Escalation of Commitment: An Integrative Model of Individual, Organizational, and Contextual PR Editors

Abstract

This article seeks to extend the existing literature on escalation of commitment by presenting an integrative model of the escalation process. Individual, organizational, and contextual predators jointly influence either decision to commit additional resources to an existing course of action or to withdraw and pursue alternative opportunities. Specifically, realization of past losses and the extent to which the individual is identified with the original decision moderate the relationship between the individual’s risk preferences and risk propensity. In turn, the escalation decision follows from risk propensity, but various organizational and contextual predictors either increase or decrease the strength of the relationship. The model’s implications for theory and practice are discussed.