Eliëns et al. (2018): Rational versus intuitive gatekeeping: escalation of commitment in the front end of NPD - Most important

4 important questions on Eliëns et al. (2018): Rational versus intuitive gatekeeping: escalation of commitment in the front end of NPD - Most important

What is investigated in the paper by Eliëns et al. (2018)? And Why?

  • This study investigates if a gatekeeper’s thinking style - whether they think rationally or whether they follow their intuition - can prevent escalation of commitment in the front end.
  • Theory on cognition provides arguments for and against either thinking style’s influence on escalation of commitment, but empirical evidence on this matter is lacking.

Which two hypotheses are formulated in the paper by Eliëns et al. (2018)? And which one is supported?

  1. H1: Gatekeepers who adopt a rational thinking style when making gate decisions in the front end of NPD show less escalation of commitment than those who adopt an intuitive thinking style
  2. H2: Gatekeepers who adopt an intuitive thinking style when making gate decisions in the front end of NPD show less escalation of commitment than those who adopt a rational thinking style

H1 is supported.

Result: What is an important reason why intuition might lead to more escalation of commitment of gatekeepers?

Their optimistic overconfidence in past decisions, which might persist even when new negative information becomes available
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What are 3 managerial implications?

  • Firms can select gatekeepers with a disposition (aanleg) toward rationality, and/or train them in using a rational style
  • Firms could reinforce rationality at the final front end gate through  guidelines and rules of order
  • Firms could establish a list of standard gate criteria and use scorecards or thresholds per criterion that need to be met by every NPD project to pass the gate

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

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