Leslie K. John
James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration
James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration
People, including negotiators, lie every day, so when you're trying to make a deal, it's important to defend against deception. The best strategy, says the author, is to focus not on detecting lies but on preventing them. She outlines five tactics that research has shown to be effective.
Leslie K. John is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Currently, she teaches on the topics of Negotiation, Marketing and Behavioral Economics in various Executive Education courses, including in the Program for Leadership Development. She has also taught extensively in both the required and elective MBA curricula.
Professor John is a behavioral scientist who studies how people make decisions, and the wisdom or error of those decisions. In her primary line of research, Dr. John studies privacy decision-making, identifying what drives people to share or withhold personal information, as well as their reactions to firms’ and employers’ use of their personal data. In another line of research, Dr. John studies health decision-making, devising psychologically-informed interventions to help people make healthier choices.
Her work has been published in leading academic journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Psychological Science, Management Science, The Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. It has received media coverage in outlets including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Time Magazine. She has received numerous awards, including from the Association for Psychological Science and the Marketing Science Institute; and was named a Wired Innovation Fellow.
Professor John gives keynote talks and consults for a variety of companies and organizations. Past clients include: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Genzyme, Glaxo Smith Kline, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mars, Pepsico, Weight Watchers. She also provides expert testimony on issues of consumer behavior, privacy, and disclosure.
Professor John holds a Ph.D. in behavioral decision research from Carnegie Mellon University, where she also earned an M.Sc. in psychology and behavioral decision research. She completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Waterloo.
- Featured Work
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Companies want access to more and more of your personal data—from where you are to what’s in your DNA. Can they unlock its value while respecting consumers’ privacy?Ever sent an indiscreet selfie? Disclosed private data online? Agreed to terms and conditions without reading them through? If you have, Leslie John knows the reason why.Everyone knows that success at work depends on being—and being seen as—both competent and likable. You need people to notice your accomplishments while also enjoying your company. But if you draw attention to the value you’ve created, you risk coming across as a shameless self-promoter. No one likes a braggart. Professor Leslie John explains how to highlight your accomplishments at work without having it backfire.Ever wonder what’s behind the decisions we make, especially when it comes to eating well and losing weight? Or how companies can incentivize employees to make healthier decisions? Professor Leslie John discusses how people make decisions and how she helps devise interventions to help people make better decisions when it comes to their health.Harvard Business Review, July-August 2016
People, including negotiators, lie every day, so when you're trying to make a deal, it's important to defend against deception. The best strategy, says the author, is to focus not on detecting lies but on preventing them. She outlines five tactics that research has shown to be effective.
- Journal Articles
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- Patel, Mitesh S., Katherine L. Milkman, Linnea Gandhi, Heather N. Graci, Dena Gromet, Hung Ho, Joseph S. Kay, Timothy W. Lee, Jake Rothschild, Modupe Akinola, John Beshears, Jonathan E. Bogard, Alison Buttenheim, Christopher Chabris, Gretchen B. Chapman, James J. Choi, Hengchen Dai, Craig R. Fox, Amir Goren, Matthew D. Hilchey, Jillian Hmurovic, Leslie John, Dean Karlan, Melanie Kim, David Laibson, Cait Lamberton, Brigitte C. Madrian, Michelle N. Meyer, Maria Modanu, Jimin Nam, Todd Rogers, Renante Rondina, Silvia Saccardo, Maheen Shermohammed, Dilip Soman, Jehan Sparks, Caleb Warren, Megan Weber, Ron Berman, Chalanda N. Evans, Seung Hyeong Lee, Christopher K. Snider, Eli Tsukayama, Christophe Van den Bulte, Kevin G. Volpp, and Angela L. Duckworth. "A Randomized Trial of Behavioral Nudges Delivered through Text Messages to Increase Influenza Vaccination among Patients with an Upcoming Primary Care Visit." American Journal of Health Promotion 37, no. 3 (2023): 324–332. View Details
