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This study aims to explore the challenges that the escalation of commitment poses to information security.

Two distinct scenarios of escalation behavior are presented based on literature review. Psychological, organizational and economic theories on escalation of commitment are reviewed and applied to the area of information security.

Escalation of commitment involves continuation of a course of action after receiving negative information about it. In the information security compliance context, escalation affects a firm when an employee decides to break the firm’s information security policy to complete a failing task. In the information security investment context, escalation occurs if a manager continues investment in policies and solutions that are ineffective because of psychological, organizational or economic factors. Both of these types of escalation may be prevented with de-escalation techniques including a change in management or rotation of duties, monitoring, auditing and governance mechanisms.

Implications of escalation of commitment behavior for information security decision-makers and for future research are discussed.

This study complements the literature by establishing the context of escalation of commitment in decisions related to information security and reviewing managerial and economic theories on escalation of commitment.

This descriptive case study applies economic concepts to an issue of public policy, and helps build students’ critical thinking, analytical and quantitative skills. The case addresses a variety of topics typically taught in microeconomics and public economics courses. Topics most prominently represented in the case include elasticity of demand and supply, tax policy, tax incidence and negative externalities. Theoretical basis for each topic is laid out in the discussion section of the instructors’ manual, along with insights from student responses. The core nature of the concepts covered in this case study allows it to be integrated with common economics textbooks.

This descriptive case is based on critical economic analysis of secondary sources.

This case study focuses on the imposition of the controversial “soda tax” on sweetened beverages in the City of Philadelphia in 2017 and considers the economic lessons that can be learned from Philadelphia’s experience with the tax. The tax was proposed as a way to raise the city’s revenue while reducing obesity. After the tax was enacted, the sales of sweetened beverages declined in the city, but increased outside the city’s borders. The receipts from the tax have been below projections.

Learning outcomes covered by the case are typical for a microeconomics, public economics or managerial economics course. The appropriate course levels range from the principles to the MBA level of the economics and business curriculum. Discussion questions may be selected to fit a specific course focus and level. The instructors’ manual outlines question sets suitable for various types of economics courses.

This study aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and measures of financial reporting quality.

The authors explore the link between CSR and several indicators of firms’ financial reporting quality. Estimation with firm and year fixed effects is based on a sample of US publicly traded firms covering the period from 1991 to 2018.

Empirical results demonstrate that firms with higher CSR scores are associated with higher accuracy of financial forecasts, fewer earnings surprises and greater coverage by financial analysts. This positive relationship is more profound for firms that face low agency concerns, firms that have a higher level of customer awareness, firms that have more long-term institutional ownership or firms that do not face financial constraints.

The study contributes to the ongoing debate on the value of CSR. The results support the stakeholder value maximization view of CSR and identify the impact of several factors on its relationship with the quality of financial reporting.

Technology is changing the use of textbooks in higher education. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of offering multiple textbook formats in the same economics course using textbooks that provided multiple options including new and used printed books, as well as electronic books.

The study is based on a survey conducted in nine sections of introductory economics classes at a public US university. The study took place within the confines of undergraduate courses that offered textbooks with multiple available formats. A survey collected information about the format each student selected, the factors that students considered when choosing the format, and their overall attitudes about their selection at the end of the semester. Demographic information was also recorded.

The paper finds that students selected a variety of textbook options and identified the factors of cost, ease of use, and learning style as most important to their textbook format decision. Students overwhelmingly support the value of offering choice in textbook formats. In examining student selections further, the paper finds that among students that select an electronic textbook, cost is the dominant factor, while students selecting a new printed textbook mention their learning style and ease of use more often. Students that selected a used printed textbook identified cost, ease of use, and the ability to keep the textbook as factors important to them.

This study provides evidence on the impact of having multiple textbook format options within the same course. Overall, the results suggest that the student population has diverse preferences and any uniform policy on textbook format selection may not satisfy the needs of all student groups. Furthermore, students themselves recognize the diversity in learning styles and see value in having options in textbook format selection.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the real option theory is applicable to evaluation of cases of escalation and premature termination of Management Information Systems (MIS) projects.

The paper compares the implications of psychological and economic escalation theories with lessons from the real option theory as applied to MIS projects. Then, it examines published case studies, and discuss when project continuation enhances and reduces value for the manager and the firm.

Escalation of commitment is continuation of an investment project after receiving negative signals. Escalation was identified as a significant problem in MIS projects often explained by the desire of the manager to avoid recognizing mistakes and to protect reputation. The opposite problem of premature termination of certain investment projects was also identified. This study argues that accurate application of real option theory is critical to distinguish between escalation and premature termination. Under the real option theory, an investment project is analogous to a financial option, in that there is an opportunity to continue the project, but no obligation. Continuation has value when there is uncertainty and new information about the project may be revealed. Failure to account for the real options in a project is value‐reducing as it may lead to mistakes in premature termination of projects when projects with real option value are labeled as cases of irrational escalation.

