The notion of escalating commitment completes the notion of commitment and often overlaps with it. The escalation of commitment corresponds to the propensity of individuals to persist, sometimes in an excessive manner, with a decision or a course of action, despite negative feedback and the existence of a halo of uncertainty that affect the plausibility of a future success (Staw 1981). Sabherwal et al. (1994) even speak about being ‘too committed’. Escalation of commitment may concern the individual, the group or the organisation (Caldwell and O’Reilly 1982). Commitment escalation has been studied in various fields of application: researchers have used this perspective to address subjects such as the war in Vietnam, urban planning policies and software development projects (Staw 1981; Simonson and Staw 1992).