Start Date
11-8-2016
Description
Escalation of commitment is a common problem in project management, especially in software projects, which has caused a substantial number of project failure. The purpose of this project was to examine two different theories that have been used for interpreting commitment escalation in software project development from the cognitive neuroscience perspective: self-responsibility and the framing effect. We used the function magnetic resonance instrument (fMRI) to capture brain images to examine how different factors may play roles in commitment escalation. We conducted a 2x2 experiment that includes self-responsibility and problem framing as manipulation variables and conducted behavioral and fMRI experiments. Our results indicate that both manipulations were able to activate brain areas associated the self-referencing (such as superior and medial prefrontal gyri) and emotion processing (such as insula) areas. Our findings support that both theories at least partially explain the escalation of commitment in software project management.
Recommended Citation
Liang, Ting-Peng; Yen, Nai-Shin; Li, Yuwen; and Hsu, Shen-Mou, "Escalation of Commitment in Software Projects: A Neural Science Perspective" (2016). AMCIS 2016 Proceedings. 22.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2016/ITProj/Presentations/22
Escalation of Commitment in Software Projects: A Neural Science Perspective
Escalation of commitment is a common problem in project management, especially in software projects, which has caused a substantial number of project failure. The purpose of this project was to examine two different theories that have been used for interpreting commitment escalation in software project development from the cognitive neuroscience perspective: self-responsibility and the framing effect. We used the function magnetic resonance instrument (fMRI) to capture brain images to examine how different factors may play roles in commitment escalation. We conducted a 2x2 experiment that includes self-responsibility and problem framing as manipulation variables and conducted behavioral and fMRI experiments. Our results indicate that both manipulations were able to activate brain areas associated the self-referencing (such as superior and medial prefrontal gyri) and emotion processing (such as insula) areas. Our findings support that both theories at least partially explain the escalation of commitment in software project management.