Trusts - Publications - Faculty & Research

This chapter considers the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, and specifically the subsequent “bail-out” of the large financial institutions by the American government, from the perspective of trust in the post-bail-out economy. The author considers the impacts... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Government and Politics; Financial Crisis

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23 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

After High-Profile Failures, Can Investors Still Trust Credit Ratings?

During the financial crisis of 2008, major credit rating agencies faced sharp criticism for failing to recognize and warn of the risks of emerging instruments like mortgage-backed securities. Since that time, the results of a new study suggest, the agencies appear to... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

July–August 2021
Article

Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government

By: Ryan W. Buell, Ethan Porter and Michael I. Norton

Problem definition: As trust in government reaches historic lows, frustration with government performance approaches record highs. Academic/practical relevance: We propose that in co-productive settings like government services, peoples’ trust and... View Details

Keywords: Government Services; Behavioral Operations; Operational Transparency; Government Administration; Service Operations; Programs; Perception; Attitudes; Behavior; Trust

August 28, 2018
Article

Maintaining Trust When Agents Can Engage in Self-deception

By: Andres Babino, Hernan A. Makse, Rafael Di Tella and Mariano Sigman

The coexistence of cooperation and selfish instincts is a remarkable characteristic of humans. Psychological research has unveiled the cognitive mechanisms behind self-deception. Two important findings are that a higher ambiguity about others’ social preferences leads... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Cognitive Neuroscience; Corruption; Cooperation; Self-deception; Trust; Behavior

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September 2003
Article

Attributions of Trust and the Calculus of Reciprocity

By: Madan M. Pillutla, Deepak Malhotra and J. Keith Murnighan

Keywords: Trust

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September 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

Twiddy & Company: Trust in a Chaotic Environment

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Shalene Gupta and Tom Quinn

Twiddy & Company, known for Southern hospitality rooted in personal interactions, needed to adjust to contactless remote customer service as fear of the contagious virus prevented person-to-person contact. Local elected officials, in a bid to stop tourists from... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Health Pandemics; Organizational Culture; Disruption; Government Legislation; Transportation; Tourism Industry; North Carolina; United States

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02 Mar 2020
What Do You Think?

Are Candor, Humility, and Trust Making a Comeback?

SUMMING UP Why Is It so Difficult to Lead with Candor, Humility, and Trust? Responses to this month’s column, for the most part, represented a celebration of the values of candor, humility, and trust in leadership. As Dan Wallace put it,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

12 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Can Consumers be Trusted with Their Own Health Care?

10, I trust the consumer to do the right thing,” he said. “(But) if you’re a regulator, and the consumer does the wrong thing one out of 10 times, that’s 10 percent, and that’s too much for a regulator to tolerate. There’s a disconnect... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

What It Takes to Restore Trust in Business

American business are plainly visible for the whole world to see, Mills warned. Repairing the infrastructure is critically important to restore trust in American business, and tinkering with the rulebook is not enough. The process of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

December 1977
Case

Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. (A)

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Article

CDC's Virus Messaging Is Too Complicated to Trust

By: Scott Duke Kominers

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November 1990 (Revised February 1991)
Case

L. William Seidman and the Resolution Trust Corp.

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Organizational Design; Public Administration Industry; Financial Services Industry

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20 Jan 2022
Op-Ed

3 Steps to Help Companies Rebuild Trust During the Pandemic

struggled with whether to lay off or furlough employees. Business leaders have had to make tough calls amid rapidly changing conditions with official guidance that keeps changing, and their decisions have run the gamut from trust building... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Research Summary

Risk, Trust and Escalation Behavior of Owner Managers

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Professor Montgomery and Professor Deepak Malhotra (HBS), together with scientists from Harvard's Program on Evolutionary Dynamics, are studying risk-related decision making of owner managers in newly-founded and established companies. This experimental... View Details

October 2024
Supplement

Hakluyt: from Corporate Intelligence to Trusted Advisors (B)

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Lena Duchene

This case is a continuation of an earlier study chronicling Hakluyt & Company (Hakluyt)’s transformation from an obscure boutique to a global corporate advisory firm with an outsized reputation. In August 2024, the firm faced a pivotal moment as managing partner Varun... View Details