- Madan, Shilpa, Gita Venkataramani Johar, Jonah Berger, Pierre Chandon, Rajesh Chandy, Rebecca Hamilton, Leslie John, Aparna Labroo, Peggy J. Liu, John G. Lynch, Nina Mazar, Nicole Mead, Vikas Mittal, Christine Moorman, Michael I. Norton, John Roberts, Dilip Soman, Madhu Viswanathan, and Katherine White. "Reaching for Rigor and Relevance: Better Marketing Research for a Better World." Marketing Letters 34, no. 1 (March 2023): 1–12. View Details
- Jiang, Li, Leslie K. John, Reihane Boghrati, and Maryam Kouchaki. "Fostering Perceptions of Authenticity via Sensitive Self-Disclosure." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied 28, no. 4 (December 2022): 898–915. View Details
- John, Leslie K., Hayley Blunden, Katherine Milkman, Luca Foschini, and Bradford Tuckfield. "The Limits of Inconspicuous Incentives." Art. 104180. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 172 (September 2022). View Details
- Kim, Tami, Kate Barasz, Michael I. Norton, and Leslie K. John. "Calculators for Women: When Identity-Based Appeals Backfire." Special Issue on Racism and Discrimination in the Marketplace edited by Samantha N. N. Cross and Stephanie Dellande. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 8, no. 1 (January 2023): 72–82. View Details
- Prinsloo, Emily, Kate Barasz, Leslie K. John, and Michael I. Norton. "Opportunity Neglect: An Aversion to Low-probability Gains." Psychological Science 33, no. 11 (November 2022): 1857–1866. View Details
- Keenan, Elizabeth A., Anne V. Wilson, and Leslie K. John. "When Less Is More: Consumers Prefer Brands that Donate More in Relative versus Absolute Terms." Marketing Letters 33, no. 1 (March 2022): 31–43. View Details
- Brough, Aaron R., David A. Norton, Shannon L. Sciarappa, and Leslie K. John. "The Bulletproof Glass Effect: Unintended Consequences of Privacy Notices." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 59, no. 4 (August 2022): 739–754. View Details
- Volger, Sheri, James Scott Parrott, Brian Elbel, Leslie K. John, Jason P. Block, Pamela Rothpletz-Puglia, and Christina A. Roberto. "Sugar-sweetened Beverage Purchases and Intake at Event Arenas with and without a Portion Size Cap." Art. 101661. Preventative Medicine Reports 25 (February 2022). View Details
- Milkman, Katherine L., Mitesh S. Patel, Linnea Gandhi, Heather N. Graci, Dena M. Gromet, Hung Ho, Joseph S. Kay, Timothy W. Lee, Modupe Akinola, John Beshears, Jonathan E. Bogard, Alison Buttenheim, Christopher F. Chabris, Gretchen B. Chapman, James J. Choi, Hengchen Dai, Craig R. Fox, Amir Goren, Matthew D. Hilchey, Jillian Hmurovic, Leslie K. John, Dean Karlan, Melanie Kim, David Laibson, Cait Lamberton, Brigitte C. Madrian, Michelle N. Meyer, Maria Modanu, Jimin Nam, Todd Rogers, Renante Rondina, Silvia Saccardo, Maheen Shermohammed, Dilip Soman, Jehan Sparks, Caleb Warren, Megan Weber, Ron Berman, Chalanda N. Evans, Christopher K. Snider, Eli Tsukayama, Christophe Van den Bulte, Kevin G. Volpp, and Angela L. Duckworth. "A Megastudy of Text-Based Nudges Encouraging Patients to Get Vaccinated at an Upcoming Doctor's Appointment." e2101165118. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 20 (May 18, 2021). View Details
- John, Leslie K. "Savvy Self-Promotion: The Delicate Art and Science of Bragging." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 3 (May–June 2021): 145–148. View Details
- Donnelly, Grant E., Paige Guge, Ryan Howell, and Leslie John. "A Salient Sugar Tax Decreases Sugary Drink Buying." Psychological Science 32, no. 11 (November 2021): 1830–1841. View Details
- Collins, Hanne K., Ashley V. Whillans, and Leslie K. John. "Joy and Rigor in Behavioral Science." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 164 (May 2021): 179–191. View Details
- DeCelles, Katherine, Gabrielle Adams, Holly S. Howe, and Leslie K. John. "Anger Damns the Innocent." Psychological Science 32, no. 8 (August 2021): 1214–1226. View Details
- Kim, Tami, Kate Barasz, and Leslie John. "Consumer Disclosure." Consumer Psychology Review 4 (2021): 59–69. View Details
- John, Leslie, Michael L. Slepian, and Diana Tamir. "Tales of Two Motives: Disclosure and Concealment." Special Issue on Privacy and Disclosure, Online and in Social Interactions edited by L. John, D. Tamir, M. Slepian. Current Opinion in Psychology 31 (February 2020). View Details
