ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

›› 2008, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (5): 767-778.

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Escalation of Commitment and Its Psychological Mechanisms

LI Rui;LING Wen-Quan;FANG Li-Luo   

  1. School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
  • Received:2008-03-22 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:2008-09-15 Published:2008-09-15
  • Contact: LI Aimei

Abstract: Escalation of commitment (EOC) refers to the phenomenon whereby, in the face of negative consequences, decision-makers increase resource commitment and risk further losses. There are three influential theories for explaining this special phenomenon, namely prospect theory, self-justification theory, and decision dilemmas theory. The determinants of EOC found in empirical studies can be categorized as project variables, psychological variables, individual differences, and situational variables. In the last part of the paper, it proposed that future research should further probe into the problems such as integrating different explanatory mechanisms, and examining the psychological and behavioral effects of EOC on decision-makers

Key words: escalation of commitment, escalation situation, explanatory mechanism, determinants, control mechanism

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