Transition to IS project de-escalation: An exploration into management executives influence behaviors

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

Volumn 58, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 109-123

  Pan, Gary ^a   Pan, Shan Ling ^b  

^a SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY   (Singapore)

^b NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE   (Singapore)

Author keywords

Case study; de escalation of commitment; influence behaviors; information systems (IS) project

Indexed keywords

CASE ANALYSIS; CASE STUDY; COURSES OF ACTIONS; DE-ESCALATION OF COMMITMENT; ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT; INFLUENCE BEHAVIORS; KEY FACTORS; PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS; PROJECT TEAM; REFREEZING;

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE; INFORMATION SYSTEMS; PURCHASING;

RESEARCH;

EID: 78951495486     PISSN: 00189391     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1109/TEM.2010.2048908     Document Type: Article

References (60)

1. N. Augustine, "Managing the crisis you tried to prevent," Harv. Bus. Rev., vol. 73, pp. 147-158, Nov./Dec. 1995.
2. S. Barton, D. Duchon, and K. Dunegan, "An empirical test of Staw and Ross's prescriptions for management of escalation of commitment behaviour," Decis Sci., vol. 20, pp. 532-544, 1989.
3. B. Bass, Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. NewYork: Free Press, 1985.
4. R. Block, The Politics of Projects. New York: Yourdon, 1983.
5. D. Conlon and H. Garland, "The role of project completion in resource allocation decisions," Acad. Manage. J., vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 402-413, 1993.
6. H. Drummond, "The politics of risk: Trials and tribulations of the Taurus project," J. Inf. Technol., vol. 11, pp. 347-357, 1996.
7. R.Durand and J. McGuire, "Legitimating agencies in the face of selection: The case of AACSB," Org. Stud., vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 165-196, 2005.
8. H. Enns, S. Huff, and C. Higgins, "CIO lateral influence behaviours: Gaining peers' commitment to strategic information systems," MIS Quart., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 155-177, 2003.
9. J. Esteves, J. Pastor, and J. Casanovas, "Monitoring business process redesign in ERP implementation projects," in Proc. Eighth Amer. Conf. Inf. Syst., Dallas, TX, Aug. 9-11, 2002, pp. 865-873.
10. K. Ewusi-Mensah, "Critical issues in abandoned information systems development projects," Commun. ACM, vol. 40, no. 9, pp. 74-80, 1997.
11. C. Falbe and G. Yukl, "Consequences for managers of using single influence tactics and combinations of tactics," Acad. Manage. J., vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 638-652, 1992.
12. S. Faraj and V. Sambamurthy, "Leadership of information systems development projects," IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag., vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 238-249, May 2006.
13. G. Gallivan, "Meaning to change: How diverse stakeholders interpret organisational communication about change initiatives," IEEE Trans. Prof. Commun., vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 243-266, Dec. 2001.
14. H. Garland, C. Sanderfur, and A. Rogers, "De-escalation of commitment in oil exploration: When sunk costs and negative feedback coincide," J. Appl. Psychol., vol. 75, no. 6, pp. 721-727, 1990.
15. M. Gundlach, S. Douglas, and M. Martinko, "The decision to blow the whistle: A social information processing framework," Acad. Manage. Rev., vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 107-123, 2003.
16. C. Heng, B. Tan, and K. Wei, "De-escalation of commitment in software projects: Who matters? what matters?" Inf. Manage., vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 99-110, 2003.
17. K. Howe and G. McCabe, "On optimal asset abandonment and replacement," J. Financ. Quant. Anal., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 295-305, 1983.
18. J. Jensen, "Getting one's way in policy debates: Influence tactics used in group decision-making settings," Public Admin. Rev., vol. 67, pp. 216- 227, Mar./Apr. 2007.
19. A. Juliusson, "Optimism as modifier of escalation of commitment," Scand. J. Psychol., vol. 47, pp. 345-348, 2006.
20. J. Jiang, W. Muhanna, and G. Klein, "User resistance and strategies for promoting acceptance across system types," Inf.Manage., vol. 37, pp. 25- 36, 2000.
21. M. Keil, "Pulling the plug: Software project management and the problem of project escalation," MIS Quart., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 421-447, 1995.
22. M. Keil and D. Robey, "Turning around troubled software projects: An exploratory study of the de-escalation of commitment to failing courses of action," J. Manage. Inf. Syst., vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 63-87, 1999.
23. D. Kipnis, S. Schmidt, and I. Wilkinson, "Intraorganizational influence tactics: Exploration's in getting one's way," J. Appl. Psychol., vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 440-452, 1980.
24. H. Klein andM.Myers, "A set of principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive field studies in information systems," MIS Quart., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 67-94, 1999.
25. B. Keys and T. Case, "How to become an influential manager," Acad. Manage. Exec., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 38-51, 1990.
26. M. Leatherwood and E. Conlon, "Diffusibility of blame: Effects on persistence in a project," Acad. Manage. J., vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 836-847, 1987.
27. K. Lewin, Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper and Row, 1951.
