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    TrustRemove Trust →

    New research on trust from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the surprising benefits of oversharing, managing cultural friction to create a harmonious workplace, and how to spot a liar.
    Page 1 of 23 Results →
    • 20 Jan 2022
    • Op-Ed

    3 Steps to Help Companies Rebuild Trust During the Pandemic

    by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

    Many workers feel battered and distrustful after almost two years of COVID-19 instability. But it's not too late for managers—even those who made damaging missteps—to repair these relationships, say Sandra Sucher and Shalene Gupta. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 14 Dec 2021
    • Cold Call Podcast

    How Japan’s Recruit Holdings Regained Trust after a Scandal

    Re: Sandra J. Sucher

    Recruit Holdings, an advertising media, staffing, and business support conglomerate was founded in Japan in 1960 by Hiromasa Ezoe. The company was built on the principle that the company should add value to society. But in 1988, Recruit hit rough waters when Ezoe sold 2.8 million shares in a subsidiary before it went public to 76 Japanese leaders in politics, business, and media. The "Recruit Scandal," as it was called, resulted in the resignation of Japan’s prime minister and his entire cabinet. Thirty years later, Recruit has become a global conglomerate, with $16 billion in sales in 2017. How did the company not only survive, but thrive after its insider trading scandal? Harvard Business School professor Sandra Sucher examines how Recruit’s unique corporate culture helped to restore lost trust in her case, “Globalizing Japan’s Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.," and her book, The Power of Trust. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 01 Sep 2021
    • What Do You Think?

    Can We Train for Trust?

    by James Heskett

    A culture of trust can improve employee—and company—performance. But can leaders be trained to foster trust among those they lead? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 04 Aug 2021
    • Research & Ideas

    Worried About the Great Resignation? Be a Good Company to Come From

    by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

    Some employees are just ready to move on. Rather than wave perks and bonuses at them, companies should focus on becoming great places to learn—and eventually leave, say Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 07 Jul 2021
    • Book

    Good News for Disgraced Companies: You Can Regain Trust

    by Lane Lambert

    Companies skilled at building trust focus on four key elements, say Sandra Sucher and Shalene Gupta in their book, The Power of Trust. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 04 Jun 2020
    • Book

    It’s Not About You: Why Leaders Need to Look Outward

    by Kristen Senz

    By unleashing the full potential of their teams, leaders increase safety and inclusion in the workplace. Co-author Frances Frei discusses her new book, "Unleashed." Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 13 Apr 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Bulletproof Glass Effect: When Privacy Notices Backfire

    by Aaron R. Brough, David A. Norton, and Leslie John

    Consumers regularly encounter privacy notices explaining if and how their personal information will be collected, stored, used, and shared. Evidence in this study demonstrates that privacy notices, though designed to promote a sense of confidence that personal data will not be misused, can undermine consumer trust and decrease purchase intent.

    • 04 Apr 2019
    • Cold Call Podcast

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 26 Nov 2018
    • Book

    Make Your Employees Feel Psychologically Safe

    by Martha Lagace

    To do their best work, people need to feel secure and safe in their workplace. In a new book, Amy C. Edmondson details how companies can develop psychological safety. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 15 Nov 2018
    • Book

    Can the Global Food Industry Overcome Public Distrust?

    by Sean Silverthorne

    The public is losing trust in many institutions involved in putting food on our table, says Ray A. Goldberg, author of the new book Food Citizenship. Here's what needs to be done. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 15 Aug 2018
    • Book

    Why Entrepreneurs Must Focus on Building Trust

    by Dina Gerdeman

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 25 May 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace

    by Grace Gu and Feng Zhu

    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

    by Michael Blanding

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 14 May 2015
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Humblebragging: A Distinct-and Ineffective-Self-Presentation Strategy

    by Ovul Sezer, Francesca Gino & Michael I. Norton

    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 Comments.

    • 09 Dec 2013
    • Research & Ideas

    Cultural Disharmony Undermines Workplace Creativity

    by Michael Blanding

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 13 May 2013
    • Research & Ideas

    How to Spot a Liar

    by Carmen Nobel

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 25 Jun 2012
    • Research & Ideas

    Collaborating Across Cultures

    by Michael Blanding

    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.

    • 03 Nov 2011
    • What Do You Think?

    The Ultimate Question in Management

    by James Heskett

    Summing Up: Many of Jim Heskett's readers this month offered suggestions for the ultimate question in management. What's yours? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 01 Nov 2010
    • Research & Ideas

    How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making

    by Carmen Nobel

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 17 Dec 2009
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Integrity: Without It Nothing Works

    by Michael C. Jensen

    "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 Comments.

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