Throwing good money after bad: the effect of sunk costs on the decision to escalate commitment to an ongoing project
Article Abstract:
The functional relationship between sunk costs and the decision to continue investment in a research and development (R&D) project was examined in an experiment with 407 undergraduate business students. Ss read an R&D scenario in which 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 90% of a $10 million budget had been invested. One group of Ss indicated the likelihood of their allocating all remaining funds to finish the project. A second group indicated the likelihood of their allocating the next $1 million to continue the project. A third group indicated the likelihood that the project would be profitable. Strong, linear sunk-cost effects were observed in the first 2 groups, with no indication that incremental costs played any role in decision making. Nonsignificant results in the 3rd group suggest that the effects observed in the 1st group were not a function of higher outcome expectations among Ss with higher sunk costs. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Psychology
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0021-9010
Year: 1990
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The structure of Cockpit Management Attitudes
Article Abstract:
A revised version of the Cockpit Management Attitudes Questionnaire (CMAQ) is introduced. Factor analyses of responses from 3 different samples reveal comparable factor structure (previous attempts to factor analyze this measure had produced equivocal results). Implications for the measurement of attitudes and the assessment of attitude change are discussed. It is argued that the CMAQ will benefit both special training programs and efforts to explore attitude-performance linkages in air-transport operations. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Psychology
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0021-9010
Year: 1990
User Contributions:
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