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Why Do Inventors Continue When Experts Say Stop? The Effects of Overconfidence, Optimism and Illusion of Control

Data shows that many inventors continue to expend resources on their inventions even after they have received expert advice suggesting that they cease effort. Using a sample of inventors seeking outside advice from a Canadian evaluative agency, this paper examines how overconfidence, optimism, and illusion of control explain this fact. While overconfidence did not have a significant effect on inventor's decisions, illusion of control and optimism did have an effect. An additional interesting finding is that the more time people have spent working on inventions, the more likely they are to discount this expert advice.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:WATERLOO/oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/828
Date January 2004
CreatorsAdomdza, Gordon
PublisherUniversity of Waterloo
Source SetsUniversity of Waterloo Electronic Theses Repository
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf, 758004 bytes, application/pdf
RightsCopyright: 2004, Adomdza, Gordon. All rights reserved.

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