28. Y. Li, C. Tan, H. Teo, and B. Tan, "Innovative usage of information technology in Singapore organizations: Do CIO characteristics make a difference?" IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag., vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 177-190, May 2006.
29. K. Lui and K. Chan, "Rescuing troubled software projects by team transformation: A case study with an ERP Project," IEEE Trans. Eng.Manag., vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 171-184, Feb. 2008.
30. M. Mähring and M. Keil, "Information technology project escalation: A process model," Decis. Sci., vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 239-272, 2008.
31. L. Markus, "Power, politics, and MIS implementation," Commun. ACM, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 430-444, 1983.
32. B. McCain, "Continuing investment under conditions of failure: A laboratory study of the limits to escalation," J. Appl. Psychol., vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 280-284, 1986.
33. R. Montealegre and M. Keil, "De-escalating information technology projects: Lessons from the denver international airport," MIS Quart., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 417-447, 2000.
34. R. Müller and R. Turner, "The influence of project managers on project success criteria and project success by type of project," Eur. Manage. J., vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 298-309, 2007.
35. M. Newman and R. Sabherwal, "Determinants of commitment to information systems development: A longitudinal investigation," MIS Quart., vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 23-54, 1996.
36. M. Newman, S. Pan, and G. Pan, "Why can't we bet on ISD outcomes?: ISD "Form" as a predictor of success," presented at the Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Dev., Paphos, Cyprus, 2008.
37. J. O'Connor, The Meaning of Crisis. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1987.
38. K. Overton and M. Frolick, "Politics of implementing EISs," J. Inf. Syst. Manage., vol. 13, pp. 50-57, 1996.
39. G. Pan, S. Pan, and D. Flynn, "De-escalation of commitment to information systems projects: A process perspective," J. Strategic Inf. Syst., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 247-270, 2004.
40. G. Pan and S. Pan, "Examining the coalition dynamics in affecting IS project abandonment decision-making," Decis. Support Syst., vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 639-655, 2006.
41. G. Pan, S. Pan, and M. Newman, "Managing information technology project escalation and deescalation: An approach-avoidance perspective," IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag., vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 76-94, Feb. 2009.
42. C. Park,M. Keil, and J. Kim, "The effect of IT failure impact and personal morality on IT project reporting behaviour," IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag., vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 45-60, Feb. 2009.
43. J. Pinto, Power and Politics in Project Management. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, 1996.
44. J. Pinto, "Understanding the role of politics in successful project management," Int. J. Project Manage., vol. 18, pp. 85-91, 2000.
45. J. Ross and B. Staw, "Organizational escalation and exit: Lessons from the shoreham nuclear power plant," Acad. Manage. J., vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 701-732, 1993.
46. I. Royer, "Why bad projects are so hard to kill," Harv. Bus. Rev., vol. 81, pp. 49-56, Feb. 2003.
47. C. Sauer, L. Liu, and K. Johnston, "Enterprise-level project management capabilities: A comparison of the construction and IT services industries," in Proc. Int. Conf. Inf. Syst., Charlotte, NC, 1999, pp. 440-445.
48. E. Schein, Organizational Psychology. Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall, 1988.
49. I. Simonson and B. Staw, "De-escalation strategies: A comparison of techniques for reducing commitment to losing courses of action," J. Appl. Psychol., vol. 77, no. 4, pp. 419-426, 1992.
50. A. Snow, M. Keil, and L. Wallace, "The effects of optimistic and pessimistic biasing on software project status reporting," Inf. Manage., vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 130-141, 2007.
51. Standish Group, Chaos Rep. [Online]. Available: http://standishgroup. com/quarterly-reports/, 2004. Accessed on June 16, 2009.
52. B. Staw and J. Ross, "Behaviour in escalation situations: Antecedents, prototypes, and solutions," in Research in Organizational Behaviour, T. G. Cummings and B. M. Staw, Eds. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc., 1987, pp. 39-78.
53. H. Thamhain andG.Gemmill, "Influence styles of project managers: Some project performance correlates," Acad. Manage. J., vol. 17, pp. 216-224, 1974.
54. T. Tyler, "Psychological perspectives on legitimacy and legitimation," Annu. Rev. Psychol., vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 375-400, 2006.
55. D. Wastell, P. Kawalek, and M. Newman, "Plus ca change: Defensive translations and resistance to IT-enabled change in local government," presented at the Eur. Conf. Inf. Syst., Naples, Italy, 2003.
56. K.Weick and R.Quinn, "Organizational change and development," Annu. Rev. Psychol., vol. 50, pp. 361-386, 1999.
57. G. Whyte, "Escalating commitment to a course of action: A reinterpretation," Acad. Manage. Rev., vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 311-321, 1986.
58. R. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1994.
59. G. Yukl, Leadership in Organizations, 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1994.
60. G. Yukl and C. Falbe, "Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward and lateral influence attempts," J. Appl. Psychol., vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 132-140, 1990.