Political activity in escalation of commitment: Sport facility funding and government decision making in the United States

Highlights

•	The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and impact of political action in EoC.
•	Political action is essential in EoC with decisions involving multiple stakeholder groups.
•	Political action influences and interacts with each EoC determinant.
•	Support, resources, power, and influence play substantial roles in efforts to increase and prevent EoC.
•	Several spillover effects result from use of political activity in EoC.

Abstract

In the United States, the decision to commit extensive public resources to sport facilities is a contentious topic of debate. Elected officials often commit substantial public resources to sport facility projects amidst contrary empirical evidence and mixed residential approval. This behavior not only implicates the presence of political activity to advance a course of action, but also suggests an escalation of commitment (EoC), the subject of this study. The authors implemented a collective case study approach to examine three municipalities with long-standing histories of subsidizing professional sport facilities. Data collected from influential elected officials and public leaders (N = 13) as well as documents and records revealed (a) political action to be essential in EoC with decisions involving multiple stakeholder groups; (b) the influence and interaction of political action within each EoC determinant; (c) the substantial role of support, resources, power, and influence in efforts to increase and prevent commitment to a failing course of action; and (d) noticeable spillover effects from use of political activity in EoC.

Keywords:

• Escalation of commitment theory
• Organizational commitment
• Politics
• Sport policy
• Facility funding

Notes

1 Political activism or participation (henceforth political activity/action) has been defined as “legal acts by private citizens that are more or less directly aimed at influencing the selection of governmental personnel and/or the actions that they take” (Verba, Nie, & Kim, 1987, p. 1). Norris (2005) expanded this definition by noting that political activity may include both traditional and emergent forms of political communication that are “used to pursue specific issues and policy concerns among diverse targets, both within and also well beyond the electoral arena” (p. 11). Policies are the rules that guide the activities of an organization or an administration, and they provide authority for allocating resources to reach specified objectives (Green & Kreuter, 2005). Policies can be set through laws, executive orders, projects or programs by those with the authority to make such decisions.

2 The 2015 Fédération Internationale de Football Association corruption case with allegations and criminal charges of bribery, fraud, and money laundering surrounding the World Cup bidding process provides a prime example of the need for higher authority regulatory involvement in circumstances involving both EoC and political action.