Understanding Behavior in Escalation Situations
- 13 October 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 246 (4927) , 216-220
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.246.4927.216
Abstract
Everyday observation reveals that both individuals and organizations often become overly committed to losing courses of action; in a sense, throwing good money after bad. More than 10 years of research on this escalation problem shows that persistence is associated with at least four major clases of determinants: project, psychological, social, and organizational variables. The influence of these four sets of variables evolves over time, forming a dynamic model of behavior in escalation situations.Keywords
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