Title: The influence of anticipatory emotions, risk perceptions, and managerial experience on escalation of commitment decisions

Authors: Brandon William Soltwisch

Addresses: Department of Management, University of Northern Colorado, Kepner 1070B, Campus Box 128, Greeley, CO 80639, USA

Abstract: Escalation of commitment refers to the tendency of decision makers to continue with failing courses of action (Staw, 1981). Research has identified numerous factors that contribute to escalation, however, there have been relatively few studies exploring ways to reduce this costly mistake. This study investigates the role of anticipatory emotions, risk perceptions, and managerial experience in reducing one's tendency to escalate commitments. Results suggest that anticipatory emotions and managerial experience play a significant role in reducing this decision making error. The findings of this study reveal several important practical and theoretical contributions to the field.

Keywords: escalation of commitment; anticipatory emotions; risk perception; managerial experience; strategic decisions; decision making bias; emotions; commitment decisions; failing courses of action.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2015.070733

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2015 Vol.14 No.2, pp.97 - 111

Received: 20 Aug 2014
Accepted: 12 Mar 2015
Published online: 22 Jul 2015 *

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