Trust
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- 25 May 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace
Intermediaries such as brokers, distributors, and agents all face a risk of disintermediation, when two sides circumvent the intermediary and thus avoid the intermediary’s fees. This study of a large online freelance marketplace finds that enhanced user trust increases this risk, alongside other contributing factors like being geographically near one another, having easily divisible jobs, and clients themselves having high ratings.
- 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.
- 14 May 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
Humblebragging: A Distinct-and Ineffective-Self-Presentation Strategy
To humblebrag is to make a boast sound like a complaint, as in the example, "It annoys me when people mistake me for a celebrity." Humblebragging is so common in social media and everyday life that one could assume it is an effective self-promotional tactic. Yet five studies show this tactic tends to backfire because it makes other people doubt the sincerity of the humblebragger. Indeed, straightforwardly bragging is the better way to go. The authors of this paper also examine the psychology underlying humblebragging as an impression management tactic and highlight the role of perceived sincerity in impression management. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 09 Dec 2013
- Research & Ideas
Cultural Disharmony Undermines Workplace Creativity
Managing cultural friction not only creates a more harmonious workplace, says professor Roy Y.J. Chua, but ensures that you reap the creative benefits of multiculturalism at its best. Closed for comment; 13 Comment(s) posted.
- 13 May 2013
- Research & Ideas
How to Spot a Liar
Key linguistic cues can help reveal dishonesty during business negotiations, whether it's a flat-out lie or a deliberate omission of key information, according to research by Deepak Malhotra. Closed for comment; 55 Comment(s) posted.
- 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; 24 Comment(s) posted.
- 03 Nov 2011
- What Do You Think?
The Ultimate Question in Management
Summing Up: Many of Jim Heskett's readers this month offered suggestions for the ultimate question in management. What's yours? Closed for comment; 57 Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Nov 2010
- Research & Ideas
How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making
What determines whether decisions happen on the bottom, middle, or top rung of the corporate ladder? New research from professor Raffaella Sadun finds that the answer often lies in the technology that a company deploys. Key concepts include: Enterprise Resource Planning software is a decentralizing technology: It provides information that enables lower-level managers to make more decisions without consulting their superiors. By the same token, Computer-Assisted Design and Computer-Assisted Manufacturing software creates a situation in which the plant worker needs less access to superiors in order to make a decision. The better the data network, the easier it is for workers to lean on superiors and rely on them to make decisions. It's also easier for executives to micromanage and keep all the decisions in the corporate office. Trust is also a key factor in determining whether decisions are centralized at headquarters or decentralized at the local level. Research finds that the average level of trust of a multinational's home country tends to influence the level of decentralization in that company. Open for comment; 15 Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Dec 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Integrity: Without It Nothing Works
"An individual is whole and complete when their word is whole and complete, and their word is whole and complete when they honor their word," says HBS professor Michael C. Jensen in this interview that appeared in Rotman: The Magazine of the Rotman School of Management, Fall 2009. Jensen (and his coauthors, Werner Erhard and Steve Zaffron) define and discuss integrity ("a state or condition of being whole, complete, unbroken, unimpaired, sound, in perfect condition"); the workability that integrity creates for individuals, groups, organizations, and society; and its translation into organizational performance. He also discusses the costs of lacking integrity and the fallacy of using a cost/benefit analysis when deciding whether to honor your word. Key concepts include: The personal and organizational benefits of honoring one's word are huge—both for individuals and for organizations—and generally unappreciated. We can honor our word in one of two ways: by keeping it on time and as promised, or if that becomes impossible, by owning up to the parties counting on us to keep our word in advance and cleaning up the mess our failure to keep our word creates in their lives. By failing to honor our word to ourselves, we undermine ourselves as persons of integrity, and create "unworkability" in our lives. Integrity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for maximum performance. There are unrecognized but significant costs to associating with people and organizations that lack integrity. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 04 May 2009
- Research & Ideas
What’s Next for the Big Financial Brands
Some of the great financial brands such as Merrill Lynch built trust with customers over decades—but lost it in a matter of months. Harvard Business School marketing professor John Quelch explains where they went wrong, and what comes next. Key concepts include: Turmoil and distrust in the financial services sector is an open invitation to non-financial companies to exploit the brand vacuum created by the demise of the likes of Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Financial brands today must address the most basic of consumer concerns: Will my money be safe with this company? Financial brands should continue to advertise but with messages that help customers with recession-relevant product and service offerings. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Jan 2006
- Research & Ideas
Adam Smith, Behavioral Economist?
Adam Smith is best known for The Wealth of Nations, but professor Nava Ashraf believes another of his works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, presaged contemporary behavioral economics. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 13 Mar 2005
- Research & Ideas
The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands
Coca-Cola, move over. Many of the world's best-known brands belong to nonprofits, but the brand management issues these organizations face can be quite different. A conversation with professor John A. Quelch and collaborator Nathalie Laidler-Kylander. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
Why Entrepreneurs Must Focus on Building Trust
Legal and social institutions that support entrepreneurs often aren't well established in developing countries. Tarun Khanna's new book explains how businesses can make up for that by building trust. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.