitative techniques such as managerial preferences or Delphi consensus building are subjective. Objective quantitative methods such as Markov analysis, linear programming and search heuristics are grounded on rigorous calculus theory, but they produce a single result (not priorities). Also, quantitative techniques may omit important managerial insight. This study demonstrates how qualitative and quantitative selection techniques can be combined for complex multinational investment decision making at a Virginia-USA-based coal mine company that generates electricity. Investment Selection in Complex Multinational Projects