My work revolves around the psychological and economic motivation for value-destroying behavior.  I am fundamentally interested in why employees act in ways we know to be destructive to the organizations and individuals around us, and what environmental, social, and financial factors bring us back into the fold of productive behavior. Such behaviors include both active behaviors that cause harm as well as passively choosing to avoid productive acts. These issues are among the micro-foundations of organizational strategy, and encompass the emotions and biases of psychology and the incentives and intended rationality of economics.  We are economic, yet also social and emotional creatures.

I am fascinated by the choices we make each day in interacting with our organizational and social environments.  Mostly, I focus on the socially destructive ones: the choices to break rules and laws, lie, cheat, free-ride, and game incentive systems. I am also interested in emotional responses to and psychological costs of financial incentives and wealth.  These include generally negative responses such as envy and greed, but can also include helping behavior or empathy.