IESE Insight - Research Papers

Culture club: how silent bias can hold back growth

Levy, Orly; Reiche, Sebastian If a multinational's home culture is strongly favored, it's not taking full advantage of the diverse cultural capital of its employees. Sebastian Reiche investigates the politics of culture and offers positive examples to promote cosmopolitanism at work.

When you wish upon a star... your organization may suffer

Prato, Matteo; Ferraro, Fabrizio If you think the brilliance of a star-hire will rub off on the rest of your organization, think again. Research by Fabrizio Ferraro helps illuminate the real costs of recruiting and hiring renowned talent.

The iPhone effect: consumer pressure transforming IT governance

Gregory, Robert Wayne; Káganer, Evgeny; Henfridsson, Ola; Ruch, Thierry Jean Research by IESE's Robert W. Gregory and Evgeny Kaganer shows how widespread technology adoption is opening up -- and revolutionizing -- corporate IT governance, particularly when the pressure comes from consumers.

Are we perceiving more polarization than there actually is?

Barasz, Kate; Kim, Tami; Evangelidis, Ioannis Are our inferences about Trump supporters or Brexiteers accurate? The more extreme the position, the more we may jump to faulty conclusions, says research by Kate Barasz. In an increasingly polarized world, understanding this cognitive bias is key.

How to win the loyalty of the sandwich generation

Las Heras, Mireia; Van der Heijden, Beatrice; de Jong, Jeroen; Rofcanin, Yasin Personalized work arrangements could be the answer for employees with caregiving obligations to both children and aging parents. And, according to research by Mireia Las Heras, these arrangements help build loyalty among the sandwich generation's talent pool.

How many choices should you offer your clients?

Reutskaja, Elena; Lindner, A.; Nagel, R.; Andersen, R.A.; Camerer, C.F. Choice is good, but having too many options can be paralyzing. Using MRI machines, researchers can actually see a point at which having too many alternatives starts overwhelming our brains. The ideal number of options may be fewer than marketers think.

The supervision of listed companies: better out in the open?

Duro, Miguel; Heese, Jonas; Ormazábal, Gaizka Disclosing the oversight actions of regulators may be an effective and inexpensive way to improve the quality of financial information from publicly traded companies. This is the conclusion of a study led by Miguel Duro and Gaizka Ormazabal.

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."