It happens in many settings, from the classroom to the country club, and, perhaps not surprisingly, among cultural organisations, according to a new US study that finds that many institutions recently expanded their buildings in part because everyone else had.

Other reasons that organisations will build too much are overambitious trustees, self-interested architects and unrealistic financial projections, according to the study by the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago.

The study, ‘Set in Stone’, examines the US cultural building boom between 1994 and 2008, when museums, performing arts centers and theatres in the United States got swept up in new construction or major renovations.

“This issue between confusing a want with a need is enormous in the sector,” said Carroll Joynes, a founder and senior fellow at the policy center. “There are clear ways to avoid this.” A number of lessons, the study suggests, could be drawn from its case studies.

In many cases the researchers found that organisations failed to realistically assess the demand for their projects and their capacities to complete them. Do we really need this? Can we afford to build it? Can we support a larger operation going forward?

“All of the work fundamentally says, ‘Don’t build what you can’t sustain,’ ” said Duncan M. Webb, an arts management consultant, who was an adviser on the study.

Architects can also run away with a project, the study reports. “They say the building is for you, but the building is for them,” Mr. Joynes said. “It’s for the publicity and their careers. From their point of view it’s a real success if it gets built.”