- Gershon, Rachel, Cynthia Cryder, and Leslie K. John. "Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 57, no. 1 (February 2020): 156–172. View Details
- Mohan, Bhavya, Ryan W. Buell, and Leslie K. John. "Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency." Special Issue on Marketing Science and Field Experiments. Marketing Science 39, no. 6 (November–December 2020): 1105–1121. View Details
- Blunden, Hayley, Jennifer M. Logg, Alison Wood Brooks, Leslie John, and Francesca Gino. "How Asking Multiple People for Advice Can Backfire." Harvard Business Review (website) (May 10, 2019). View Details
- John, Leslie K., George Loewenstein, Andrew Marder, and Michael Callaham. "Effect of Revealing Authors' Conflicts of Interests in Peer Review: Randomized Controlled Trial." BMJ: British Medical Journal 367, no. 8221 (November 9, 2019). View Details
- Jeong, Martha, Leslie K. John, Francesca Gino, and Laura Huang. "Research: Changing Your Mind Makes You Seem Intelligent." Harvard Business Review (website) (September 11, 2019). View Details
- John, Leslie, Martha Jeong, Francesca Gino, and Laura Huang. "The Self-Presentational Consequences of Upholding One's Stance in Spite of the Evidence." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 154 (September 2019): 1–14. View Details
- Bachireddy, Chethan, Andrew Joung, Leslie K. John, Francesca Gino, Bradford Tuckfield, Luca Foschini, and Katherine L. Milkman. "Effect of Different Financial Incentive Structures on Promoting Physical Activity Among Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA Network Open 2, no. 8 (August 2019): 1–13. View Details
- John, Leslie, Hayley Blunden, and Heidi Liu. "Research Confirms: When Receiving Bad News, We Shoot the Messenger." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 16, 2019). View Details
- John, Leslie, Grant E. Donnelly, and Christina A. Roberto. "Using Behavioral Science to Inform the Design of Sugary Drink Portion Limit Policies: Reply to Wilson and Stolarz-Fantino (2018)." Psychological Science 30, no. 7 (July 2019): 1103–1105. View Details
- John, Leslie, Hayley Blunden, and Heidi Liu. "Shooting the Messenger." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 148, no. 4 (April 2019): 644–666. View Details
- Blunden, Hayley, Jennifer M. Logg, Alison Wood Brooks, Leslie John, and Francesca Gino. "Seeker Beware: The Interpersonal Costs of Ignoring Advice." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 150 (January 2019): 83–100. View Details
- Kim, Tami, Leslie John, Todd Rogers, and Michael I. Norton. "Procedural Justice and the Risks of Consumer Voting." Management Science 65, no. 11 (November 2019): 5234–5251. View Details
- Kim, Tami, Kate Barasz, and Leslie K. John. "Why Am I Seeing This Ad? The Effect of Ad Transparency on Ad Effectiveness." Journal of Consumer Research 45, no. 5 (February 2019): 906–932. View Details
- John, Leslie K. "Uninformed Consent." Special Issue on The Big Idea: Tracked. Harvard Business Review (website) (September–October 2018). View Details
- John, Leslie K., George Loewenstein, Alessandro Acquisti, and Joachim Vosgerau. "When and Why Randomized Response Techniques (Fail to) Elicit the Truth." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 148 (September 2018): 101–123. View Details
- Brooks, Alison Wood, and Leslie K. John. "The Surprising Power of Questions." Harvard Business Review 96, no. 3 (May–June 2018): 60–67. View Details
- Donnelly, Grant, Laura Y. Zatz, Daniel Svirsky, and Leslie John. "The Effect of Graphic Warnings on Sugary-Drink Purchasing." Psychological Science 29, no. 8 (August 2018): 1321–1333. View Details
- Thomadsen, Raphael, Robert P. Rooderkerk, On Amir, Neeraj Arora, Bryan Bollinger, Karsten Hansen, Leslie John, Wendy Liu, Aner Sela, Vishal Singh, K. Sudhir, and Wendy Wood. "How Context Affects Choice." Special Issue on 2016 Choice Symposium. Customer Needs and Solutions 5, nos. 1-2 (March 2018): 3–14. View Details
- Callaham, Michael, and Leslie John. "What Does It Take to Change an Editor's Mind? Identifying Minimally Important Difference Thresholds for Peer Reviewer Rating Scores of Scientific Articles." Annals of Emergency Medicine 72, no. 3 (September 2018): 314–318.e2. View Details
- John, Leslie, Tami Kim, and Kate Barasz. "Ads That Don't Overstep: How to Make Sure You Don't Take Personalization Too Far." Harvard Business Review 96, no. 1 (January–February 2018): 62–69. View Details
