Innovation projects are prone to “escalation of commitment” (the tendency to continue projects even if it is clear that they will be unsuccessful). In this study, we introduce a construct measuring the escalation prevention potential (EPP) of innovation projects as perceived by individuals in the organization. EPP consists of three components: (i) goals, (ii) process, and (iii) ability, to shield projects from escalation to commitment. A survey was conducted among 1062 clinicians working in hospitals implementing Electronic Medical Records. The empirical results show that the three theoretical components of EPP sum up to a single measure. Four organizational characteristics of organizations (organizational routines, authentic leadership, employee involvement and support staff quality) explain a large share of the variation in EPP.

, , ,
doi.org/10.1142/S0219877018500062, hdl.handle.net/1765/103982
International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management
Centre for Rotterdam Cultural Sociology (CROCUS)

Koster, F., & Lambooij, M. (2018). Managing Innovations: A Study of the Implementation of Electronic Medical Records in Dutch Hospitals. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management. doi:10.1142/S0219877018500062