Publications

SSRN

2018
Working Paper

Backhanded Compliments: How Negative Comparisons Undermine Flattery

By: Ovul Sezer, Alison Wood Brooks and Michael I. Norton

Seven studies (N = 2352) examine backhanded compliments—seeming praise that draws a comparison with a negative standard—a distinct self-presentation strategy with two simultaneous goals: eliciting liking (“Your speech was good…”) and conveying status (“…for a woman”).... View Details

Keywords: Backhanded Compliments; Self-presentation; Impression Management; Interpersonal Perception; Liking; Status; Image Concern; Interpersonal Communication; Status and Position; Perception; Motivation and Incentives

April 2014
Article

Who Donates Their Bodies to Science? The Combined Role of Gender and Migration Status Among California Whole-body Donors

By: Asad L. Asad, Michel Anteby and Filiz Garip

The number of human cadavers available for medical research and training, as well as organ transplantation, is limited. Researchers disagree about how to increase the number of whole-body bequeathals, citing a shortage of donations from the one group perceived as most... View Details

Keywords: Altruism; Donations; Body; Whole-body; Clinical Anatomy; Medical Specialties; California

March 2020
Article

Governance Through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation and Corporate Behavior

By: Akash Chattopadhyay, Matthew D. Shaffer and Charles C.Y. Wang

After decades of deprioritizing shareholders' economic interests and low corporate profitability, Japan introduced the JPX-Nikkei400 in 2014. The index highlighted the country's "best-run" companies by annually selecting the 400 most profitable of its large and liquid... View Details

Keywords: JPX-Nikkei 400 Index; Status Incentives; Return On Equity; Capital Efficiency; Social Norms; Index Inclusion; Reputation Incentives; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Governance; Behavior; Investment Return; Status and Position; Japan

November 2006
Article

Making It Safe: The Effects of Leader Inclusiveness and Professional Status on Psychological Safety and Improvement Efforts in Health Care Teams

By: Ingrid Marie Nembhard and A. Edmondson

Keywords: Leadership; Health; Safety

23 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Status: When and Why It Matters

Consumers pay handsomely for products that are considered the best of the best in their league, whether they are the fastest cars, the fanciest handbags, or the finest wines. But for what, exactly, are they paying a premium? The superior quality of the product or the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

Over the last five years, MacKenzie Scott has gone from relatively unknown in the US philanthropic community to arguably its single most influential figure. When she signed the Giving Pledge in 2019 following her divorce with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and wrote... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

2007
Other Unpublished Work

Positions of Power and Status: Reciprocity in the Venture Capital Industry

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

This paper proposes a straightforward way of differentiating between central network positions that confer power from those that confer status. I argue that actors achieve high status by receiving numerous exchanges from actors who receive numerous exchanges from... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Power and Influence; Opportunities; Status and Position

20 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Having No Life is the New Aspirational Lifestyle

Americans are working longer hours than ever before, with the office increasingly stealing our leisure time. But according to new research by Anat Keinan, this hectic way of life is, for many of us, far from an unmitigated negative. In fact, some boast the lack of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

19 Mar 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’

Science article titled "Language Matters: Status Lost and Achieved Status Distinctions in Global Organizations," Neeley interviewed workers at a $25 billion Paris-based high-tech company about its... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

27 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

The ‘Promotion’ That Makes You Feel Bad

the strategy shifted, and they happened to be on the favored side of that strategy” Harvard Business School Associate Professor Tsedal Neeley and her research colleagues call this "unearned status gain," which can cause problems for those... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

13 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The Unlikely Upside of Mergers: More Diverse Management Teams

Employees often feel stressed when their firms are bought by other companies, fearing they could face layoffs, demotions, or lousy working conditions. While it’s true that organizations tend to restructure their workforce following mergers and acquisitions, these... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

2008
Working Paper

Positions of Power and Status: Reciprocity in the Venture Capital Industry

By: Mikolaj J. Piskorski

This paper proposes a straightforward way of differentiating between central network positions that confer power and those that confer status. I argue that actors achieve high status by receiving numerous exchanges from actors who in turn receive numerous exchanges... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Financial Services Industry; United States

May 2023
Case

Twitter Blues: Does Paid Verification Check Out?

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

Elon Musk proposes to offer verification status on Twitter to paying subscribers. Chaos ensues. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Social Media; Technology Industry

Educators

Purchase

2008
Article

Warmth and Competence As Universal Dimensions of Social Perception: The Stereotype Content Model and the BIAS Map

By: A. J.C. Cuddy, S. T. Fiske and P. Glick

The stereotype content model (SCM) defines two fundamental dimensions of social perception, warmth and competence, predicted respectively by perceived competition and status. Combinations of warmth and competence generate distinct emotions of admiration, contempt,... View Details

Keywords: Perception; Competency and Skills; Prejudice and Bias; Emotions; Business Model; Behavior; Research; Competition; Status and Position; Cognition and Thinking; Groups and Teams

Research Summary

FDA Review Time of New Drug Applications

Study of FDA Review Time of New Drug Applications (NDAs) between 1990-2004. Three main questions are addressed: How the optimal innovation strategy for firms is contingent upon firm status positions in the knowledge domain; how knowledge status both enables and... View Details

Research Summary

Thin Slices of Groups [Under Review]

In this paper with Jeff Polzer, Lisa Kwan, Wannawiruch Wiruchnipawan, and Marina Miloslavsky, we extend research on “thin slices” by testing and determining that perceivers are able to accurately judge the effectiveness of small, task-performing groups... View Details

Research Summary

New Venture Growth

Young and no Money? Never Mind: Strategies for New Venture Growth. Being revised (R&R) for Organization Science.

Mukti's dissertation, "Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow: Strategies for New Venture Growth," explored how intangible resources such... View Details

02 Jul 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Transforming American Public Education

like lack of political will to drive change. Yet amid these formidable barriers, a set of passionate social entrepreneurs are disrupting the status quo in education with innovative and effective approaches that are producing measurable... View Details

Keywords: Education

August 1998
Background Note

Selling Books Online in Mid-1998

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Provides an overview of the trends and predictions for the online book retail industry as of August 1998 and the current status of Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and other main players' online ventures. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Books; Retail Industry