More from the Author

• Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2013

  Social Norms Versus Social Responsibility: Punishing Transgressions under Conflicting Obligations

  Francesca Gino, Celia Moore and Lamar Pierce

  This paper combines experimental and field data to examine how those with discretion over punishment respond when confronted with social norms of leniency. Specifically, we test how individuals who have a responsibility to punish transgressions behave when confronted with the social norm of preferential treatment on people's birthdays. We first establish the existence of this social norm using a scenario study. We then show that individuals behave in the opposite way than that suggested by the social norm: they punish transgressors more severely on their birthdays, both in the realm of actual drunk driving enforcement and in an experimental lab setting where participants were given the responsibility to punish. An additional experiment provides evidence that this effect is driven by psychological reactance rather than by overcompensation for potential bias. We discuss both the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

  Keywords: bias; discrimination; ethics; leniency; transgressions; punishment;

  Citation:

  Gino, Francesca, Celia Moore, and Lamar Pierce. "Social Norms Versus Social Responsibility: Punishing Transgressions under Conflicting Obligations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13–101, June 2013.

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2006 version)

  Ducati Corse: The Making of a Grand Prix Motorcycle (TN)

  Francesca Gino and Gary P. Pisano

  Keywords: Production; Auto Industry;

  Citation:

  Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Ducati Corse: The Making of a Grand Prix Motorcycle (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 607-044, March 2013. (Revised from original November 2006 version.)

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• Book | 2013

  Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan

  Francesca Gino

  You may not realize it but simple, irrelevant factors can have profound consequences on your decisions and behavior, often diverting you from your original plans and desires. Sidetracked will help you identify and avoid these influences so the decisions you make do stick—and you finally reach your intended goals. In this book, I explore inconsistent decisions played out in a wide range of circumstances—from our roles as consumers and employees (what we buy, how we manage others) to the choices that we make more broadly as human beings (who we date, how we deal with friendships). From my research, we see when a mismatch is most likely to occur between what we want and what we end up doing. What factors are likely to sway our decisions in directions we did not initially consider? And what can we do to correct for the subtle influences that derail our decisions? The answers to these and similar questions will help you negotiate similar factors when faced with them in the real world.

  Keywords: decision making; decision-making; judgment; ethics;

  Citation:

  Gino, Francesca. Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013.

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