Publications

October 2011
Case

Chris and Alison Weston (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Celia Moore

Chris and Alison Weston describe how they, a well-educated middle class couple, ended up committing mail fraud, for which they each served a year and a half in federal prison. The case highlights for students how otherwise upstanding individuals much like themselves... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Conflict of Interests; Value

March 2000
Background Note

Fall Before Rising, A: The Story of Jai Jaikumar (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Richard Compton Squire, Sarah Patricia Vickers-Willis and Harry James Wilson

What is the relationship between good fortune, professional success, and a moral obligation to other people? Jai Jaikumar, who as a youth was saved by a shepherd woman after a tragic mountaineering accident in the Himalayas, and who later rose to the top of his... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; History; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Familiarity; Perception; Welfare

July 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Background Note

Integrity and Management

By: Joseph L. Badaracco

Describes the role that issues of personal integrity play in managers' decisions. Defines personal integrity, the factors that influence it, the situations in which it becomes particularly relevant to company decisions, and ways of overcoming the blind spots that can... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Moral Sensibility; Planning; Situation or Environment; Trust; Value

March 2018
Article

Polluted Morality: Air Pollution Predicts Criminal Activity and Unethical Behavior

By: Jackson G. Lu, Julia J. Lee, F. Gino and Adam D. Galinsky

Air pollution is a serious problem that influences billions of people globally. Although the health and environmental costs of air pollution are well known, the present research investigates its ethical costs. We propose that air pollution can increase criminal and... View Details

Keywords: Pollutants; Behavior; Moral Sensibility; Crime and Corruption

April 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Module Note

Delivering Personally on Responsibility

By: Joshua D. Margolis

How can individuals equip themselves to exercise leadership in the face of moral adversity? This six-session module aims to prepare students to meet moral responsibility when it is simultaneously most essential and most difficult. Moral adversity refers to situations... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Leadership; Moral Sensibility; Leadership Development

2022
Chapter

Redirecting Rawlsian Reasoning Toward the Greater Good

By: Joshua D. Greene, Karen Huang and Max Bazerman

In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls employed the ‘veil of Ignorance’ as a moral reasoning device designed to promote impartial thinking. By imagining the choices of decision-makers who are blind to biasing information, one might see more clearly the organizing... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Judgments; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making

05 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 5, 2017

that influences billions of people globally. Although the health and environmental costs of air pollution are well known, the present research investigates its View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2017
Article

Creativity in Unethical Behavior Attenuates Condemnation and Breeds Social Contagion: When Transgressions Seem to Create Little Harm

By: Scott S. Wiltermuth, Lynne C. Vincent and F. Gino

Across six studies, people judged creative forms of unethical behavior to be less unethical than less creative forms of unethical behavior, particularly when the unethical behaviors imposed relatively little direct harm on victims. As a result of perceiving behaviors... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Perception; Creativity

January 2016
Article

Blind Loyalty?: How Group Loyalty Makes Us See Evil or Engage in It

By: John Angus D. Hildreth, Francesca Gino and Max Bazerman

Loyalty often drives corruption. Corporate scandals, political machinations, and sports cheating highlight how loyalty's pernicious nature manifests in collusion, conspiracy, cronyism, nepotism, and other forms of cheating. Yet loyalty is also touted as an ethical... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Groups and Teams

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2011
Working Paper

The Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can Be More Dishonest

By: Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely

Creativity is a common aspiration for individuals, organizations, and societies. Here, however, we test whether creativity increases dishonesty. We propose that a creative personality and creativity primes promote individuals' motivation to think outside the box and... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Behavior; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives; Personal Characteristics

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27 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Corporate Values and Employee Cynicism

both sides of the fence (leaders and the led) avoid or diminish the kind of tension that happened at Maverick? A: Leaders need to seek feedback before significant bad events... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Article

Three Principles to REVISE People's Unethical Behavior

By: Shahar Ayal, Francesca Gino, Rachel Barkan and Dan Ariely

Dishonesty and unethical behavior are widespread in the public and private sectors and cause immense annual losses. For instance, estimates of U.S. annual losses indicate $1 trillion paid in bribes, $270 billion lost due to unreported income, as well as $42 billion... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Ethics; Policy

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September 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

John Rogers and Ariel Investments

By: Steven Rogers and Greg White

The strong, public advocacy of a highly successful African American CEO has the potential to negatively impact his company. The CEO is deciding if he should listen to the advice of others who are urging him to “tone it down”. View Details

Keywords: Advocacy; Diversity; Investment Management; Affirmative Action; Disruption; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Leading Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry; Chicago

29 May 2013
Research & Ideas

Faculty Symposium Showcases Breadth of Research

Employee theft and fraud: $600 billion. "The costs to business and society are striking," she said. Gino, an associate professor and behavioral economist at HBS,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance of a sourcing strategy based on its close relationships with suppliers in developing countries. Details the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Moral Sensibility; Policy; Employment; Contracts; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Natural Environment; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues