JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Management Information Systems Research Center, University of Minnesota is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to MIS Quarterly. AbstractOne of the most challenging decisions that a manager must confront is whether to continue or abandon a troubled project. Published studies suggest that failing software projects are often allowed to continue for too long before appropriate management action is taken to discontinue or redirect the efforts. The level of sunk cost associated with such projects has been offered as one explanation for this escalation of commitment behavior. What prior studies fail to consideris how concepts from risk-taking theory (such as risk propensity and risk perception) affect decision makers' willingness to continue a project under MIS Quarterly Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 299-325/June 2000 299 This content downloaded from 172.12.137.157 on Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:23:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Keil et al./Culture & Escalation of Commitment conditions of sunk cost. To better understand factors that may cause decision makers to continue such projects, this study examines the level of sunk cost together with the risk propensity and risk perception of decision makers. These factors are assessed for cross-cultural robustness using matching laboratory experiments carried out in three cultures (Finland, the Netherlands, and Singapore).With a wider set of explanatory factors than prior studies, we could account for a higher amount of variance in decision makers' willingness to continue a project. The level of sunk cost and the risk perception of decision makers contributed significantly to their willingness to continue a project. Moreover, the risk propensity of decision makers was inversely related to risk perception. This inverse relationship was significantly stronger in Singapore (a low uncertainty avoidance culture) than in Finland and the Netherlands (high uncertainty avoidance cultures). These results reveal that some factors behind decision makers'willingness to continue a project are consistent across cultures while others may be culture-sensitive.Implications of these results for further research and practice are discussed.

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Group polarization is the tendency of people to become more extreme in their thinking following group discussion. It may be beneficial to some, but detrimental to other, organizational decisions. This study examines how computer-mediated communication (CMC) may be associated with group polarization. Two laboratory experiments were carried out. The first experiment, conducted in an identified setting, demonstrated that removal of verbal cues might not have reduced social presence sufficiently to impact group polarization, but removal of visual cues might have reduced social presence sufficiently to raise group polarization. Besides confirming the results of the first experiment, the second experiment showed that the provision of anonymity might also have reduced social presence sufficiently to raise group polarization. Analyses of process data from both experiments indicated that the reduction in social presence might have increased group polarization by causing people to generate more novel arguments and engage in more one-upmanship behavior. Collectively, process and outcome data from both experiments reveal how group polarization might be affected by level of social presence. Specifically, group discussion carried out in an unsupported setting or an identified face-to-face CMC setting tends to result in weaker group polarization. Conversely, group discussion conducted in an anonymous face-to-face CMC setting or a dispersed CMC setting (with or without anonymity) tends to lead to stronger group polarization. Implications of these results for further research and practice are provided.