GETTYSBURG

SUNK By Theodor Tonca

October 24, 2013

$519,000,000,000
- Bloomberg 7/2/2013

$311,000,000,000

- Werner Rehm, Robert Uhlaner, Andy West Taking a Longer-Term Look at M&A Value Creation, McKinsey & Co. on Finance 42, Winter 2012.

- Kevin Voigt - Mergers Fail More Often Than Marriages, CNN May 22, 2009.

Why??

The Sunk Cost Fallacy

- Hal R. Arkes & C. Blumer The Psychology of Sunk Cost Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes 35, 1985.

Sunk Cost, noun A irrecoverable cost, already incurred. Independent of any event that may occur in the future.

Sunk Cost Fallacy, noun An individual, organization or company continuing on with a project they have already invested time, effort and or money in, irrespective of future costs or benefits. i.e. Throwing good money after bad.

Concorde Fallacy

Vietnam War

Almost Every Corporate Acquisition

Battle of Gettysburg

Tony Romo

Fairfax Financial Re: Blackberry?

Awareness

Anchoring + Endowment Effect