Publications

Article

Performance Effects of Setting a High Reference Point for Peer‐Performance Comparison

By: Henry Eyring and V.G. Narayanan

We conduct a field experiment, based on a registered report accepted by the Journal of Accounting Research, to test performance effects of setting a high reference point for peer‐performance comparison. Relative to providing the median as a reference point for... View Details

Keywords: Relative Performance Evaluation; Reference Points; Social Comparison; Field Experiment; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Education

October 2012
Article

The Effect of Reference Point Prices on Mergers and Acquisitions

By: Malcolm Baker, Xin Pan and Jeffrey Wurgler

Prior stock price peaks of targets affect several aspects of merger and acquisition activity. Offer prices are biased toward recent peak prices although they are economically unremarkable. An offer's probability of acceptance jumps discontinuously when it exceeds a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Stocks; Price; Valuation; Negotiation

2023
Working Paper

'De Gustibus' and Disputes about Reference Dependence

By: Thomas Graeber, Pol Campos-Mercade, Lorenz Goette, Alexandre Kellogg and Charles Sprenger

Existing tests of reference-dependent preferences assume universal loss aversion. This paper examines the implications of heterogeneity in gain-loss attitudes for such tests. In experiments on labor supply and exchange behavior we measure gain-loss attitudes and then... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction

21 Dec 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Wage Elasticities in Working and Volunteering: The Role of Reference Points in a Laboratory Study

Keywords: by Christine Exley & Stephen Terry

Article

The Scandal Effect

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, George Serafeim and Robin Abrahams

Executives with scandal-tainted companies on their résumés pay a penalty on the job market, even if they clearly had nothing to do with the trouble. Because the scandal effect is lasting, a company you left long ago could have an impact on your current and future job... View Details

Keywords: Misconduct; Career; Career Management; Career Changes; Executive Leadership; Executive Development; Crime and Corruption; Executive Compensation; Personal Development and Career; Management Skills; Management Teams

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March 2021
Article

Last Place Aversion in Queues

By: Ryan W. Buell

This paper documents the effects of last place aversion in queues and its implications for customer experiences and behaviors as well as for operating performance. An observational analysis of customers queuing at a grocery store, and four online studies in which... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Queues; Reference Effects; Last Place Aversion; Transparency; Customers; Behavior; Satisfaction; Service Operations

26 Nov 2019
News

The Ritual Effect

partners. Like a Swiss Army knife, rituals can be used to produce whatever emotional or psychological effect is needed most. He refers to this remarkable versatility as “the ritual effect.” FUTURE SCOPE... View Details

Keywords: rituals

06 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Cheese Moving: Effecting Change Rather Than Accepting It

is inevitably beyond our control, that we shouldn't waste our time wondering why things are the way they are, and that we should just put our heads down and keep running around the maze chasing after cheese. Q: Your book seems to be about the possibility of questioning... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

November 2022
Article

Hate Crime Towards Minoritized Groups Increases as They Increase in Sized-Based Rank

By: Mina Cikara, Vasiliki Fouka and Marco Tabellini

People are on the move in unprecedented numbers within and between countries. How does demographic change affect local intergroup dynamics? In complement to accounts that emphasize stereotypical features of groups as determinants of their treatment, we propose the... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice; Minority; Hate Crimes; Reference Dependence; Prejudice and Bias; Attitudes; Demographics

2022
Working Paper

Hate Crime Increases with Minoritized Group Rank

By: Marco E. Tabellini

People are on the move in unprecedented numbers within and between countries. How does demographic change affect local intergroup dynamics? In complement to accounts that emphasize stereotypical features of groups as determinants of their treatment, we propose the... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice; Minority; Hate Crimes; Reference Dependence; Demographics; Rank and Position; Prejudice and Bias; Crime and Corruption

SSRN

26 Apr 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Contingent Effect of Absorptive Capacity: An Open Innovation Analysis

Keywords: by Andrew A. King & Karim R. Lakhani

2017
Working Paper

The Effectiveness of White-Collar Crime Enforcement: Evidence from the War on Terror

By: Trung Nguyen

This paper studies the deterrent effect of criminal enforcement on white-collar criminal activities. Using the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a shock to the FBI’s allocation of investigative resources and priorities, and variations in the Muslim population in the United... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Fraud; White-collar Crime; Enforcement; Crime and Corruption; Law Enforcement; System Shocks

SSRN

Article

Pseudo-Set Framing

By: Kate Barasz, Leslie John, Elizabeth A. Keenan and Michael I. Norton

Pseudo-set framing—arbitrarily grouping items or tasks together as part of an apparent “set”—motivates people to reach perceived completion points. Pseudo-set framing changes gambling choices (Study 1), effort (Studies 2 and 3), giving behavior (Field Data and Study... View Details

Keywords: Framing Effects; Gestalt Psychology; Judgment; Judgments; Decision Making; Perception; Behavior

Article

Selfishly Benevolent or Benevolently Selfish? When Self-interest Undermines versus Promotes Prosocial Behavior

By: Julian Zlatev and Dale T. Miller

Existing research shows that appeals to self-interest sometimes increase and sometimes decrease prosocial behavior. We propose that this inconsistency is in part due to the framings of these appeals. Different framings generate different salient reference points,... View Details

Keywords: Altruism; Charitable Giving; Framing; Prosocial Behavior; Reference Points; Self-interest; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Framework; Behavior

March 2021
Article

The Effectiveness of White-Collar Crime Enforcement: Evidence from the War on Terror

By: Trung Nguyen

This paper analyzes the impact of changes in regulatory priorities and resource allocation on criminal enforcement of white‐collar criminal activities. Using the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a shock to the FBI's priorities and allocation of investigative resources, as... View Details

Keywords: White-collar Crime; Government Regulation; Financial Fraud; Securities Fraud; Insider Trading; Crime and Corruption; Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Law Enforcement

06 May 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Introductory Reading For Being a Leader and The Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model

Keywords: by Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, Steve Zaffron & Kari L. Granger; Education

24 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

When $3+$1 > $4: The Effect of Gift Salience on Employee Effort in an Online Labor Market

Keywords: by Duncan Gilchrist, Michael Luca & Deepak Malhotra

08 Apr 2025
HBS Seminar

Dan Bartels, University of Chicago

July–August 2013
Article

The Costs of Racial 'Color Blindness'

By: Michael I. Norton and Evan P. Apfelbaum

The article looks at research on people's attitudes and behaviors with respect to noticing and referring to a person's race. It explains the 2013 study, in which participants played a "Guess Who?" style game of asking yes-or-no questions about a group of faces... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Race; Attitudes