2 research outputs found
Eskalation des Commitments in Wirtschaftsinformatik Projekten: eine kognitiv-affektive Perspektive
While information systems (IS) projects are pivotal in guiding organizational strategies and sustaining competitive advantages, they frequently overrun budgets, extend beyond timelines, and experience high failure rates. This dissertation delves into the psychological micro-foundations of human behavior – specifically cognition and emotion – in relation to a prevalent issue in IS project management: the tendency to persist with failing courses of action, also called escalation of commitment (EoC).
Through a mixed-methods research approach, this study investigates the emotional and cognitive bases of decision-making during IS project escalation and its evolution over time. The results of a psychophysiological laboratory experiment provide evidence for the predictions on the role of negative and complex situational integral emotions of Cognitive Dissonance over Coping Theory and add to a better understanding of how escalation tendencies change during sequential decision-making due to cognitive learning effects. Using psychophysiological measures, including data triangulation between electrodermal and cardiovascular activity and AI-based analysis of facial micro-expressions, this research reveals physiological markers of behavioral escalation tendencies. Complementing the experiment, a qualitative analysis using free-form narration during decision-making simulations shows that decision-makers employ varied cognitive reasoning patterns to justify escalating behaviors, suggesting a sequence of four distinct cognitive phases.
By integrating both qualitative and quantitative findings, this dissertation offers a comprehensive theoretical framework of how cognition and emotion shape behavioral EoC over time. I propose that escalation is a cyclical adaptation of mental models, distinguished by shifts in cognitive reasoning patterns, temporal cognition mode variations, and interactions with situational emotions and their anticipation. The primary contribution of this dissertation lies in disentangling the emotional and cognitive mechanisms that drive IS project escalation. The findings provide the basis for developing de-escalation strategies, thereby helping to improve decision-making under uncertainty. Stakeholders involved in IS projects that get “off track” should be aware of the tendency to persist with failing courses of action and the importance of the underlying emotional and cognitive dynamics.Projekte im Bereich der Wirtschaftsinformatik (IS-Projekte) sind von zentraler Bedeutung für die Steuerung von Unternehmensstrategien und die Aufrechterhaltung von Wettbewerbsvorteilen, überschreiten jedoch häufig das Budget, sprengen den Zeitrahmen und weisen eine hohe Misserfolgsquote auf. Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit den psychologischen Grundlagen menschlichen Verhaltens - insbesondere Kognition und Emotion - im Zusammenhang mit einem weit verbreiteten Problem im IS-Projektmanagement: der Tendenz, an fehlgehenden Handlungssträngen festzuhalten, auch Eskalation des Commitments (Englisch: “escalation of commitment” - EoC) genannt.
Mit einem kombinierten Forschungsansatz (dem Mix von qualitativen und quantitativen Methoden) untersuche ich in meiner Dissertation die emotionalen und kognitiven Grundlagen der Entscheidungsfindung hinter eskalierendem Commitment zu scheiternden IS-Projekten und deren Entwicklung über die Zeit. Die Ergebnisse eines psychophysiologischen Laborexperiments liefern Belege auf die Vorhersagen bezüglich der Rolle von negativen und komplexen situativen Emotionen der kognitiven Dissonanz Theorie gegenüber der Coping-Theorie und trägt zu einem besseren Verständnis dafür bei, wie sich Eskalationstendenzen während sequenzieller Entscheidungsfindung aufgrund kognitiver Lerneffekte verändern. Mit Hilfe psychophysiologischer Messungen, einschließlich der Daten-Triangulation zwischen elektrodermaler und kardiovaskulärer Aktivität sowie künstliche Intelligenz-basierter Analyse von Gesichtsmikroexpressionen, enthüllt diese Forschung physiologische Marker für eskalierendes Commitment. Ergänzend zu dem Experiment zeigt eine qualitative Analyse text-basierter Reflexionen während der Eskalationssituationen, dass Entscheidungsträger verschiedene kognitive Begründungsmuster verwenden, um eskalierende Verhaltensweisen zu rechtfertigen, die auf eine Sequenz von vier unterschiedlichen kognitiven Phasen schließen lassen.
