Publications

Article

Brand (In)fidelity: When Flirting with the Competition Strengthens Brand Relationships

By: Irene Consiglio, Daniella Kupor, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton

We document the existence and consequences of brand flirting: a short-lived experience in which a consumer engages with and/or indulges in the alluring qualities of a brand without committing to it. We propose that brand flirting is exciting and that when consumers... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Brands and Branding; Emotions

14 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 14, 2015

Publications May-June 2015 Human Resource Management Back to the Future: Implications for the Field of HRM of the Multi-stakeholder Perspective Proposed 30 Years Ago By: Beer, Michael, Paul Boselie, and Chris Brewster Abstract—Thirty years on from the seminal work... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black: Distancing Response to Ethical Dissonance

By: R. Barkan, S. Ayal, F. Gino and D. Ariely

Six studies demonstrate the "pot calling the kettle black" phenomenon whereby people are guilty of the very fault they identify in others. Recalling an undeniable ethical failure, people experience ethical dissonance between their moral values and their behavioral... View Details

Keywords: Ethical Dissonance; Cognitive Dissonance; Moral Judgment; Impression Management; Unethical Behavior; Values and Beliefs; Moral Sensibility; Cognition and Thinking; Research; Behavior; Judgments

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

2018 Atlas of Moral Psychology In Search of Moral Equilibrium: Person, Situation, and Their Interplay in Behavioral Ethics By: Lee, Julia J., and F. Gino Abstract—This comprehensive and cutting-edge volume maps out the terrain of moral... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2019
Article

The Self-Presentational Consequences of Upholding One's Stance in Spite of the Evidence

By: Leslie John, Martha Jeong, Francesca Gino and Laura Huang

Five studies explore the self-presentational consequences of refusing to “back down” – that is, upholding a stance despite evidence of its inaccuracy. Using data from an entrepreneurial pitch competition, Study 1 shows that entrepreneurs tend not to back down even... View Details

Keywords: Self-presentation; Belief Perseverance; Judgment; Confidence; Persuasion; Personal Characteristics; Behavior; Perception; Decision Making; Outcome or Result

May 2021
Case

Megan Ming Francis: Leadership and Racial Injustice

By: Francesca Gino and Frances X. Frei

In this multimedia case, Megan Ming Francis, a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington (UW) and a visiting professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, discusses the roots of racial injustice and the need for change. Through... View Details

Keywords: Racial Injustice; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership

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18 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 18, 2008

Working PapersWhere Does It Go? Spending by the Financially Constrained Authors:Shawn A. Cole, John Thompson, and Peter Tufano Abstract In this paper, we analyze the spending decisions of over 1.5 million Americans who vary in their... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 Oct 2016
First Look

October 25, 2016

coupon legality. We find that coupons increase branded sales by 60+ percent, entirely by reducing the sales of bioequivalent generics. During the five years following generic entry, we estimate that coupons... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Fiji versus FIJI: Negotiating Over Water

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

This case examines negotiations between a company and government over natural resources. The Fijian government proposed a substantial increase in its water extraction tax that would only apply to large extractors, and thus to FIJI Water and not to its competitors. FIJI... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Business and Government Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Distribution Industry; Fiji

Educators

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2017
Working Paper

Shopping for Confirmation: How Disconfirming Feedback Shapes Social Networks

By: Paul Green Jr., Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Many organizations employ interpersonal feedback processes as a structured means of informing and motivating employee improvement. Ample evidence suggests that these feedback processes are largely ineffective, and despite a wealth of prescriptive literature, these... View Details

Keywords: Developmental Feedback; Self-concept; Positive Illusions; Social Network; Threat; Identity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Behavior; Performance; Social Media

SSRN

07 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 7

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-126.pdf Learning from My Success and from Others' Failure: Evidence from Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Authors:Diwas KC, Bradley R. Staats, and Francesca Gino Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy

By: Ovul Sezer, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton

Self-presentation is a fundamental aspect of social life, with myriad critical outcomes dependent on others’ impressions. We identify and offer the first empirical investigation of a prevalent, yet understudied, self-presentation strategy: humblebragging. Across nine... View Details

Keywords: Humblebragging; Impression Management; Self-presentation; Interpersonal Perception; Competence; Liking; Sincerity; Behavior; Perception; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Characteristics

May 2019
Article

A Counterfeit Competence: After Threat, Cheating Boosts One's Self-Image

By: S. Wiley Wakeman, Celia Moore and F. Gino

In six studies, we show that after experiencing a threat to their abilities, individuals who misrepresent their performance as better than it actually is boost their feelings of competence. We situate these findings in the literature on self-protection. We show that... View Details

Keywords: Cheating; Self-perception; Self-protection; Competency and Skills; Identity; Perception; Performance

July 2021
Article

How Trust and Distrust Shape Perception and Memory

By: Ann-Christin Posten and Francesca Gino

Trust is a key ingredient in decision making, as it allows us to rely on the information we receive. Although trust is usually viewed as a positive element of decision making, we suggest that its effects on memory are costly rather than beneficial. Across nine studies... View Details

Keywords: Distrust; Memory; Similarity; Misinformation; Trust; Perception; Decision Making

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

appears to owe more to management fads than to serious underperformance. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54369 Seeker Beware: The Interpersonal Costs of Ignoring Advice By: Blunden, Hayley, Jennifer M. Logg, Alison Wood Brooks, Leslie... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2017
Working Paper

Seeking to Belong: How the Words of Internal and External Beneficiaries Influence Performance

By: Paul Green, Francesca Gino and Bradley R. Staats

In this paper, we examine how connecting to beneficiaries of one’s work increases performance and argue that beneficiaries internal to an organization (i.e., one’s own colleagues) can serve as an important source of motivation, even in jobs that—on the surface—may seem... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Motivation; Belongingness; Motivation; Job Design; Field Experiment; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy; Job Design and Levels

SSRN

21 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 21

in press Academy of Management Journal Compromised Ethics in Hiring Processes? How Referrers’ Power Affects Employees’ Reactions to Referral Practices By: Delfer-Rozin, R., B. Baker, and F. Gino Abstract—In this paper, we explore... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2015
Working Paper

Thick as Thieves? Dishonest Behavior and Egocentric Social Networks

By: Jooa Julia Lee, Dong-Kyun Im, Bidhan Parmar and Francesca Gino

People experience a threat to their moral self-concept in the face of discrepancies between their moral values and their unethical behavior. We theorize that people's need to restore their view of themselves as moral activates thoughts of a high-density personal social... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks

SSRN

Article

Temporal View of the Costs and Benefits of Self-Deception

By: Zoe Chance, Michael I. Norton, Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely

Researchers have documented many cases in which individuals rationalize their regrettable actions. Four experiments examine situations in which people go beyond merely explaining away their misconduct to actively deceiving themselves. We find that those who exploit... View Details

Keywords: Hindsight Bias; Lying; Motivated Reasoning; Self-enhancement; Social Psychology; Perception; Performance Expectations