Publications

2010
Article

I May Not Agree With You, but I Trust You: Caring About Social Issues Signals Integrity

By: Julian Zlatev

What characteristics of an individual signal trustworthiness to other people? I propose that individuals who care about contentious social issues signal to observers that they have integrity and thus can be trusted. Critically, this signal conveys trustworthiness... View Details

Keywords: Personal Characteristics; Moral Sensibility; Perception; Trust

05 Jul 2012
What Do You Think?

Why Is Trust So Hard to Achieve in Management?

Summing Up Do Managers Take Trust for Granted? Trust is a big issue these days judging from the volume of responses to this month's column. Its importance in management is agreed on. There is a long list of behaviors that can damage it.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Article

Consistent Belief in a Good True Self in Misanthropes and Three Interdependent Cultures

By: Julian De Freitas, Hagop Sarkissian, George E. Newman, Igor Grossman, Felipe De Brigard, Andres Luco and Joshua Knobe

People sometimes explain behavior by appealing to an essentialist concept of the self, often referred to as the true self. Existing studies suggest that people tend to believe that the true self is morally virtuous; that is deep inside, every person is motivated to... View Details

Keywords: Concepts; Social Cognition; Moral Reasoning; True Self; Culture; Misanthropy; Behavior; Values and Beliefs; Moral Sensibility

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

cannot be valuable within an organization.” As his community deteriorates, Miller’s behavior spirals How did Miller end up in prison in the first place? Research shows that poverty and imprisonment are closely linked. A 2018 Brookings... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

09 Apr 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses

several years ago, is that those bank bonuses also caused loan officers to perceive reality differently—they believed those loans would succeed. It’s not just financial incentives that are under study. Employers seek to change the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

17 Dec 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Integrity: Without It Nothing Works

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

28 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 28

literature in behavioral ethics and moral psychology on ordinary unethical behavior. Publisher's link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352154615000443 April 2015 Academy of Management... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2019
Article

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of nonpracticing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual-property space. We find that, on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms and target cash in... View Details

Keywords: Patent Trolls; Innovation; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ethics; Innovation and Invention

SSRN

02 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

When Goal Setting Goes Bad

for you, so could you explain a little more the correlation between goals and unethical behavior? A: Sure! The majority of my recent work is on bounded ethicality, or the ways in which even ethical people engage in unethical View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

December 2021
Case

Slice Labs: Creating a Fraud-free Online Insurance Platform

By: Amit Goldenberg, Max Bazerman and Ruth Page

"Slice Labs: Creating a Fraud-Free Online Insurance Platform" engages students with the challenge of how to influence other parties to not engage in fraud in the context of digital insurance. The case is centered around Slice, a digital insurance company that was... View Details

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Article

Does Observability Amplify Sensitivity to Moral Frames? Evaluating a Reputation-Based Account of Moral Preferences

By: Valerio Capraro, Jillian J. Jordan and Ben Tappin

A growing body of work suggests that people are sensitive to moral framing in economic games involving prosociality, suggesting that people hold moral preferences for doing the “right thing”. What gives rise to these preferences? Here, we evaluate the explanatory power... View Details

Keywords: Moral Preferences; Moral Frames; Observability; Trustworthiness; Trust Game; Trade-off Game; Moral Sensibility; Reputation; Behavior; Trust

01 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 1

Abstract—Objective: Assess whether a commitment contract informed by behavioral economics leads to persistent virologic suppression among HIV-positive patients with poor antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. Design: Single-center pilot... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

A Manager’s Moral Obligation to Preserve Capitalism

for instance, might argue that capitalism ignores issues of fairness in outcomes—but they can't say that it doesn't exist. “Our task is not to take immoral people and make them moral. Our task is to add texture to the dominant ethical... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 6

dishonesty as morally acceptable and thus feel less guilty about benefiting from cheating. We discuss the implications of these results for collaborations in the social realm. License to Cheat: Voluntary Regulation and Ethical View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2021
Working Paper

Does Observability Amplify Sensitivity to Moral Frames? Evaluating a Reputation-Based Account of Moral Preferences

By: Valerio Capraro, Jillian J. Jordan and Ben Tappin

A growing body of work suggests that people are sensitive to moral framing in economic games involving prosociality, suggesting that people hold moral preferences for doing the “right thing”. What gives rise to these preferences? Here, we evaluate the explanatory power... View Details

Keywords: Moral Preferences; Moral Frames; Observability; Trustworthiness; Trust Game; Trade-off Game; Moral Sensibility; Reputation; Behavior; Trust

24 Sep 2009
Working Paper Summaries

“I read Playboy for the articles”: Justifying and Rationalizing Questionable Preferences

Keywords: by Zoë Chance & Michael I. Norton

05 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 5

Concealment: The Roots of Dishonest Behavior How Moral Flexibility Constrains Our Moral Compass By: Gino, F. Abstract—Cheating, fraud, deception, uncooperative actions, and many other forms of unethical View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2012
Article

The Influence of Prior Industry Affiliation on Framing in Nascent Industries: The Evolution of Digital Cameras

By: Mary J. Benner and Mary Tripsas

New industries sparked by technological change are characterized by high technological, market, and competitive uncertainty. In this paper we explore how a firm's conceptualization of products in this context, reflected in its introduction of product features, is... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Transformation; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Product; Values and Beliefs; Mathematical Methods; Power and Influence; Behavior; Experience and Expertise; Design; Market Entry and Exit; Employment Industry; Computer Industry

Article

Birds of a Feather...Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

By: Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

Does culture eat strategy for breakfast? This paper investigates the interactions among corporate culture, norms, and strategy, in order to better understand this issue and related questions. It first shows, through microfoundations, how the forces that drive toward... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Norms; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Values and Beliefs