laura noval - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by laura noval
Journal of business ethics, Mar 5, 2024
Routledge eBooks, Jul 12, 2023
Journal of business ethics, Feb 19, 2024
Group & Organization Management
Executive social irresponsibility has received increasing research attention in recent years, fol... more Executive social irresponsibility has received increasing research attention in recent years, following the consensus for a broader stakeholder approach to managerial decision making. Despite the importance of the subject, there remains insufficient research on contextual factors that mold executives’ orientation toward social responsibility. Through three studies, we demonstrate that difficult business goals can reduce executives’ tendency to consider social responsibility in their decision making. Further, we find that focalism—a cognitive bias based on affective forecasting theory—can mediate positive relationships between business goal difficulty and socially irresponsible executive behavior. Our findings also suggest that, expanding executives’ thought processes beyond the narrow focus of a business goal achievement can be a good strategy in reducing socially irresponsible executive behavior, even in the presence of difficult goals.
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014
This study examines the effect of negative and positive incidental emotional states on both harmf... more This study examines the effect of negative and positive incidental emotional states on both harmful behavior and prosocial behavior. We hypothesized that negative emotions will reduce harmful behav...
Journal of Business Ethics, 2017
In this article, we demonstrate that individuals use motivated reasoning to convince themselves t... more In this article, we demonstrate that individuals use motivated reasoning to convince themselves that their self-serving behavior is justified, which in turn affects the distribution of resources in business situations. Specifically, we explore how ambiguous contextual cues and individual beliefs can jointly form motivated reasoning. Across two experimental studies, we find that whereas individual ideologies that endorse status hierarchies (i.e., social dominance orientation) can strengthen the relationship between contextual ambiguity and motivated reasoning, individual beliefs rooted in fairness and equality (i.e., moral identity) can weaken it. Our findings contribute to person-situation theories of business ethics and provide evidence that two ubiquitous factors in business organizations-contextual ambiguity and social dominance orientation-give rise to motivated reasoning, enabling decision makers to engage in self-serving distributions of resources. Keywords Behavioral business ethics Á Moral identity Á Motivated reasoning Á Resource allocation Á Self-serving behavior Á Situational strength Á Social dominance orientation Reasoning was designed by evolution to help us win arguments.
Organizational Dynamics, 2015
Researchers and practitioners alike are increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of emotion in... more Researchers and practitioners alike are increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of emotion in decision making
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
Research on employer attractiveness has investigated the relation between various signals sent by... more Research on employer attractiveness has investigated the relation between various signals sent by the organization and the attractiveness of the organization as a potential employer, but has so far neglected the role the CEO can play in this process. We investigate through a series of experimental studies, how and under what conditions a specific signal, i.e., CEO sociopolitical activism, affects job pursuit intentions. CEO sociopolitical activism receives increasing attention, both from scholars and practitioners, as we see more and more CEOs publicly voicing their opinions on socially contentious issues. However, there is to date very limited understanding of the effects such activism has on the organization. Drawing on signaling theory, we argue that the effect depends on the political stance CEOs take: CEOs campaigning for humanistic values will increase job pursuit intentions when compared to CEOs remaining neutral, while CEOs campaigning for non-humanistic values will decrease job pursuit intentions when compared to neutral or humanistic CEOs. We argue that the process is mediated by how far potential job applicants perceive that the CEO is acting according to her or his role and moderated by CEO gender. We test our hypotheses in five studies, using an experimental between-subjects factorial design where participants are randomly assigned to one of different scenarios of CEO political activism (or non-activism). Except for the moderation of gender, we find support for our hypotheses and discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.
Academy of Management Proceedings
A large body of research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to behave self-serving... more A large body of research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to behave self-servingly at the expense of dissimilar others and that interpersonal dissimilarity results from existing in...
In this article we explore how moral outrage can play a role in disrupting the cycle of allocatin... more In this article we explore how moral outrage can play a role in disrupting the cycle of allocating burdens to future generations. Drawing on the literature on intergenerational reciprocity, we posit that individuals will generally reciprocate the good or bad treatment they received from previous generations to future generations and how cycles of mistreatment might be disrupted. Integrating existing knowledge on moral emotions, we propose that only when individuals are high on equity sensitivity will their feelings of moral outrage disrupt the intergenerational cycle of mistreatment. When individuals are low in equity sensitivity, mistreatment to future others is more likely to continue. The results of an experiment with working professionals support our hypotheses; as such, our research sheds light on the affective dynamics that can drive intergenerational allocations.
