Publications

Article

Understanding the Advice of Commissions-Motivated Agents: Evidence from the Indian Life Insurance Market

By: Santosh Anagol, Shawn Cole and Shayak Sarkar

We conduct a series of field experiments to evaluate the quality of advice provided by life insurance agents in India. Agents overwhelmingly recommend unsuitable, strictly dominated products, which provide high commissions to the agent. Agents cater to the beliefs of... View Details

Keywords: Advice; Customers; Insurance; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Ethics; India

16 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Advice on Advice

In business, good advice is priceless. Managers who are anxious and confused when confronted with corporate challenges can find that a piece of sound advice from a colleague can instill a sense of calm and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

March 2019
Article

When Does Advice Impact Startup Performance?

By: Aaron Chatterji, Solène Delecourt, Sharique Hasan and Rembrand Koning

Why do some entrepreneurs thrive while others fail? We explore whether the advice entrepreneurs receive about managing their employees influences their startup's performance. We conducted a randomized field experiment in India with 100 high-growth technology firms... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Field Experiment; Peer Effects; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Advice; Management Style; Management Practices and Processes; Knowledge Dissemination; Entrepreneurship; Performance; India

September 20, 2019
Editorial

Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback

By: Jaewon Yoon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella S. Kristal and A.V. Whillans

Conventional wisdom says you should ask your colleagues for feedback. However, research suggests that feedback often has no (or even a negative) impact on our performance. This is because the feedback we receive is often too vague—it fails to highlight what we can... View Details

Keywords: Feedback; Advice; Advice Seeking; Feedback Culture; Advice Taking; Interpersonal Communication

June 2014
Technical Note

A Note on Seeking, Receiving, and Giving Advice

By: David A. Garvin and Joshua D. Margolis

This note examines the processes of seeking, receiving, and giving advice by drawing on both academic research and the lessons of skilled practitioners. It begins with a discussion of the potential benefits and costs of advice-seeking and advice-giving. The note then... View Details

Keywords: Advice Taking; Coaching; Decision-making; Leadership; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career; Management Skills

Educators

Purchase

16 Mar 2015
News

Advice on Advice

October 2020
Article

What Goes Down When Advice Goes Up: Younger Advisers Underestimate Their Impact

By: Ting Zhang and Michael S. North

Common wisdom suggests that older is wiser. Consequently, people rarely give advice to older individuals—even when they are relatively more expert—leading to missed learning opportunities. Across six studies (N=3,445), we explore the psychology of advisers when they... View Details

Keywords: Advice; Expertise; Knowledge Sharing; Experience and Expertise; Age; Perception

Article

Power, Competitiveness, and Advice Taking: Why the Powerful Don't Listen

By: L. P. Tost, F. Gino and R. Larrick

Four experiments test the prediction that feelings of power lead individuals to discount advice received from both experts and novices. Experiment 1 documents a negative relationship between subjective feelings of power and use of advice. Experiments 2 and 3 further... View Details

Keywords: Advice Taking; Power; Expertise; Confidence; Competitive Mindset; Competition

2021
Working Paper

Soliciting Advice Rather Than Feedback Yields More Developmental, Critical, and Actionable Input

By: Hayley Blunden, Jaewon Yoon, Ariella S. Kristal and Ashley V. Whillans

Asking for feedback is a popular way to solicit third-party input at work. However, feedback seeking is only weakly related to performance, and employees often report that the feedback that they receive is unhelpful. Addressing this discrepancy, across six studies... View Details

Keywords: Feedback; Advice; Personal Development; Future Focus; Evaluative Mindset; Performance; Personal Development and Career