Also called creeping commitment. (Psychology Dictionary, 2013). Whereas there are several situations where the best path to go is to commit further efforts to a failing investment, "escalation of commitment" refers only to those situations where objective evidence suggests that continuing with an investment is unwise, nevertheless an individual chooses to invest further without taking this into consideration. Brockner defined the concept as a phenomenon that involves continued commitment of resources to a project after the decision maker "receives negative feedback about the projects performance" (Brocker, 1992). .
This report presents the concept of the escalation of commitment and how it is seen in human behavior.
Moreover, it will focus on the four determinates of the escalation of commitment; (1) social, (2) psychological, (3) project and (4) structural. Additionally, it will apply some class material to the concept. Next, the report examines the various explanations for escalation of commitment, based on several studies and scientific sources. Finally, the report will display the influencing factors to the risk of the escalation of commitment and conclude with showing why the awareness of this concept in business is important. .
2. Definition of the Phenomenon.
First, the escalation of commitment appears, when a person decides to continue dedicating resources (including time and money) to a failing course of action (Mayur S., 2009). Good decision-making involves risks. In order to avoid the risks it is important to analyze the applicable information and identify the best course of actions. Sometimes it is simply to feel that if we continue on a course of action, we can lose the money and time already committed to that decision. As a consequence, we sometimes continue to commit resources in an effort to turn our failure around. Hence increasing the cost of the project and making it much harder to quit our commitment.