Developing assessment procedures and assessing two models of escalation behavior among Community College administrators

Escalation behavior occurs when individual decision-makers repeatedly inves t time, money, and other resources into a failing project. A conceptual mod el of escalation behavior based on project, organizational, social and psyc hological forces was developed, and a 75-item measurement instrument was co nstructed to assess the various dimensions. The model was tested using data collected from a random sample of North Carolina Community College adminis trators. A LISREL measurement model analysis provided support for the four escalation forces. Two structural models were tested, leading to support fo r a mediational model for escalation behavior. The most important contribut or to Escalation was the Psychological force.