Motivated Reasoning - Publications - Faculty & Research

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

morality and decrease people's ability to justify dishonesty. The second principle, Visibility, aims to restrict anonymity, prompt peer monitoring, and elicit responsible norms. The third principle, Self-Engagement, increases motivation... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

today’s multibillionaires and much less than most people would have assumed. One reason was that he gave away half of what he earned throughout his career. He gained a great deal of satisfaction from being frugal with the rest. His major... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

13 Feb 2020
Book

Open Your Organization to Honest Conversations

buying Alstom, GE’s chief energy competitor, but ignored warnings from wary board directors and senior executives who claimed Alstom had made bad deals and otherwise performed poorly. Since the acquisition, Alstom has struggled—and today it’s considered one of the main... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

03 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed With Your New Boss

resources, revisiting situation and expectations as necessary. When you feel the relationship is reasonably well established, you can begin the personal development conversation. View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

20 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 20

mean compromising on your own. Often, the two complement each other and that is what makes a win-win solution for everyone. This book gives an inside look into what motivates exceptional companies and how they are a cut above the rest.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Oct 2023
Research Event

Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips

Status-- Winfrey: No, but I don't think it's status. I think, and one of the reasons I said what I said about it informing me, and I said to you back backstage that it actually made me a better person. Reading those columns made me a... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Staff

13 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

The Color of Private Equity: Quantifying the Bias Black Investors Face

of the reason minority-owned funds face higher bars to success is because of discrimination, Lerner says that “easy solutions are few and far between.” Even so, he believes a publicly available resource listing minority-owned funds would... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds; Financial Services

15 May 2024
Research & Ideas

A Major Roadblock for Autonomous Cars: Motorists Believe They Drive Better

Think you’re a better driver than most people? You’re not alone. And you may be one reason self-driving cars haven’t taken off. About 77 percent of participants surveyed in a new study rated themselves superior to automated vehicles,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Transportation; Auto

10 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

In Empowering Black Voters, Did a Landmark Law Stir White Angst?

Rights Act, we see that areas where the effects of the law were stronger displayed more negative racial attitudes, which took the form of violent behavior—namely white individuals committing more racially motivated hate crimes against... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

13 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Leadership Roles

different from managing their work. Leading is fundamentally about identifying where the group needs to go (developing a compelling vision for the future), strategizing how to get there, and getting people to change in order to get there. This is done by inspiring,... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Davis

04 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

The Business of Life

says. "The reality is that the only reason you're interested in either of these things is that you're interested in finding the truth. We spend most of our waking hours in our professions, but if we can't allow success in our professions... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

individual will perceive entrepreneurial opportunities as well as increase his or her motivation to pursue those opportunities. We find that an individual is more likely to become an entrepreneur if his or her co-workers have been... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

31 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: Jan. 31

sustained by the shadow of the future). We argue that one of the reasons these practices may be difficult to copy is that effective relational contracts must solve the twin problems of credibility and clarity, and that while credibility... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne & Carmen Nobel

14 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 14

95%CI=0.54-1.34, p=0.48), nor order, comparing groups 1+3 with 2+4 (40% v 37 %, OR=0.88, 95%CI=0.56-1.39; p=0.59), influenced the likelihood of choosing IC. Participants choosing IC were more likely to invoke sanctity of life and religiosity as personal values.... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift

conflicts of interest, myriad examples of bribery and extortion, unfair and predatory competition, theft and misappropriation of information, civic and environmental irresponsibility. Unfortunately, we have no reliable gauge of how the levels and types of misconduct... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

04 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Shackleton: An Entrepreneur of Survival

also find important insights into how to motivate people, allocate resources, and act with great integrity in moments of crisis. I firmly believe that the template for business education can be very broad. As soon as that ship was frozen,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

complaint, but the class discussion turned to the motivations of the man who revealed the wrongdoing. Have you ever thought about blowing the whistle? Dey asked her students. Their response: We’ve thought about it, but it is so costly. At... View Details

Keywords: by April White

24 Jan 2011
HBS Case

Terror at the Taj

of them, unfortunately, gave their lives to save guests." A dozen employees died. Most Difficult Case Deshpandé, a native of Bombay (now Mumbai), says it took a full week to conduct the interviews. "This is the hardest case I've ever worked on. One View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Accommodations

05 Mar 2009
What Do You Think?

How Frank or Deceptive Should Leaders Be?

of mediocre performance. On the other hand, there may be reasons why good leaders have to have an optimistic bias. As one CEO put it in a meeting last week, "I can't lead from a position of pessimism." Even though CEOs may... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

confidence, and motivation to continue. One manager, noting the need to escape what he called the “psychic prison of continuous improvement,” regularly set aside time to celebrate workplace achievements with his staff. “Reflection is... View Details