The paper details the implications of real option theory to evaluating project continuation in the MIS setting.

This paper applies insights from real option theory to studies of escalation in MIS. Continuing a project may be seen as escalation when it actually has value for the firm, as new information received by continuing the project reduces uncertainty.

This paper seeks to apply results from the study of bandit processes to cases of information technology (IT) project failures.

This paper examines three published case studies, and discusses whether managerial actions are in accordance with the predictions of bandit process studies.

Bandits are a class of decision‐making problems that involve choosing one action from a set. In terms of project management, the firm selects from several alternative IT projects, each with its own distribution of risks and rewards. The firm investigates technologies one by one, and keeps only the best‐performing technology. The bandit perspective implies that managers choosing a risky IT project with high potential reward before safer ones are behaving optimally. It is in the firm's interest to resolve the uncertainty about the innovative project first. In case of failure, the firm can later choose safer technology. A high proportion of risky projects adopted leads to a high number of project failures.

The bandit approach supports studies that advocate evaluating decision makers on the optimality of their decision process, rather than specific outcomes.

This paper demonstrates how insights from the bandit problem are relevant to studies of IT project failures. Whilst choosing high‐risk, high‐reward projects may be in a firm's interest, some observed project failures are optimal choices that do not work out.

This article aims to present an empirical analysis of the effects of changes in the student teaching evaluation (STE) form in a business school.

The authors discuss a case of STE re‐design in a business school that focused on improving the STE instrument. They utilize empirical data collected from students that completed both the original and the revised STE form in several semesters of undergraduate economics courses to examine the effect of changing the evaluation scale and the fashion in which written comments are solicited.

There are three results of interest to departments considering a change to student evaluation instruments. First, the authors find that a shift from a four‐point scale to a five‐point scale leads to a decrease in evaluation scores even after making an adjustment for scaling. Second, they find that students tend to give lower scores on comparison‐type questions that ask for a comparison of the instructor or the course to the student's entire college experience. A larger share of such comparison‐type questions may depress the mean scores on composite evaluations. Third, soliciting written feedback in a specific section of the form is an effective way to increase both the number of written comments and the size of each comment.

Student teaching evaluations serve as an assessment instrument and are frequently used in faculty promotion decisions. A discussion of best practices in designing the STE is provided in order to caution the stakeholders of the problems that may arise and to guide academic institutions in the review of evaluation procedures.

The authors start with an example of STE re‐design and then analyze empirical data from several semesters. Analysis of the literature and empirical evidence leads to recommended best practices that make STE data more useful both as a summative measure for administrative decisions and as a formative measure used by faculty looking to improve their teaching skills and course design.

This study aims to examine the economic factors that determine innovation pattern in centralized and decentralized economies and organizations.

Empirical evidence on innovation in the centralized economy of the Soviet Union is reviewed. Existing theoretical literature in this area relies on the incentives of decision-makers in centralized organizations and on the concept of soft budget constraint in centralized command economies and hard budget constraint in market economies. This study advocates applying the hierarchy/polyarchy model of innovation screening to explain the pattern of innovation in centralized economic systems.

Screening and development of innovation projects can be organized in a centralized or decentralized fashion. The differences in innovation between centralized and decentralized economic systems may be explained by elements of the principal-agent theory, the soft budget constraint model, and the theory of decision-making in hierarchies and polyarchies. Empirical evidence shows a sharp slowdown in both innovation and economic growth in the Soviet economy following the economic decision-making reform of 1965. The theoretical explanation most consistent with this evidence is the hierarchy decision-making model.

Comparisons of innovation in centralized and decentralized economies traditionally relied on decision-makers' incentives and the concept of soft budget constraint. Upon analysis of empirical evidence from the centralized Soviet economy, this study advocates explaining innovation patterns based on decision-making theory of hierarchy.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a new comprehensive metric to successfully plan and execute IT projects. The development will be based on a study of all the variables that go into making a successful IT project.

A questionnaire, containing qualitative and quantitative response questions, to gather data from practicing project managers is designed and used in an IT company. Cronbach’s alpha is used to analyze the data and multiple regression is used to find the equation relating project success to project management success.

A comprehensive variable called Project Health Index (PHI) has been identified. Using this variable, one can predict whether a project is likely to succeed or not. This comprehensive, composite variable is calculated by using 17 other project-related metrics identified from the responses to the questionnaire.

The PHI has been calculated for the company studied. However, more studies need to be performed before it can be established that the PHI can also be used in other companies and projects. What has been established and validated is that PHI can be used in the studied company and that the methodology to calculate PHI is valid.

The PHI can be used as a predictive variable, i.e. one that can be used to take corrective and preventive actions to make a project successful. The PHI can also be used to allocate resources, prioritize the allocation and improve project management during the course of project execution.

By implementing projects efficiently, resource utilisation increases and leads to waste avoidance. Improved sustainability is the end result.

The work is original. The contents and the conclusions drawn, as well as the use of the PHI will enable IT companies to implement projects efficiently, reduce cost and enhance profit.