Ethics
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- 08 Jan 2018
- Research & Ideas
The Startling Percentage of Financial Advisors with Misconduct Records
One in twelve financial advisors have been disciplined for serious misconduct, according to a recent study by finance professor Mark Egan and colleagues. The bad apples are rarely punished. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Nov 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Equity Concerns Are Narrowly Framed
This paper based on a large online study finds that individuals tend to differentiate in their concerns about fairness along specific dimensions, especially time and money, and are much more worried about fairness in one (time) than the other (money). These attitudes may help explain a seemingly wide variety of phenomena.
- 14 Sep 2017
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: Google Engineer Deserved to be Fired by the CEO
Was Google CEO Sundar Pichai right to fire engineer James Damore after his condemnation of the company's diversity initiatives? Of course, answers Bill George; treating colleagues as gender stereotypes rather than as individuals poisons the workplace. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 25 Aug 2017
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: After Charlottesville, Where Does a CEO's Responsibility Lie?
Donald Trump, the "business president," has recently had serious disagreements with some of the most powerful CEOs in the country. Gautam Mukunda discusses the responsibility of business leaders to themselves, their companies, and their country. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Jul 2017
- Book
What Jane Austen and Mel Brooks Can Teach Us About Finance
A new book by Mihir Desai links the fundamentals of finance to several centuries of literature, history, philosophy, music, visual arts, theater, and comedy to make the subject seem less mystifying—and more humanizing—to a broad audience of non-financiers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 05 Dec 2016
- Research & Ideas
How To Deceive Others With Truthful Statements (It's Called 'Paltering,' And It's Risky)
Presidential candidates do it. Business leaders do it. You probably do it, too. Paltering is a gentle form of lying, but is reviled by negotiators on the receiving end. Research by Francesca Gino, Michael Norton, and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 30 Nov 2016
- What Do You Think?
How Do Leaders Manage the Tension Between Pride and Arrogance?
SUMMING UP: James Heskett's readers agree that leaders can and should influence whether an organization crosses the line from pride to arrogance, and that it's possible to lead close to the line without crossing it. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 24 Oct 2016
- Research & Ideas
Bernie Madoff Explains Himself
A few years ago, professor Eugene Soltes phoned convicted felon Bernie Madoff and asked him an important question: How would you explain your actions and misconduct to students? The recorded answer offers sobering lessons for anyone with business ambitions. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Oct 2016
- Book
Why White-Collar Criminals Commit Their Crimes
Curious about the motives behind white-collar crime, Eugene Soltes spent seven years interviewing nearly 50 convicted corporate felons, including Bernard Madoff, Allen Stanford, and Dennis Kozlowski. Soltes shares what he learned in his new book, Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 22 Sep 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
Innovation Under Constraint: Constructing a Turnaround at Lego
In this podcast, Jan Rivkin takes us behind Lego's iconic building "bricks" and into the minds of its leaders as they tackle digital disruption, staying true to the brand, and engineering an impressive turnaround. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Aug 2016
- Research & Ideas
Retail Execs Underplay Current Performance to Investors--but Why?
In quarterly earnings calls with investors and analysts, some retail managers may underplay how their companies are actually performing, according to recent research by Kenneth Froot and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 22 Jul 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Who Pays for White-Collar Crime?
Punishments of white-collar crime are systematically related to perpetrator, transaction, and company characteristics. This variation is consistent with executives determining appropriate punishments by an economic analysis of costs and benefits. Even so, senior male executives receive lighter punishments than female peers, for example. These and other variations suggest that not all decisions about punishment are taken with shareholders’ interests in mind: The self-interest of host company executives is also an important consideration.
- 18 May 2016
- Research & Ideas
Unethical Amnesia: Why We Tend to Forget Our Own Bad Behavior
Francesca Gino and Maryam Kouchaki show that engaging in bad behavior causes memories of those acts to gradually become less clear—a phenomenon they call “unethical amnesia.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Apr 2016
- Research & Ideas
When CEOs Become Activists
More and more, CEOs are promoting social causes that lie far outside their core business interests. Research by Mike Toffel and Aaron Chatterji explores the rise of CEO activists and the effects on their companies. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Mar 2016
- What Do You Think?
Is Apple’s Real Privacy Challenge Technology Innovation Itself?
SUMMING UP: Apple's battle with the FBI over the iPhone contents of one of the San Bernardino shooters raises a question for James Heskett. Given the relentless pace of technology, can any company guarantee the privacy and security of its users? What do YOU think? Closed for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 04 Feb 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Risk Preferences and Misconduct: Evidence from Politicians
Risk-taking is widely understood to be a vital aspect of leadership, yet it may have a dark side. This study of financial risk-taking among politicians shows risk preferences to be an important antecedent of misconduct. Risk preferences as measured by portfolio choices between risky and safe investments were found to strongly predict political scandals. When employing risk-taking leaders, this suggests a potential tradeoff between performance and misconduct.
- 11 Jan 2016
- Research & Ideas
Is Group Loyalty a Force for Good or Evil?
Many organizations try to foster employee loyalty, but at a risk. Angus Hildreth, Francesca Gino, and Max Bazerman discover when group loyalty fosters ethical behavior—and when it fosters corruption. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 14 Dec 2015
- Research & Ideas
Deflategate and the Sustained Success of the New England Patriots
A new Harvard Business School case study by Marco Iansiti challenges students to explain the continued success of the New England Patriots football team and the dynamics behind the Deflategate episode. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Jun 2015
- Research & Ideas
The Surprising Benefits of Oversharing
In a social media culture that encourages sharing of embarrassing information, revealing too much can benefit individuals but hurt businesses. New research papers from Leslie John and Michael Luca help explain why. Open for comment; 10 Comment(s) posted.
Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales
This study finds that brokers tend to reveal the occurrence of a fire sale to their best clients, allowing them to generate significant profits by predating on the liquidating fund. Such information leakage comes at the expense of higher price impact, and leads to a more costly liquidation for the fire sale originator.