IESE Insight - Research Papers

Why You Should Work Like Everyone Is Watching

Lount, R.; Doyle, S.; Brion, Sebastien; Pettit, N. C. Does having an audience affect your motivation on a team project? And does it matter how well you are regarded by your teammates at the outset? Research coauthored by Sebastien Brion looks at the relationship between status, performance expectations and effort, and how it's affected by visibility.

The Impact of Cultural Identity on Effective Global Leadership and Teamwork

Lee, Yih-Teen; Masuda, A.; Fu, Xin; Reiche, Sebastian On a multinational work team, are you an assimilated local or a global ambassador? Working abroad, your unique cultural identity vis-à-vis your home and host countries, as well as your global outlook, impacts team effectiveness and how you are perceived as a leader. Research by Yih-Teen Lee and B. Sebastian Reiche sheds light on how.

Backdoor Bailouts: Banks Exploiting Other Banks' Government Guarantees

Eisert, Tim; Eufinger, Christian Do banks take advantage of the assumption that they may be deemed "too big to fail" or "too interconnected to fail"? Yes, says research by Christian Eufinger. What's more, this assumption adds systemic risk, as increasingly interconnected banks have learned to exploit "backdoor bailouts."

The Dangers of Payment Variability for Supply Chains

Serrano, Alejandro; Oliva, Rogelio; Kraiselburd, Santiago Today's companies are relying more heavily on trade credit, which amplifies the risk of financial contagion in a supply chain. A new model follows financial flows to explain the propagation and amplification of payment variability -- and risk -- throughout supply chains.

From Protest to Product: How to Reconcile a Social Movement With Business

Lee, Matthew; Ramus, Tommaso; Vaccaro, Antonino To help fight the Mafia in Sicily, a tourism business called Addiopizzo Travel was born. Addiopizzo Travel's key stakeholders -- i.e., anti-Mafia activists, tourists, tourism service providers and entrepreneurs -- don't have too much in common. But its secret to success is purposefully engaging all of them.

3 Keys to Higher Job Satisfaction at Multinationals

Cerdin, Jean-Luc; Sharma, Kushal; Liao, Yuan Given the particular stresses of international careers, predicting who will thrive in global posts is a big help. A study co-authored by IESE's Yuan Liao looks at certain self-perceptions and attitudes which have important implications for global talent management.

How Not to Lose Your Head in a Bidding War

Hafenbrädl, Sebastian; Woike, Jan K. Heading into a competitive auction, you should take steps to anticipate how potential escalations could change your frame of mind. Research by Sebastian Hafenbrädl uncovers two things that improve outcomes in these adrenaline-filled circumstances.

How to Optimize Your Assortment Strategy to Reduce Suppliers' Prices

Heese, Sebastian; Martínez de Albéniz, Victor For retailers, rationalizing inventory assortment makes sense to optimize profits, adjusting supply to demand. But note that assortment strategies can also be used to drive competition between suppliers for better pricing, as Víctor Martínez de Albéniz and Sebastian Heese explain.

Probability or Price? Form Matters When it Comes to Risk

Müller-Trede, Johannes; Sher, Shlomi; McKenzie, Craig R. M. Whether or not you go out on a limb may depend on how the numbers are presented. IESE's Johannes Müller-Trede investigates the difference between a percentage and a numerical value in shaping risk attitudes -- and offers up some practical applications.

Why Was the Sovereign Debt Crisis in Europe So Severe?

Acharya, Viral V.; Eisert, Tim; Eufinger, Christian; Hirsch, Christian Why did billions in investment, sales and so many jobs disappear during the European sovereign debt crisis? The Eurozone credit crunch deserves about half of the blame, which is a lot, according to research by IESE's Christian Eufinger and co-authors. They find two significant factors that helped cause the crunch and offer advice to free up the lending supply next time.