When Good Theories Backfire

Abstract

As project management scholars, we should not automatically assume that theories borrowed from other fields will produce desirable results when applied to the project management domain. To illustrate this, I focus on the problem of project escalation and discuss how three theories that have been widely touted as producing good outcomes in other fields may produce undesirable consequences when applied to the project escalation context. I argue that when good theories backfire, this creates an opportunity for project management scholars to expose the boundary conditions of such theories.