- Hofstetter, Reto, Roland Rüppell, and Leslie John. "Temporary Sharing Prompts Unrestrained Disclosures That Leave Lasting Negative Impressions." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, no. 45 (November 7, 2017). View Details
- Barasz, Kate, Leslie John, Elizabeth A. Keenan, and Michael I. Norton. "Pseudo-Set Framing." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 146, no. 10 (October 2017): 1460–1477. View Details
- John, Leslie, Daniel Mochon, Oliver Emrich, and Janet Schwartz. "What's the Value of a Like? Social Media Endorsements Don't Work the Way You Might Think." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 2 (March–April 2017): 108–115. View Details
- John, Leslie, Grant Donnelly, and Christina Roberto. "Psychologically Informed Implementations of Sugary-Drink Portion Limits." Psychological Science 28, no. 5 (May 2017): 620–629. View Details
- John, Leslie. "How to Negotiate with a Liar." Harvard Business Review 94, nos. 7-8 (July–August 2016): 114–117. View Details
- John, Leslie K., Andrea Troxel, William Yancy, Joelle Y. Friedman, Jingsan Zhu, Lin Yang, Robert Galvin, Karen Miller-Kovach, Scott Halpern, George Loewenstein, and Kevin Volpp. "The Effect of Cost Sharing on an Employee Weight Loss Program: A Randomized Trial." American Journal of Health Promotion 32, no. 1 (January 2018): 170–176. View Details
- John, Leslie K., Oliver Emrich, Sunil Gupta, and Michael I. Norton. "Does 'Liking' Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand's Social Network on Marketing Outcomes." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 54, no. 1 (February 2017): 144–155. View Details
- Barasz, Kate, Tami Kim, and Leslie K. John. "The Role of (Dis)similarity in (Mis)predicting Others' Preferences." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 53, no. 4 (August 2016): 597–607. View Details
- John, Leslie K., Kate Barasz, and Michael I. Norton. "Hiding Personal Information Reveals the Worst." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113, no. 4 (January 26, 2016): 954–959. View Details
- Rogers, Todd, Katherine L Milkman, Leslie K. John, and Michael I. Norton. "Beyond Good Intentions: Prompting People to Make Plans Improves Follow-through on Important Tasks." Behavioral Science & Policy 1, no. 2 (December 2015): 33–41. View Details
- John, Leslie K., George Loewenstein, and Scott Rick. "Cheating More for Less: Upward Social Comparisons Motivate the Poorly Compensated to Cheat." Special Issue on Behavioral Ethics. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 123, no. 2 (March 2014): 101–109. View Details
- Mitchell, Marc S., Jack M. Goodman, David A. Alter, Leslie K. John, Paul I. Oh, Maureen T. Pakosh, and Guy E. Faulkner. "Financial Incentives for Exercise Adherence in Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 45, no. 5 (November 2013): 658–667. View Details
- John, Leslie K., and Michael I. Norton. "Converging to the Lowest Common Denominator in Physical Health." Special Issue on Health Psychology Meets Behavioral Economics. Health Psychology 32, no. 9 (September 2013): 1023–1028. View Details
- Acquisti, Alessandro, Leslie K. John, and George Loewenstein. "What Is Privacy Worth?" Journal of Legal Studies 42, no. 2 (June 2013): 249–274. View Details
- John, Leslie K., George Loewenstein, and Kevin Volpp. "Empirical Observations on Longer-term Use of Incentives for Weight Loss." Preventive Medicine 55, Supplement 1 (November 2012): S68–S74. View Details
- Haward, Marlyse F., Leslie K. John, John M. Lorenz, and Baruch Fischhoff. "Effects of Description of Options on Parental Perinatal Decision-Making." Pediatrics 129, no. 5 (May 2012): 891–902. View Details
- John, Leslie K., George Loewenstein, and Drazen Prelec. "Measuring the Prevalence of Questionable Research Practices with Incentives for Truth-telling." Psychological Science 23, no. 5 (May 2012): 524–532. View Details
- Acquisti, Alessandro, Leslie K. John, and George Loewenstein. "The Impact of Relative Standards on the Propensity to Disclose." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 49, no. 2 (April 2012): 160–174. View Details
- John, Leslie K., George Loewenstein, Andrea Troxel, Laurie Norton, Jennifer Fassbender, and Kevin Volpp. "Financial Incentives for Extended Weight Loss: A Randomized, Controlled Trial." Journal of General Internal Medicine 26, no. 6 (June 2011): 621–626. View Details
- John, Leslie K., Alessandro Acquisti, and George Loewenstein. "Strangers on a Plane: Context-dependent Willingness to Divulge Sensitive Information." Journal of Consumer Research 37, no. 5 (February 2011): 858–873. View Details