Durch die Integration von qualitativen und quantitativen Erkenntnissen entwickelt diese Dissertation ein umfassendes theoretisches Model dafür, wie Kognition und Emotion eskalierendes Commitment über die Zeit beeinflussen. Ich schlage vor, dass eskalierendes Commitment eine zyklische Anpassung von Denkmodellen ist, die sich durch Veränderungen in kognitiven Begründungsmustern, Variationen im zeitlichen Kognitionsmodus und Interaktionen mit situativen Emotionen und deren Erwartung auszeichnet. Der Hauptbeitrag dieser Arbeit liegt in der Entflechtung der emotionalen und kognitiven Mechanismen, die eskalierendes Commitment im Kontext von IS-Projekten antreiben. Die Erkenntnisse tragen dazu bei, die Qualität von Entscheidungen unter Unsicherheit zu verbessern und liefern die Grundlage für die Entwicklung von Deeskalationsstrategien. Beteiligte an „in Schieflage geratenden“ IS-Projekten sollten sich der Tendenz auf fehlgeschlagenen Aktionen zu beharren und der Bedeutung der zugrundeliegenden emotionalen und kognitiven Dynamiken bewusst sein
Digitize or die : the mediating role of digital maturity in the relationship between dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage
Ilido Barreto (2010, p. 271) defined dynamic capabilities as “the firm`s potential to
systematically solve problems, formed by its propensity to sense opportunities and threats, to
make timely and market-oriented decisions, and to change its resource base“. To answer the
question, why and how some firms are able to succeed in a digitally disrupted environment
while others do not, this study empirically investigates, which role the digital maturity state
plays within the performance effects of dynamic capabilities. Within the framework of this
study, measurement tools to assess the dynamic capability level based on Barreto`s conceptual
work and the firm-specific digital maturity state have been developed and applied to an online
survey. 51 C-level representatives of German utility firms participated in the survey from
which the dynamic capability level, the digital maturity state and the organization`s
competitive advantage were derived and compared. The results showed a significant positive
effect of both, dynamic capabilities and digital maturity on competitive advantage. Further, a
significant mediation effect of digital maturity on the overall positive effect of dynamic
capabilities on competitive advantage was found in this study, indicating that digital maturity,
as an intermediate outcome of a high dynamic capability level, mediates the overall positive
performance effects of dynamic capabilities in an industry context affected by digital
dynamics. The present study contributes to the body of empirical research on dynamic
capabilities, digital transformation and strategic management and can be seen as fundamental
research functioning as an impulse and methodological base for further empirical studies.Ilido Barreto (2010, p. 271) definiu capacidades dinâmicas como “o potencial da empresa para
sistematicamente resolver problemas, formado pela sua propensão para identificar
oportunidades e ameaças, tomar decisões atempadas e orientadas para o mercado, e para mudar
a sua base de recursos”. Para responder à questão de porque é que algumas empresas são
capazes de ter sucesso num ambiente digitalmente disruptivo, enquanto outras não, este estudo
investiga empiricamente qual é papel que o estado de maturidade digital desempenha dentro
dos efeitos de desempenho das capacidades dinâmicas. Como parte deste estudo, foram
desenvolvidas e aplicadas a um questionário online ferramentas de medição para avaliar o nível
de capacidade dinâmica, com base no trabalho conceptual de Barreto, e o estado de maturidade
digital. 51 representantes de empresas de energia Alemãs participaram no questionário, a partir
do qual foram obtidos estas construções e a vantagem competitiva de cada organização. Os
resultados mostraram que tanto o nível de capacidades dinâmicas como o de maturidade digital
têm um efeito significativo positivo no nível de vantagem competitiva. Adicionalmente, foi
identificado neste estudo um efeito de mediação significativo da maturidade digital
sobre o efeito positivo geral das capacidades dinâmicas, indicando que a maturidade digital,
como resultado intermédio, medeia os efeitos positivos gerais de desempenho das capacidades
dinâmicas num contexto industrial afetado por dinâmicas digitais. O presente estudo contribui
para o corpo de pesquisa empírica sobre capacidades dinâmicas, transformação digital e gestão
estratégica, e pode ser visto como pesquisa fundamental, funcionando como base metodológica
para estudos empíricos posteriores