Iam an Assistant Professor of Management & Organization at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. I have received my PhD in Organizational Behavior from the London Business School, a Master of Science in Industrial Psychology from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Economics (double major) from Tel-Aviv University. My research looks at how the social context impacts employees’ decision making. I examine situations in which people in organizational settings behave in ways that run counter to what one would expect them to do when seeking a specific goal because of innate social needs, such as the need to belong or the need for social status. Importantly, I apply psychological theories to critical organizational challenges (e.g.how organizations should structure employees’ jobs; How should organizations design their selection practices?) to seek solutions that improve employees’ lives at the workplace and organization’s success. I use multi-methods approach, combining field surveys, field experiments, laboratory experiments and archival data analysis. The focus of my research revolves around two specific areas: (1) behavioral ethics (2) selection decisions and biases.
Behavioral Ethics
A substantial part of my work is in the field of behavioral ethics, which explores psychological explanations for unethical behavior in organizations and develops solutions to curb ethical misconduct. I study psychological factors that motivate people to behave unethically, such as a desire to fit in. I also aim to identify managerial and policy solutions that can reduce unethical behavior in organizations.
Selection Decisions and Biases
Selection decisions in organizations are made on a daily basis, and profoundly affect people’s lives and organizational success. However, despite ample research on employee selection, we still have insufficient understanding of the social-psychological processes that affect both the selection process itself, and the job experience emanating from the selection process for existing employees. In this stream of work, I leverage decision-making paradigms to explore selection decisions and potential decision biases. Specifically, I aim to show how psychological biases lead employees and managers to make poor decisions, and I suggest solutions to curb or reduce such biases.
Education
Selected Awards
2016Most Innovative Student Paper Award, AOM
Baker, B., Derfler-Rozin, R., Pitesa, M., & Johnson, M. Economic Consequences of Unethical Behavior: An Organizational Context Model
2016Best Paper Award, OB Divison, AOM
Wee, E., Derfler-Rozin, R., & Marr, J. Jolted into Generosity? How and why jolts to groups affect individuals’ generosity and the consequences for status conferral