Toward an institutional theory of escalation of commitment within sport management: A review and future directions

Highlights

•	Escalation of commitment theory in sport has grown over the past decade.
•	Escalation of commitment research has traditionally relied on fiscal indicators.
•	Sport contexts have shown that institutional factors should be considered.
•	EoC research should account for institutional structures and logics.

Abstract

Over the past decade, escalation of commitment theory has gained traction and relevance in the sport management literature. The purpose of this paper was to review the current progress of escalation of commitment research within sport management and provide a new perspective for evaluating and researching potential cases of escalation within sport contexts. To this end, the authors proposed a model that accounts for the different institutional logics that likely impact decision-making and evaluations of success. Consistent with previous research of institutions, the authors contend that the perceptions and attached meanings to courses of action should be accounted for when examining escalation of commitment. The implications of this approach and how it addresses shortcomings of previous research are detailed. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for future research of escalation of commitment in sport contexts.

Keywords:

• Escalation of commitment
• Institutional theory
• Institutional logics

Notes

1 To this point, escalation of commitment research has almost exclusively investigated situations involving desired outcomes that take the form of financial profit, economic impact, or otherwise tangible return on investment (see Lee, Keil, and Wong [2015] for an exception).

2 In each article, Bouchet and Hutchinson investigated a different university having engaged in what was believed to be escalation or de-escalation behavior in their commitment to athletics. For example, Bouchet and Hutchinson (2011) investigated the theoretical relevance of Birmingham Southern College’s decision to decrease their athletic department commitment from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I to NCAA Division III.

3 It should be noted that decisions in higher education can be further justified if examining the financial health of all departments on campus and not just athletics. Often other departments on a college campus may be operating at a higher loss than the athletic department. This may draw more attention of university leadership, while athletics meets other institutional ends in a distinct manner.

4 Please contact the authors for access to the faculty senate meeting minutes that were used as the primary source for the information included in this section.