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Learning to de-escalate: The effects of regret in escalation of commitment

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  • Ku, Gillian

Abstract

The current research investigates whether and how individuals are able to learn from one escalation situation to another, hypothesizing that post-escalation regret will reduce subsequent escalation. In Experiment 1, individuals participated in an escalation task after escalating their commitments in a first escalation situation. In Experiment 2, participants' regret was manipulated by asking them to imagine engaging in an escalation situation. The experiments expand our theoretical and practical understanding of how to prevent escalation of commitment by demonstrating that escalation-specific regret--either experienced from an earlier escalation or primed through imagining an escalation scenario--reduced subsequent escalation in a different context. The discussion focuses on the theoretical and practical impact of regret and emotions in general in escalation of commitment.

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  • Ku, Gillian, 2008. "Learning to de-escalate: The effects of regret in escalation of commitment," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 105(2), pages 221-232, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:105:y:2008:i:2:p:221-232
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sleesman, Dustin J., 2019. "Pushing through the tension while stuck in the mud: Paradox mindset and escalation of commitment," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 83-96.
    3. Matthew W. McCarter & Abel M. Winn, 2013. "When the Economics of a Decision Matters More than the Psychology of the Decision: Understanding the Economic Significance of Auction Fever," Working Papers 13-19, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    4. Ferry Koster & Mattijs Lambooij, 2018. "Managing Innovations: A Study of the Implementation of Electronic Medical Records in Dutch Hospitals," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 1-23, February.
    5. Qin, Jie, 2015. "A model of regret, investor behavior, and market turbulence," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 150-174.
    6. Caterina Cruciani & Gloria Gardenal & Anna Moretti, 2015. "Knowing is trusting? An experimental test of the role of information in advisory," Working Papers 2, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    7. repec:cup:judgdm:v:14:y:2019:i:6:p:721-727 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Summers, Barbara & Duxbury, Darren, 2012. "Decision-dependent emotions and behavioral anomalies," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 226-238.
    9. George, Jennifer M. & Dane, Erik, 2016. "Affect, emotion, and decision making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 47-55.
    10. van de Calseyde, Philippe P.F.M. & Zeelenberg, Marcel & Evers, Ellen R.K., 2018. "The impact of doubt on the experience of regret," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 97-110.
    11. McMullen, Jeffery S. & Kier, Alexander S., 2016. "Trapped by the entrepreneurial mindset: Opportunity seeking and escalation of commitment in the Mount Everest disaster," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 663-686.
    12. Tobias Roeth & Patrick Spieth & Verena Joachim, 2019. "The Interaction Of Intuition And Rationality During Escalated Npd Decisions: An Investigation Of Decision-Makers’ Affective States," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(04), pages 1-31, June.
    13. Ethan A. Meyers & Michał Białek & Jonathan A. Fugelsang & Derek J. Koehler & Ori Friedman, 2019. "Wronging past rights: The sunk cost bias distorts moral judgment," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 14(6), pages 721-727, November.
    14. Blake E. Ashforth & Kristie M. Rogers & Michael G. Pratt & Camille Pradies, 2014. "Ambivalence in Organizations: A Multilevel Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1453-1478, October.
    15. Schaumberg, Rebecca L. & Wiltermuth, Scott S., 2014. "Desire for a positive moral self-regard exacerbates escalation of commitment to initiatives with prosocial aims," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 110-123.

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