Social Psychology →
- 25 Oct 2012
- Research & Ideas
Developing the Global Leader
The shift from a country-centric company to one more global in its outlook will have a radical impact on leadership development, says Professor of Management Practice William George. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Sep 2012
- Research & Ideas
Blue Skies, Distractions Arise: How Weather Affects Productivity
New studies show that workers are more productive on rainy days than on sunny ones. Does your office take advantage? Research by Francesca Gino and colleagues. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Sep 2012
- Research & Ideas
Book Excerpt: Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter
In his new book, Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, HBS professor Gautam Mukunda addresses the question of whether leaders create history or are created by it. Read our excerpt. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Sep 2012
- Research & Ideas
Why Most Leaders (Even Thomas Jefferson) Are Replaceable
Leaders rarely make a lasting impact on their organizations—even the really, really good ones. Then out of the blue comes a Churchill. Gautam Mukunda discusses his new book, Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Aug 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
Field Evidence on Individual Behavior & Performance in Rank-Order Tournaments
Contests abound in everything from amateur and professional sports to arts, architecture, manual labor, and engineering. Just as large-scale online contest platforms that provide ongoing tournament-based work and compensation have emerged, large industrial companies increasingly use them as a complement to in-house research and development. What difference does increased competition make to individual participants? This paper analyzes data from algorithmic programming contests to shed light on the mechanisms that underlie changes in performance in reaction to increased competition. Three mechanisms may account for a performance decline: reduction in effort, increased risk taking, and deterioration in cognitive processing. The study also shows how the ability of competitors affects their reactions to increased competition. Overall, results suggest that a better understanding of behavioral responses in contests can aid both public policy and contest designers. Key concepts include: The authors analyze contest data on individual effort, risk taking, and cognitive errors. On average, competitors react negatively to an increase in the total number of competitors, and react more negatively to an increase in the number of superstars than non-superstars. These negative effects are strongest in a particular subgroup of competitors: those who are highly skilled, but whose abilities put them near to the top rather than at the top in terms of ability. For competitors who are near-to-the-top in terms of ability, there is no evidence that the decline in performance outcomes stems from reduced effort or increased risk taking. Instead, errors in logic lead to a decline in performance. A small group of very high ability competitors (excluding superstars) reacts positively to increased competition from superstars. Very high ability competitors show some evidence of increased effort and no increase in errors of logic, consistent with both economic and psychological explanations. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Aug 2012
- Research & Ideas
When Good Incentives Lead to Bad Decisions
New research by Associate Professor Shawn A. Cole, Martin Kanz, and Leora Klapper explores how various compensation incentives affect lending decisions among bank loan officers. They find that incentives have the power to change not only how we make decisions, but how we perceive reality. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Jul 2012
- Research & Ideas
Penn State Lesson: Today’s Cover-Up was Yesterday’s Opportunity
While leaders may rationalize that a cover-up protects the interests of their organizations, the inevitable damage harms their institutions far more than acknowledging a mistake, says professor Bill George. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Jul 2012
- Research & Ideas
Book Excerpt: ‘The Strategist’
It's time for CEOs to start reclaiming strategy as a key executive responsibility, argues Cynthia A. Montgomery in her new book, The Strategist. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Jul 2012
- Research & Ideas
The Unconscious Executive
Postdoctoral fellow Maarten Bos investigates how unconscious processes improve decision-making. Conscious deliberation, it turns out, does not always lead to the best outcomes. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2012
- What Do You Think?
Why Is Trust So Hard to Achieve in Management?
