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• 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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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Persephone's Pomegranate: Crédit Agricole and Emporiki

  Dante Roscini, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Jerome Lenhardt

  In 2006 the French bank Crédit Agricole bought the Greek Emporiki bank, for €2.8 billion, at the peak of a bull market for bank takeovers. Six years, a major financial crisis, and €5.2 billion of losses later, in a context of great uncertainty in the European banking sector, what decision should Crédit Agricole take regarding Emporiki? Through the example of this European cross-border acquisition the case looks at the Greek banking system before and during the unprecedented Greek sovereign debt crisis; the efforts of Greece and the main actors of the European financial system to prevent the embattled country from having to exit the Euro zone; and the potential scenarios for Greek banks in mid-2012.

  Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Currency; Development Economics; International Finance; International Relations; Banking Industry; Greece;

  Citation:

  Roscini, Dante, Daniela Beyersdorfer, and Jerome Lenhardt. "Persephone's Pomegranate: Crédit Agricole and Emporiki." Harvard Business School Case 713-055, May 2013. (Revised from original November 2012 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2010 version)

  The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time

  Stefan H. Thomke and Mona Sinha

  Describes the Mumbai-based Dabbawala organization, which achieves very high service performance (6 Sigma equivalent or better) with a low-cost and very simple operating system. The case explores all aspects of their system (mission, information management, material flows, human resource system, processes, etc.) and the challenges that the Dabbawala organization faces in a rapidly changing environment. An outside consultant proposes the introduction of new technologies and management systems, while the leading logistics companies (e.g., FedEx) come to Mumbai to learn about the Dabbawala system.

  Keywords: Technology; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Logistics; Alignment; Management Systems; Human Resources; Innovation and Invention; Mumbai;

  Citation:

  Thomke, Stefan H., and Mona Sinha. "The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time." Harvard Business School Case 610-059, January 2013. (Revised from original February 2010 version.)

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