Risk, Trust and Escalation Behavior of Owner Managers

Professor Montgomery and Professor Deepak Malhotra (HBS), together with scientists from Harvard's Program on Evolutionary Dynamics, are studying risk-related decision making of owner managers in newly-founded and established companies.  This experimental research examines contextual and biological influences on managerial risk taking.  Topics being investigated include the risk taking behavior of first and second generation entrepreneurs, the impact of family business heritages on risk taking propensity, and the relationship between industry competitiveness and individual risk-taking behavior.