Summing Up There are many reasons for the trust gap between employees and management—but also many ways to bridge the divide, according to Jim Heskett's readers. What do YOU think? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jun 2012
- Research & Ideas
Collaborating Across Cultures
Learning to collaborate creatively with people from other cultures is a vital skill in today's business environment, says professor Roy Y.J. Chua, whose research focuses on a key measure psychologists have dubbed "cultural metacognition." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Jun 2012
- Research & Ideas
Better by the Bunch: Evaluating Job Candidates in Groups
The key to avoiding gender stereotyping in the hiring process lies in evaluating job candidates as a group, rather than one at a time. So says new research by Iris Bohnet, Alexandra van Geen, and Max H. Bazerman. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Jun 2012
- Research & Ideas
When Business Competition Harms Society
In highly competitive markets, many firms are likely to bend the rules if doing so will keep their customers from leaving for a rival, according to new research by professor Michael W. Toffel and colleagues. Case in point: service stations that cheat on auto emissions testing. Key concepts include: Vehicle owners are less likely to return to a service facility that has failed their vehicle in an auto emissions test. Vehicles were much more likely to pass the test if they were tested at a facility that was located near a competitor. Managers should be aware that fostering a culture of intense competition may instead induce unethical behavior. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Jun 2012
- Research & Ideas
The Business of Life
Scholarly economic theory applies to more than just business. The same causal mechanisms that drive big corporations to success can be just as effective in driving our personal lives, says Professor Clayton M. Christensen. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 May 2012
- Research & Ideas
Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative
How do you create a company that unleashes and capitalizes on innovation? HBS faculty experts in culture, customers, creativity, marketing, and the DNA of innovators offer up ideas. From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 May 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
Componential Theory of Creativity
The componential theory of creativity is recognized as one of the major theories of creativity in individuals and in organizations, serving as a partial foundation for several other theories and for many empirical investigations. It was first articulated by Teresa Amabile in 1983 and has undergone considerable evolution since then. In essence the theory is a comprehensive model of the social and psychological components necessary for an individual to produce creative work. The theory specifies that creativity requires a confluence of four components: Creativity should be highest when 1) an intrinsically motivated person with 2) high domain expertise and 3) high skill in creative thinking 4) works in an environment high in supports for creativity. Key concepts include: Many managers have relied on tools and techniques developed from the theory to stimulate creativity and innovation within their organizations. According to the theory, domain-relevant skills include knowledge, expertise, technical skills, intelligence, and talent in the particular domain where the problem-solver is working. Creativity-relevant processes include a cognitive style and personality characteristics that are conducive to independence, risk-taking, and taking new perspectives on problems, as well as a disciplined work style and skills in generating ideas. The third central tenet is the intrinsic motivation principle of creativity: People are most creative when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself - and not by extrinsic motivators. The social environment can stimulate creativity through offering a sense of positive challenge in the work; work teams that are collaborative, diversely skilled, and idea-focused; freedom in carrying out the work; supervisors who encourage the development of new ideas; and so on. Of the three intra-individual components, intrinsic motivation should be the most directly influenced by the work environment. However, it is also important to note that the work environment undoubtedly has effects on domain-relevant skills and creativity-relevant processes, in addition to its effects on intrinsic motivation. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Apr 2012
- Research & Ideas
The Inner Workings of Corporate Headquarters
Analyzing the e-mails of some 30,000 workers, Professor Toby E. Stuart and colleague Adam M. Kleinbaum dissected the communication networks of HQ staffers at a large, multidivisional company to get a better understanding of what a corporate headquarters does, and why it does it. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Apr 2012
- Research & Ideas
Do Online Dating Platforms Help Those Who Need Them Most?
The $2 billion online dating industry promises the possibility of a priceless product: romantic love. Associate Professor Mikolaj Piskorski investigates whether these sites are helping the lonely—or just making life easier for young singles who are popular already. Key concepts include: Researchers studied a random sample of 500,000 OKCupid members, focusing on two important stages of forming a relationship: spotting a potential mate, and initiating contact. Older, shorter, and relatively overweight men tended to view more profiles than their younger, taller, slimmer counterparts. However, those who were most likely to view lots of profiles were least likely to initiate contact with an e-mail message. Some of the features on OKCupid helped users to overcome the normative restrictions of the offline world, while others only served to help those who really needed the least help. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Feb 2012
- Research & Ideas
Leadership Program for Women Targets Subtle Promotion Biases
Despite more women in the corporate work force, they still are underrepresented in executive officer positions. Professor Robin Ely and colleagues propose a new way to think about developing women for leadership. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
No Margin, No Mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for Pro-Social Tasks
Organizations from large corporations to NGOs use a range of nonfinancial performance rewards to motivate their employees, and these rewards are highly valued. While theory has suggested mechanisms through which nonfinancial incentives can elicit employee effort, evidence on the mechanisms, and on their effectiveness relative to financial incentives, remains scarce. This paper helps to fill this gap by providing evidence from a collaboration with a public health organization based in Lusaka, Zambia, that recruits and trains hairdressers and barbers to sell condoms in their shops. This setting is representative of many health delivery programs in developing countries where embedded community agents are called upon to deliver services and products, but finding an effective way to motivate them remains a significant challenge. Findings show the effectiveness of financial and nonfinancial rewards for increasing sales of condoms. Agents who are offered nonfinancial rewards ("stars" in this setting) exert more effort than either those offered financial margins or those offered volunteer contracts. Key concepts include: Nonfinancial rewards can motivate agents in settings where there are limits to the use of financial incentives. Nonfinancial rewards elicit effort by leveraging the agents' pro-social motivation and by facilitating social comparisons among agents. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.