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Two laboratory studies manipulated variables in order to observe their effect on the escalation of individuals' commitment to earlier investment decisions. The experimental results indicated that escalation of commitment to a failing course of action is not a general phenomenon. Information pertinent to the future prospects of reinvestment and to decision alternatives provided main effects. Neither study showed a main effect for initial success vs. failure. Decision‐maker gender consistently influenced decisions in both studies through interactions with success/failure feedback and through the communicated attributions of “powerful others” regarding the causes of previous decision outcomes. Implications for theory and research are discussed.
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Thomas S. Bateman (1986) studied this question.
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