Desire for a positive moral self-regard exacerbates escalation of commitment to initiatives with prosocial aims

Rebecca L. Schaumberg and Scott S. Wiltermuth

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2014, vol. 123, issue 2, 110-123

Abstract: Across three experiments, people escalated commitment more frequently to a failing prosocial initiative (i.e., an initiative that had the primary aim of improving the outcomes of others in need) than they did to a failing egoistic initiative (i.e., an initiative that had the primary aim of improving the outcomes of the decision-maker). A test of mediation (Study 1b) and a test of moderation (Study 2) each provided evidence that a desire for a positive moral self-regard underlies people’s tendency to escalate commitment more frequently to failing prosocial initiatives than to failing egoistic initiatives. We discuss the implications of these findings for the resource-allocation decisions that people and organizations face when undertaking initiatives with prosocial aims.

Keywords: Escalation of commitment; Prosocial; Moral self-regard; Morality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:123:y:2014:i:2:p:110-123

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.10.012

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