Leadership, organisational change (e.g. EDI) and technology (e.g. AI)
My research explores how leadership and organisational change can improve performance and lead to positive outcomes. Moreover, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), new opportunities have a risen for greater value creation in private and listed organisations and for the public sector. To capitalise on the potential of AI and wider changes in organisations, leaders need to create a culture of experimentation, data-driven decision-making and a focus on measurable performance.
Our paper “Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content” published in Science Advances (2024) shows that AI can help people be more creative (especially those who are inherently less creative) – but there are also potential trade-offs: in aggregate, when people rely on AI, their collective creativity (i.e, the diversity of novel ideas in the group) is reduced. Read more about it on NPR.
In our paper “Catch me if you can: Using machine learning and behavioral interventions to reduce unethical behavior “ published in Behavioural Public Policy (2024), we show how machine learning techniques can be used by organisations, including in the public sector, to identify social benefits claimants who are most likely to commit fraud and test the effectiveness of behavioural interventions to reduce unethical behaviour.
In our working paper “Closing the gender gap in re-applications for senior roles” (Reject & Resubmit at Management Science), we run a large-scale field experiment in a public organisation to close the gender gap for senior leadership applications — by focusing on (and encouraging) the most qualified candidates to apply for more roles in the future.
Fairness and social preferences
My research focuses on the emergence and maintenance of fairness, cooperation and altruism. Fairness is integral to the functioning of society, achieving top performance in organisations and levelling the playing field. I explore these themes to address questions around poverty and inequality in society, large scale public goods like sustaining the environment, and collaboration and equality in firms.
Our paper “Cooperating with the future” published in Nature (2014) lays bare the challenge of intergenerational cooperation: when there is no way to reciprocate previous generations’ kind (or unkind) behaviour, how do we establish and maintain sustainable behaviours? In this paper, we focus on the role of institutions—in particular, democracy—in maintaining intergenerational cooperation. If you are interested to learn more, there’s a short video and a helpful commentary that tells you more about this work. You can also read more about it in the Huffington Post.
Our Nature paper “Social dilemmas among unequals” (2019) studies how cooperation is affected by multiple inequalities. Using evolutionary game theory, we show that inequalities in incomes and productivities can undermine the evolution of cooperation – but there are conditions when things can get better too. An experiment illustrates some of these key take-aways. Read more about it on Bloomberg.
In ongoing work with a national charity partner in the US, we study whether financial payments (also known as unconditional cash transfers) to low-income households can help them escape poverty. We are among the first studies to conduct large-scale field experiments in a high-income country by distributing over $7m in cash transfers. Our first results portray the nuanced challenges associated with poverty and cash transfers.
To see a list of my research publications, click here.