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New research on ethics and principles from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including white-collar crime, activist CEOs, and group loyalty.
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Activist CEOs Are Rising Up—and Their Customers Are Listening

by Michael Blanding

Are product sales affected by the CEO's stance on political and social issues? Michael Toffel and Aaron Chatterji study how consumers react to vocal chief executives. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Ethics Bots and Other Ways to Move Your Code of Business Conduct Beyond Puffery

by Michael Blanding

Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics allow companies to create more effective codes of business conduct, says Eugene Soltes. But technology isn't the only solution. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Managers, Are You Prepared to Handle Religion in the Workplace?

Re: Derek C. M. van Bever

Managers face growing challenges related to religion in the workplace as religious discrimination claims and monetary settlements increase. Derek van Bever discusses two examples that made their way to the US Supreme Court. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

by James Heskett

CEO Susan Wojcicki and YouTube leadership must decide how to balance growth goals with criticism for posting controversial—but popular—videos. What should YouTube do? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose

by Malcolm S. Salter

Shareholder value maximization has become the de facto expression of the institutional purpose guiding many managers’ decision making. The author proposes an alternative, justice-based guideline for corporate purpose based on established moral and organizational principles.

Can Mark Zuckerberg Rebuild Trust in Facebook?

Bill George discusses his case study, "Facebook Confronts a Crisis of Trust," including why Zuckerberg handled the crisis as he did, the role of companies in protecting privacy, and the pros and cons of regulation. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What’s the Antidote to Surveillance Capitalism?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: As companies increasingly build business models around our personal data, what can be done to fight back? James Heskett's readers suggest there are no easy answers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

by Bill George

At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, these four corporate leaders stepped forward—and changed how we think of leadership forever, says Bill George. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Women Receive Harsher Punishment at Work Than Men

by Michael Blanding

Women caught in misconduct were 20 percent more likely to be fired and 30 percent less likely to find new employment in the financial services industry, reports new research by Mark Egan and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Bargain Hunters Beware: A Store's 'Original Price' Might Not Be After All

by Michael Blanding

Retailers often compare a "sale" price to the original price. Donald Ngwe says consumers should be skeptical of those original prices — and so should regulators. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Ethical People Become Unethical Negotiators

by Dina Gerdeman

You may think you are an ethical person, but self-interest can cloud your judgment when you sit down at the bargaining table, says Max Bazerman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Should CEO Satya Nadella Cancel Microsoft’s Contract with ICE?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP Respondents to this month’s James Heskett column provided a resounding “no” to the question of whether Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella should accede to the wishes of a vocal minority of employees and cancel ICE contracts. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales

by Andrea Barbon, Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni, and Augustin Landier

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.

The Startling Percentage of Financial Advisors with Misconduct Records

by Michael Blanding

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.

Equity Concerns Are Narrowly Framed

by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

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.

Op-Ed: Google Engineer Deserved to be Fired by the CEO

by Bill George

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.

Op-Ed: After Charlottesville, Where Does a CEO's Responsibility Lie?

by Gautam Mukunda

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.

What Jane Austen and Mel Brooks Can Teach Us About Finance

by Carmen Nobel

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.

How To Deceive Others With Truthful Statements (It's Called 'Paltering,' And It's Risky)

by Dina Gerdeman

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.

How Do Leaders Manage the Tension Between Pride and Arrogance?

by James Heskett

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.