Developing Assessment Procedures and Assessing Two Models of Escalation Behavior among Community College Administrators

Escalation behavior occurs when individual decision-makers repeatedly invest time, money, and other resources into a failing project. A conceptual model of escalation behavior based on project, organizational, social and psychological forces was developed, and a 75-item measurement instrument was constructed to assess the various dimensions. The model was tested using data collected from a random sample of North Carolina Community College administrators. A LISREL measurement model analysis provided support for the four escalation forces. Two structural models were tested, leading to support for a mediational model for escalation behavior. The most important contributor to Escalation was the Psychological force.