The main goal of my dissertation is to expand studies on the influence of affect in behavioral bu... more The main goal of my dissertation is to expand studies on the influence of affect in behavioral business ethics by focusing on affective influences that remain underexplored - e.g., incidental and anticipated emotions - as well as the interaction of affect with cognition. This dissertation is thus divided in three papers, each providing an unique contribution to the aforementioned goals and to the literature in ethical decision making: PAPER 1) a conceptual paper that explores the role of mood in managerial ethical decision making and the boundary conditions of this relationship in an organizational context; PAPER 2) an empirical paper composed of three studies that explores the role of incidental emotions in influencing perceptions of the consequences of ethical dilemmas and in determining ethical behavior; and PAPER 3) an empirical paper composed of four studies that explores the role of anticipated emotions and affective forecasting errors in unethical and self-serving behavior. (...
Academy of Management Proceedings
In recent years, scholarly interest in unethical behavior in the workplace has been rapidly incre... more In recent years, scholarly interest in unethical behavior in the workplace has been rapidly increasing. Recent research in this area has highlighted that unethical behavior is routinely committed b...
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015
In this paper, I propose that individuals often engage in unethical behavior to obtain certain ou... more In this paper, I propose that individuals often engage in unethical behavior to obtain certain outcomes, such as a promotion or a bonus (e.g., Kern & Chugh, 2009), because they overestimate how wel...
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2016
Journal of Business Ethics, 2015
Research Handbook of Global Leadership
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
The present research tested whether mindfulness, a state characterized by focused, nonjudgmental ... more The present research tested whether mindfulness, a state characterized by focused, nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, increases prosocial behavior in the workplace or work-related contexts. Study 1a was a longitudinal field experiment at a US insurance company. Compared to workers under waitlist control, employees who were assigned to a daily mindfulness training reported more helping behaviors over a five day period both in quantitative surveys and qualitative daily diaries. Study 1b, conducted in a large consulting company in India, extends these findings with a field experiment in which co-workers rated the prosocial behavior of teammates in a round robin design. Moving from devoting time to devoting money, in Study 2a and 2b we find that individuals randomly assigned to engage in a focused breathing meditation were more financially generous. To understand the mechanisms of mindfulness’ effects on prosocial behavior, Study 3 found support for empathy and moderate support for perspective taking as mediators. This study also examined the effects of induced state mindfulness via two different mindfulness inductions, focused breathing and loving kindness meditation. Our results indicate secular state mindfulness can make people more other-oriented and helpful. This benefit holds even in workplace contexts, where being helpful toward others might face constraints but is nevertheless of great importance.
Journal of business ethics, Mar 5, 2024
Routledge eBooks, Jul 12, 2023
Journal of business ethics, Feb 19, 2024
Group & Organization Management
Executive social irresponsibility has received increasing research attention in recent years, fol... more Executive social irresponsibility has received increasing research attention in recent years, following the consensus for a broader stakeholder approach to managerial decision making. Despite the importance of the subject, there remains insufficient research on contextual factors that mold executives’ orientation toward social responsibility. Through three studies, we demonstrate that difficult business goals can reduce executives’ tendency to consider social responsibility in their decision making. Further, we find that focalism—a cognitive bias based on affective forecasting theory—can mediate positive relationships between business goal difficulty and socially irresponsible executive behavior. Our findings also suggest that, expanding executives’ thought processes beyond the narrow focus of a business goal achievement can be a good strategy in reducing socially irresponsible executive behavior, even in the presence of difficult goals.
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014
This study examines the effect of negative and positive incidental emotional states on both harmf... more This study examines the effect of negative and positive incidental emotional states on both harmful behavior and prosocial behavior. We hypothesized that negative emotions will reduce harmful behav...
Journal of Business Ethics, 2017
In this article, we demonstrate that individuals use motivated reasoning to convince themselves t... more In this article, we demonstrate that individuals use motivated reasoning to convince themselves that their self-serving behavior is justified, which in turn affects the distribution of resources in business situations. Specifically, we explore how ambiguous contextual cues and individual beliefs can jointly form motivated reasoning. Across two experimental studies, we find that whereas individual ideologies that endorse status hierarchies (i.e., social dominance orientation) can strengthen the relationship between contextual ambiguity and motivated reasoning, individual beliefs rooted in fairness and equality (i.e., moral identity) can weaken it. Our findings contribute to person-situation theories of business ethics and provide evidence that two ubiquitous factors in business organizations-contextual ambiguity and social dominance orientation-give rise to motivated reasoning, enabling decision makers to engage in self-serving distributions of resources. Keywords Behavioral business ethics Á Moral identity Á Motivated reasoning Á Resource allocation Á Self-serving behavior Á Situational strength Á Social dominance orientation Reasoning was designed by evolution to help us win arguments.