- Koehler, Derek, Rebecca White, and Leslie K. John. "Good Intentions, Optimistic Self-Predictions, and Missed Opportunities." Social Psychological & Personality Science 2, no. 1 (January 2011): 90–96. View Details
- John, Leslie K., and Baruch Fischhoff. "Changes of Heart: The Switch-Value Method for Assessing Value Uncertainty." Medical Decision Making 30, no. 3 (May–June 2010): 388–397. View Details
- Volpp, Kevin, Leslie K. John, Andrea Troxel, Laurie Norton, Jennifer Fassbender, and George Loewenstein. "Financial Incentive Based Approaches for Weight Loss: A Randomized Trial." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association 300, no. 22 (December 10, 2008): 2631–2637. View Details
- Book Chapters
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- John, Leslie K. "The Consumer Psychology of Online Privacy: Insights and Opportunities from Behavioral Decision Theory." In The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology, edited by Michael I. Norton, Derek D. Rucker, and Cait Lamberton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. View Details
- LeBel, Etienne P., and Leslie K. John. "Toward Transparent Reporting of Psychological Science." In Psychological Science under Scrutiny: Recent Challenges and Proposed Solutions, edited by S.O. Lilienfeld and I.D. Waldman. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2017. View Details
- Loewenstein, George, Leslie John, and Kevin G. Volpp. "Using Decision Errors to Help People Help Themselves." Chap. 21 in The Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy, edited by Eldar Shafir, 361–379. Princeton University Press, 2012. View Details
- Working Papers
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- Garcia-Rada, Ximena, Leslie K. John, Ed O’Brien, and Michael I. Norton. "The Revised-Is-Quality Heuristic: Why Consumers Prefer Products Labeled as Revised." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-087, February 2019. (Revised September 2024. Revise and resubmit, Journal of Marketing Research.) View Details
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- John, Leslie. "Fishbowl: Scaling Up." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 924-701, April 2024. View Details
- Buell, Ryan W., and Leslie K. John. "Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 620-041, September 2019. (Revised February 2020.) View Details
- John, Leslie K. "Fishbowl: Scaling Up." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 920-022, September 2019. (Revised February 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- Keenan, Elizabeth A., and Leslie K. John. "Back to the Roots." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-028, August 2019. (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie, and Mitch Weiss. "Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 820-023, August 2019. (Revised February 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie K. "Fishbowl: Scaling Up." Harvard Business School Case 919-013, December 2018. (Revised February 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie. "The Campbell Home (A), (B), and (C)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 919-012, December 2018. (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie K., Mitchell Weiss, and Julia Kelley. "Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up." Harvard Business School Case 819-024, October 2018. (Revised July 2019.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- Buell, Ryan W., and Leslie K. John. "Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation." Harvard Business School Case 619-018, October 2018. (Revised February 2020.) View Details
- Keenan, Elizabeth A., and Leslie K. John. "Back to the Roots." Harvard Business School Case 518-073, June 2018. (Revised October 2019.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie K., and Matthew G. Preble. "The Campbell Home (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 918-019, December 2017. (Revised January 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie K., and Matthew G. Preble. "The Campbell Home (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 918-018, December 2017. (Revised January 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie K., and Matthew G. Preble. "The Campbell Home (A)." Harvard Business School Case 918-017, December 2017. (Revised January 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- Dolan, Robert J., and Leslie K. John. "Marketing Reading: Marketing Intelligence." Core Curriculum Readings Series. Harvard Business Publishing 8191, 2015. View Details
