{
  "title": "Escalation of commitment: why we pursue failing projects",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/escalade-de-l-engagement-pourquoi-on-poursuit-un-projet-qui-echoue-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-08-12",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Decision-makers often reinvest in a struggling project they own. Research has identified the conditions.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Project Management",
  "place": {
    "name": "Geneva",
    "region": "Genève",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "The founding experiment",
      "point": "Barry Staw (1976, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance) shows participants personally responsible for an initial decision reinvest more after failure."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The synthesis",
      "point": "Dustin Sleesman and co-authors (2012, Academy of Management Journal) confirm meta-analytically the role of personal responsibility, sunk costs and proximity to completion.."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The nuance",
      "point": "Persistence is not always wrong; the problem is having no stop criterion set in advance."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The limit of common practice",
      "point": "Steering committees often review a project with those who launched it, reinforcing commitment.."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Geneva",
      "point": "At launch, write two or three stop conditions and have an outsider review them at each milestone."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Staw",
      "year": "1976",
      "source": "Organizational Behavior and Human Performance"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 146,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-08-12-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/escalade-de-l-engagement-pourquoi-on-poursuit-un-projet-qui-echoue",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/escalade-de-l-engagement-pourquoi-on-poursuit-un-projet-qui-echoue-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/escalade-de-l-engagement-pourquoi-on-poursuit-un-projet-qui-echoue-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/escalade-de-l-engagement-pourquoi-on-poursuit-un-projet-qui-echoue-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/gestion-de-projet/geneve",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/geneve",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}