The human side of strategy

Columbia Business School Professor Stephan Meier focuses on issues at the intersection of behavioral economics, business strategy, and the future of work.

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Examining the complex links between human decision-making and organizational performance.

Stephan Meier believes that humans, with our strengths and weaknesses, are at the center of any successful strategy. He studies how various motivations — beyond money — affect decision-makers, including leaders, employees and customers, and how understanding those motivations can guide public policy and firm strategy to change behavior for the better.

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Highlights

The Future of Work and Management

In this video, Stephan Meier discusses his research that reveals the potential competitive advantage that companies can achieve when they embrace flexible, hybrid schedules that allow for remote work.

Are Customers 10x More Important to Firms than Employees?

This working paper documents a stark imbalance among scholars and practitioners regarding the relative emphasis between these two stakeholders.

Leading Into the Future Webinar

Watch a 30-minute webinar with Stephan Meier and Dan Wang, the faculty co-directors of Columbia Business School’s new Executive Development: Leading Into the Future program.

Monetary Incentives Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations

A small cash reward of $24 had the power to increase participation by about 4 percentage points.

Suspicion of Bank Motives

Research with Eric Johnson and Olivier Toubia comes to life in this animated short illustrating consumers’ suspicion of banks’ motives.

More Than a Paycheck

An interview with the AEA about the nonmonetary rewards of work.

Gender Differences in Preferences for Meaning at Work

Presentation of a paper that shows females care much more about meaning at work which explains segregation into different industries.

Stop Talking About How CSR Helps Your Bottom Line

An experiment found that if employees think their company is using CSR initiatives instrumentally then they’ll react negatively and put in less effort.