Gary Shan Chi Pan

Escalation and de-escalation of commitment: a commitment transformation analysis of an e-government project

Abstract.  This paper presents a commitment transformation framework for analysing the change in actors’ commitment during the transition from escalation to de‐escalation in information technology projects. De‐escalation is potentially a more important issue than escalation because de‐escalation provides remedies for the ills of escalation. Therefore, it is important to understand how stakeholders may bias facts in the direction of previously accepted beliefs and thus prevent an organization from de‐escalating. Here, we adopt Lewins change theory to examine the commitment transformation during the transition from escalation to de‐escalation of an e‐government project in a local council in the United Kingdom. By conceiving actors’ commitment transformation as an ‘unfreezing–changing–refreezing’ process, researchers may develop a deeper understanding of how actors may give up previous failing course of action and accept an alternative course of action. Practitioners can also utilize the framework in post‐mortem analyses of projects which have faced escalation to devise useful de‐escalation strategies for future project development. 1

The role of IT in crisis response: Lessons from the SARS and Asian Tsunami disasters

Research on crisis management recognizes the important role of information although few studies of crisis response deal explicitly with information systems. In this paper, we present a case study of Singapores response to the SARS and Asian Tsunami disasters. Using the resource-based view of the firm as our theoretical lens, we examine three research questions: what IS resources are needed in crisis response, how are these IS resources bundled with other non-IS resources, and how are they effectively coordinated? Our analysis of the case suggests that existing assets such as information technology infrastructure, leadership, and collaborative networks and existing capabilities such as the ability to build and apply IT, the ability to recognize signals and the ability to see the big picture are critical during crisis response. The actions taken using these assets and capabilities include informing resolutely, gaining stakeholder commitment and agile mobilizing of people and IT. Our analysis further suggests that coordination mechanisms, namely the crisis response organizational, informational, and IT structures, are important facilitators of the response actions. The resulting framework of resource deployment during crisis response extends the resource based view of the firm into a cooperative setting, aiming to understand the nature of IS resource value in a cooperative context, and considers not just the resources per se, but the means of coordination the resources.

De-escalation of commitment to information systems projects: a process perspective

Escalation of commitment is a common and costly problem among information system projects. Although the potential of de-escalation of commitment to failing courses of action has been much heralded, many de-escalation efforts may result in failure due to constituencies biasing facts in the direction of previously accepted beliefs and therefore preventing an organization from de-escalating commitment to a project. Here, we examine actors’ commitment transformation during the de-escalation of commitment to an e-procurement project in a local government organization in the UK. Our findings suggest that the commitment transformation process can be enacted successfully through the deployment of behaviour disconfirmation, continuous commitment, provision of psychological safety, development, and the alignment and integration of new attitudes and behaviours. The research and practical implications of these findings are discussed, and future research areas are explored.

The Dynamics of Implementing and Managing Modularity of Organizational Routines During Capability Development: Insights From a Process Model

Past research using the resource-based view of a firm suggests that it is important to consider how firms develop, manage, and deploy resources and capabilities to influence the overall process of strategy formation and implementation. Relatively little research has been conducted in conceptualizing how firms implement and manage modularity of organizational routines during capability development. Yet, most companies would benefit from implementing modularity in organizational routines when competing in dynamic market conditions. Such implementations may require fundamental organizational reorientation that incurs significant coordination costs, and in some cases, such modularization attempts may fail, costing organizations significant amounts of valuable resources. This study seeks to conceptualize how modularity of organizational routines can be achieved during the capability development process. We inductively develop a process model of modularization, using qualitative data of an in-depth case study of the capability development experience of a call center. The model reveals that modularization is a complex process, whereby an organizations key functional activities are decomposed into specific operating and strategic routines that are reconfigured iteratively during the process of capability development. Practitioners may derive strategies and tactics from our findings to help them implement and manage the modularity of organizational routines during capability development so as to achieve sustainable competence in fast-moving marketplaces. Researchers should be able to use and develop the theory further with new case studies.