- John, Leslie, John Quelch, and Robert Huckman. "CVS Health: Promoting Drug Adherence." Harvard Business School Case 515-010, January 2015. (Revised July 2019.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie, John Quelch, and Robert Huckman. "CVS Health: Promoting Drug Adherence." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 515-086, March 2015. (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie, Michael Norton, and Michael Norris. "Making stickK Stick: The Business of Behavioral Economics." Harvard Business School Case 514-019, April 2014. (Revised June 2015.) (request a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie K., and Michael Norton. "Making stickK Stick: The Business of Behavioral Economics." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 515-088, February 2015. (Revised September 2016.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- Dolan, Robert J., and Leslie K. John. "Kiehl's Since 1851: Pathway to Profitable Growth." Harvard Business School Case 514-044, October 2013. (Revised April 2015.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- Dolan, Robert J., and Leslie K. John. "Kiehl's Since 1851: Pathway to Profitable Growth (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 514-046, October 2013. (Revised March 2015.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- John, Leslie, and Robert J. Dolan. "Kiehl's Since 1851: Pathway to Profitable Growth." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 515-087, March 2015. (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.) View Details
- Research Summary
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Professor John is a behavioral scientist who uses both laboratory and field experiments to investigate questions that are at the intersection of marketing, organizational behavior, and public policy.
Professor John’s work has been published in leading academic journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Psychological Science, Management Science, The Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. It has received media coverage in outlets including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Time Magazine. She has received numerous awards, including from the Association for Psychological Science and the Marketing Science Institute; and was named a Wired Innovation Fellow.
Broadly, she studies how people make decisions, within two critically important domains: consumer privacy and consumer health.
Consumer privacy
Much of Professor John’s research falls in the domain of the psychology of privacy decision-making, where novel information technologies have vastly expanded our ability to share personal information. These technologies satisfy, and fuel, our innate desires for communication, interaction, and self-representation. They raise many new exciting opportunities for firms and consumers alike. But they are also fueled by large amounts of personal data, which presents a host of privacy challenges.
Professor John seeks to understand what drives people to share or withhold personal information. Beyond the interpersonal consequences of people’s decisions to share or withhold information, she seeks to understand consumers’ reactions to firms’ increasing knowledge of their personal attributes. Broadly, the goal of her research is to shed insight into how both consumers and firms alike can better navigate the digital world.
Consumer health
Escalating health care costs have focused attention on changing unhealthy but modifiable behaviors. Tobacco use, obesity, and alcohol abuse together account for nearly one-third of all deaths in the United States. Professor John has demonstrated that it is possible to exploit people’s decision biases, such as overconfidence and aversion to financial loss, to help them adopt more healthy behaviors.
- Awards & Honors
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Finalist for the 2018 Paul E. Green Award from the Journal of Marketing Research for "Does 'Liking' Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand's Social Network on Marketing Outcomes" (with Oliver Emrich, Sunil Gupta, and Michael I. Norton, February 2017).Finalist for the HBR McKinsey Award for Best Article in Harvard Business Review in 2018 for "The Surprising Power of Questions" with Alison Wood Brooks.Selected as a Marketing Science Institute Young Scholar in 2017.Selected as an Association for Psychological Science Rising Star in 2016.Selected as WIRED Innovation Fellow in 2016.
- Additional Information
- Areas of Interest
- In The News