Publications

Article

How Implicit Beliefs Influence Trust Recovery

By: M. Haselhuhn, M.E. Schweitzer and A. Wood

After a trust violation, some people are quick to forgive, whereas others never trust again. In this report, we identify a key characteristic that moderates trust recovery: implicit beliefs of moral character. Individuals who believe that moral character can change... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Trust

28 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

How Leaders Can Navigate Politicized Conversations and Inspire Collaboration

New research sheds light on implications of using politically correct and incorrect speech and identifies five techniques to increase persuasiveness and diffuse conflict. Insights from two recent studies in an emerging field—the View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

17 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

What’s Good about Quiet Rule-Breaking

the quiet rule-breaking could mean developing code with management's approval for open-source external company projects. For mail carriers, the moral gray zone might mean finishing duties early yet staying "on the clock" until... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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

May 1990 (Revised April 1991)
Background Note

Dirty Hands

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

A one-paragraph excerpt from a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Describes in the words of one character, the ethical problem of "dirty hands": the problem that doing the morally superior thing in some circumstances inevitably involves doing some things that are morally wrong.... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Management; Problems and Challenges; Personal Characteristics; Value

March 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Background Note

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

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: Personal Development and Career; Moral Sensibility; Motivation and Incentives

Educators

February 2007
Module Note

The Secret Sharer Summary: Earning Legitimacy

By: Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the tenth class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum). View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Power and Influence; Moral Sensibility

June 2023
Article

Amplification of Emotion on Social Media

By: Amit Goldenberg and Robb Willer

Why do expressions of emotion seem so heightened on social media? Brady et al. argue that extreme moral outrage on social media is not only driven by the producers and sharers of emotional expressions, but also by systematic biases in the way people that perceive moral... View Details

Keywords: Emotion; Perception; Prejudice and Bias; Emotions; Social Media

26 Sep 2024
HBS Case

If a Car Can Drive Itself, Can It Make Life-or-Death Decisions?

case quotes Harvard University psychology professor Joshua Greene saying, “Were a friend to call you from a set of trolley tracks seeking moral advice, you would probably not say, ‘Well, that depends. Would... View Details

Keywords: by Tom Quinn; Auto; Technology

January 2017
Article

The Dark Side of Going Abroad: How Broad Foreign Experiences Increase Immoral Behavior

By: Jackson G. Lu, Jordi Quoidbach, F. Gino, Alek Chakroff, William W. Maddux and Adam D. Galinsky

Due to the unprecedented pace of globalization, foreign experiences are increasingly common and valued. Past research has focused on the benefits of foreign experiences, including enhanced creativity and reduced intergroup bias. In contrast, the present work uncovers a... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Globalization; Behavior

October 2013
Article

The Cheater's High: The Unexpected Affective Benefits of Unethical Behavior

By: N. E. Ruedy, C. Moore, F. Gino and M. Schweitzer

Many theories of moral behavior assume that unethical behavior triggers negative affect. In this paper, we challenge this assumption and demonstrate that unethical behavior can trigger positive affect, which we term a "cheater's high." Across six studies, we find that... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Satisfaction; Decision Making

2009
Working Paper

Integrity: Without It Nothing Works

By: Michael C. Jensen

There is confusion between integrity, morality and ethics. In our much longer paper on the topic (see "Integrity: A Positive Model that Incorporates the Normative Phenomena of Morality, Ethics and Legality" (available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=920625)) my co-authors,... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Moral Sensibility; Legal Liability; Behavior

February 2007 (Revised March 2007)
Module Note

The Sweet Hereafter Summary: Reasoning from Personal Perspective

By: Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the sixth class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum). View Details

Keywords: Perspective; Cognition and Thinking

June 1990 (Revised October 1991)
Case

Lake Pleasant Bodies Case (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Presents a classic dilemma in legal ethics--the conflict between an attorney's obligations as an attorney, in this case to protect a client's confidentiality, and his or her own moral obligations as a person. An attorney must decide how to respond to the father of a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Questionnaires; Attorney and Client Relationships; Social Psychology; Conflict Management; Legal Services Industry

Educators