Escalation and de-escalation of commitment to information systems projects: Insights from a project evaluation model

We view escalation and de-escalation of commitment as processes involving recurring instances of approach-avoidance conflict. This paper outlines an approach-avoidance process model for describing and analyzing escalation and de-escalation of commitment in information systems projects. In the model, the sequential mapping of project events is integrated with a model of approach-avoidance conflict that identifies periods of gradual evolution at two separate levels of social analysis (project and work) that are punctuated by sudden, revolutionary periods of rapid change. By conceiving the processes of commitment escalation and de-escalation as sequences of events involving approach-avoidance conflicts, researchers may develop a deeper understanding of how and why projects escalate and de-escalate. Practitioners can also utilize the model in postmortem analyses of projects which have faced escalation to diagnose the issues surrounding the escalation and devise useful de-escalation strategies for future project development. The model is developed and illustrated with a case study that exhibits both project escalation and de-escalation conditions.

Examining the coalition dynamics affecting IS project abandonment decision-making

Despite recent reports that suggest growing evidence of a higher rate of information systems project success, experts have warned against complacency over the risks associated with project failure. While IS project failure has been attracting constant attention in recent years, IS project abandonment--which is a subset of the larger organizational issues of IS failure--has been largely ignored. This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the project abandonment phenomenon. We undertook a case study of an abandoned electronic procurement project to investigate the coalition dynamics affecting project abandonment decision-making--an area that is remotely addressed in the project abandonment literature. We found that antecedent conditions, level of coping with uncertainty, level of substitutability, and level of centrality are key issues in the coalition dynamics that influence project abandonment decisions. Research and practical implications of these findings were discussed, and we concluded with a summary of the contributions of this study and a note on its limitations.

Managing Information Technology Project Escalation and De-Escalation: An Approach-Avoidance Perspective

This paper presents an integrated theoretical process model for identifying , describing, and analyzing the complex escalation and de-escalation phenomena in software development projects. The approach-avoidance theory is used to integrate core elements of various escalation theories into a holistic, explanatory framework for the two phenomena. We use a process model to identify antecedent conditions, sequences of events, critical incidents, and outcomes over the course of a project. The analysis also operates at multiple levels: project, work, and environment. This highlights the recursive interactions between project, organizational work activities, and their contexts during the software project development process. By conceiving the processes of commitment escalation and de-escalation as sequences of events involving recurring approach-avoidance decision conflict, this research allows for a deeper understanding of the ambiguity and dilemma that decision makers face during project escalations and de-escalations. Our proposed model was both informed by a detailed case study that exhibits both project escalation and de-escalation conditions, and at the same time, illuminates the perspectives of various stakeholders.

Why Can’t We Bet on ISD Outcomes: ISD “Form” as a Predictor of Success

The record of failure to deliver large-scale information systems (IS) in a timely fashion that offer value to major commercial and public organizations is legendary. Just looking to critical success factors such as top management support and user involvement in order to understand how to deliver better systems can at best be a partial solution. We seem to overlook an obvious area in our organizations: what can we learn from our information system development (ISD) historical patterns? In order to develop this idea we draw on parallels in sport where current performance and behaviour are believed to be closely linked to historical precedents, or “form”. In that domain, historical patterns are a fallible but valuable predictor of success. Our thesis is that past negative patterns in ISD will tend to repeat themselves without radical intervention. Put another way, failure begets failure. After examining the game of football as an allegory for ISD, we look briefly at two organizations that have experienced a pattern of failure in the IS area in the past but have transformed the way they build IS, moving from negative patterns to successful ones. This chapter ends with suggestions for managers charged with developing new IS as to how they might use their understanding of ISD “form” to improve their chances of success.

Escalation and De-Escalation of Commitment to Information Systems Projects: Insights from an Approach-Avoidance Process Model

We view escalation and de-escalation of commitment as processes involving recurring instances of approach-avoidance conflict. This paper outlines an approach-avoidance process model for describing and analyzing escalation and de-escalation of commitment in information systems projects. In the model, the sequential mapping of project events is integrated with a model of approach-avoidance conflict that identifies periods of gradual evolution at two separate levels of social analysis (project and work) that are punctuated by sudden, revolutionary periods of rapid change. By conceiving the processes of commitment escalation and de-escalation as sequences of events involving approach-avoidance conflicts, researchers may develop a deeper understanding of how and why projects escalate and de-escalate. Practitioners can also utilize the model in postmortem analyses of projects which have faced escalation to diagnose the issues surrounding the escalation and devise useful de-escalation strategies for future project development. The model is developed and illustrated with a case study that exhibits both project escalation and de-escalation conditions.