Organizational Dynamics, 2015
Researchers and practitioners alike are increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of emotion in... more Researchers and practitioners alike are increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of emotion in decision making
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
Research on employer attractiveness has investigated the relation between various signals sent by... more Research on employer attractiveness has investigated the relation between various signals sent by the organization and the attractiveness of the organization as a potential employer, but has so far neglected the role the CEO can play in this process. We investigate through a series of experimental studies, how and under what conditions a specific signal, i.e., CEO sociopolitical activism, affects job pursuit intentions. CEO sociopolitical activism receives increasing attention, both from scholars and practitioners, as we see more and more CEOs publicly voicing their opinions on socially contentious issues. However, there is to date very limited understanding of the effects such activism has on the organization. Drawing on signaling theory, we argue that the effect depends on the political stance CEOs take: CEOs campaigning for humanistic values will increase job pursuit intentions when compared to CEOs remaining neutral, while CEOs campaigning for non-humanistic values will decrease job pursuit intentions when compared to neutral or humanistic CEOs. We argue that the process is mediated by how far potential job applicants perceive that the CEO is acting according to her or his role and moderated by CEO gender. We test our hypotheses in five studies, using an experimental between-subjects factorial design where participants are randomly assigned to one of different scenarios of CEO political activism (or non-activism). Except for the moderation of gender, we find support for our hypotheses and discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.
Academy of Management Proceedings
A large body of research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to behave self-serving... more A large body of research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to behave self-servingly at the expense of dissimilar others and that interpersonal dissimilarity results from existing in...
In this article we explore how moral outrage can play a role in disrupting the cycle of allocatin... more In this article we explore how moral outrage can play a role in disrupting the cycle of allocating burdens to future generations. Drawing on the literature on intergenerational reciprocity, we posit that individuals will generally reciprocate the good or bad treatment they received from previous generations to future generations and how cycles of mistreatment might be disrupted. Integrating existing knowledge on moral emotions, we propose that only when individuals are high on equity sensitivity will their feelings of moral outrage disrupt the intergenerational cycle of mistreatment. When individuals are low in equity sensitivity, mistreatment to future others is more likely to continue. The results of an experiment with working professionals support our hypotheses; as such, our research sheds light on the affective dynamics that can drive intergenerational allocations.
The main goal of my dissertation is to expand studies on the influence of affect in behavioral bu... more The main goal of my dissertation is to expand studies on the influence of affect in behavioral business ethics by focusing on affective influences that remain underexplored - e.g., incidental and anticipated emotions - as well as the interaction of affect with cognition. This dissertation is thus divided in three papers, each providing an unique contribution to the aforementioned goals and to the literature in ethical decision making: PAPER 1) a conceptual paper that explores the role of mood in managerial ethical decision making and the boundary conditions of this relationship in an organizational context; PAPER 2) an empirical paper composed of three studies that explores the role of incidental emotions in influencing perceptions of the consequences of ethical dilemmas and in determining ethical behavior; and PAPER 3) an empirical paper composed of four studies that explores the role of anticipated emotions and affective forecasting errors in unethical and self-serving behavior. (...
Academy of Management Proceedings
In recent years, scholarly interest in unethical behavior in the workplace has been rapidly incre... more In recent years, scholarly interest in unethical behavior in the workplace has been rapidly increasing. Recent research in this area has highlighted that unethical behavior is routinely committed b...
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015
In this paper, I propose that individuals often engage in unethical behavior to obtain certain ou... more In this paper, I propose that individuals often engage in unethical behavior to obtain certain outcomes, such as a promotion or a bonus (e.g., Kern & Chugh, 2009), because they overestimate how wel...
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2016
Journal of Business Ethics, 2015
Research Handbook of Global Leadership
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
The present research tested whether mindfulness, a state characterized by focused, nonjudgmental ... more The present research tested whether mindfulness, a state characterized by focused, nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, increases prosocial behavior in the workplace or work-related contexts. Study 1a was a longitudinal field experiment at a US insurance company. Compared to workers under waitlist control, employees who were assigned to a daily mindfulness training reported more helping behaviors over a five day period both in quantitative surveys and qualitative daily diaries. Study 1b, conducted in a large consulting company in India, extends these findings with a field experiment in which co-workers rated the prosocial behavior of teammates in a round robin design. Moving from devoting time to devoting money, in Study 2a and 2b we find that individuals randomly assigned to engage in a focused breathing meditation were more financially generous. To understand the mechanisms of mindfulness’ effects on prosocial behavior, Study 3 found support for empathy and moderate support for perspective taking as mediators. This study also examined the effects of induced state mindfulness via two different mindfulness inductions, focused breathing and loving kindness meditation. Our results indicate secular state mindfulness can make people more other-oriented and helpful. This benefit holds even in workplace contexts, where being helpful toward others might face constraints but is nevertheless of great importance.