ABSTRACT
I. Introduction.............................................................................................................. 94 II. Escalating and de-escalating commitment to failure .............................................. 94
A. Escalation of commitment ................................................................................ 95 B. De-escalation of commitment .......................................................................... 98
III. The threat of reescalating commitment in a large-scale context............................ 99 IV. Reescalating commitment and repeated failure — an example .......................... 100 V. Practical implications of escalating and de-escalating commitment .................... 102
VI. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 103 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... 104 References........................................................................................................................ 104
The number and size of information technology (IT) projects in government agencies is on the rise. This trend is motivated by a desire to integrate and modernize various existing systems in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations and service to the public. However, these large-scale IT projects are particularly prone to failure. Unfortunately, for large-scale IT projects in a public-sector context, failure is unlikely to be a one-time event. Instead, once one attempt fails another will begin. Increasing commitment to success yields subsequent project iterations that are both increasingly costly and increasingly less likely to succeed. This chapter looks at how commitment to large-scale IT projects in the public sector escalates and de-escalates repeatedly over time. The consequences of
such cycles are discussed, including specific concerns and recommendations for public-sector managers of large-scale IT projects.
