Jessica A. Kennedy
Associate Professor of Management
Research Interests/Areas of Expertise
Negotiation, Business ethics, Gender in work organizations
Subject Areas
Organization Studies
Biography
Biography
An expert in Organizational Behavior and Negotiation, Professor Jessica Kennedy applies theories of effective conflict resolution to expand knowledge of business ethics and gender issues in work organizations. Her research has been covered by news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Businessweek, Fast Company, New York Magazine, and Time. She teaches MGT 6448: Negotiation and MGT 6456: Ethics in Business for MBA program. Previously, she taught MGT 6342: Leading Teams and Organizations. Prior to academia, Kennedy worked in investment banking in New York and San Francisco.
Awards & Accomplishments
For research, Professor Kennedy has received the Academy of Management's Award for Best Practitioner-oriented Paper in the Organizational Behavior division, the Best Article Award from the Society for Business Ethics, the Best Paper Award from the International Association of Conflict Management, the Dean’s Research Productivity Award, the Chancellor's Award for Diversity and Inclusion Research, and the INFORMS/Organization Science award for Best Dissertation Proposal. She serves on the Editorial Board of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
For teaching, Professor Kennedy has been named among the Best 40 Under 40 Professors by Poets and Quants and received the Dean’s Teaching Award.
Expertise
Professor Kennedy is an expert in Organizational Behavior. As an organizational psychologist, she studies effective conflict resolution, diversity issues, and ethical issues at work. To explain behavior, she often draws from theories of identity and self-regulation.
Publications
Professor Kennedy publishes in journals such as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Administrative Science Quarterly, and the Journal of Business Ethics. She also writes for practitioner outlets such as Harvard Business Review and The California Management Review.Research Interests
Professor Kennedy's research examines when and why tensions emerge between business and negotiation goals and ethical values. She aims to identify when these conflicts are real versus false and to describe the psychological consequences of different approaches to resolving them. Ultimately, her research is aimed at making organizations fair, efficient places where employees with integrity can thrive.
Education
PhD, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, 2012
BS, summa cum laude, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2004
Select Publications
Articles
Does getting promoted alter your moral compass?
Kennedy, J. A. 2021 (February 9). Does getting promoted alter your moral compass? Harvard Business Review.
Does accusing a coworker of an ethical lapse hurt your credibility?
Kennedy, J. A., & Schweitzer, M. 2021 (February 4). Does accusing a coworker of an ethical lapse hurt your credibility? Harvard Business Review.
How couples can find balance while working from home.
Olekalns, M., & Kennedy, J. A. 2020 (December 14). How couples can find balance while working from home. Harvard Business Review.
Building Trust by Tearing Others Down: When Accusing Others of Unethical Behavior Engenders Trust
Kennedy, J. A., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2018). Building Trust by Tearing Others Down: When Accusing Others of Unethical Behavior Engenders Trust. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 149, 111-128
Why powerful people fail to stop bad behavior by their underlings.
Kennedy, J. A., & Anderson, C. 2017 (March 13). Why powerful people fail to stop bad behavior by their underlings. The Conversation.
Hierarchical rank and principled dissent: How holding higher rank suppresses objection to unethical practices
Kennedy, J. A., & Anderson, C. (2017). Hierarchical rank and principled dissent: How holding higher rank suppresses objection to unethical practices. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 139, 30-49.
Women as negotiators—and leaders.
Kray, L. J., & Kennedy, J. A. 2017. Changing the narrative: Women as negotiators—and leaders. California Management Review, 60, 70-87.
When trust is easily broken, and when it’s not.
Haselhuhn, M., Schweitzer, M. E., Kray, L., & Kennedy, J. A. 2016. (Feb 17). When trust is easily broken, and when it’s not. Harvard Business Review.
A social-cognitive approach to understanding gender differences in negotiator ethics: The role of moral identity
Kennedy, J. A., Kray, L. J., & Ku, G. (2017). A social-cognitive approach to understanding gender differences in negotiator ethics: The role of moral identity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 138, 28-44.
Perceptions of high integrity can persist after deception: How implicit beliefs moderate trust erosion
Haselhuhn, M. P., Kray, L. J., Schweitzer, M. E., & Kennedy, J. A. (in press). Perceptions of high integrity can persist after deception: How implicit beliefs moderate trust erosion. Journal of Business Ethics.
Hierarchies and dignity: A Confucian communitarian approach
Kennedy, J. A., Kim, T. W., & Strudler, A. (2016). Hierarchies and dignity: A Confucian communitarian approach. Business Ethics Quarterly, 26, 479-502.
A pawn in someone else's game? The cognitive, motivational, and paradigmatic barriers to women's excelling in negotiation
Kennedy, J. A., & Kray, L. J. (2015). A pawn in someone else's game? The cognitive, motivational, and paradigmatic barriers to women's excelling in negotiation. Research in Organizational Behavior, 35, 3-28.
Creativity from constraint? How the political correctness norm influences creativity in mixed-sex work groups
Goncalo, J. A., Chatman, J. A., Duguid, M. M., & Kennedy, J. A. (2015). Creativity from constraint? How the political correctness norm influences creativity in mixed-sex work groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 60, 1-30.
Gender differences in trust dynamics: Women trust more than men following a trust violation
Haselhuhn, M. P., Kennedy, J. A., Kray, L. J., Van Zant, A., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2014). Gender differences in trust dynamics: Women trust more than men following a trust violation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 56, 104-109.
Not competent enough to know the difference? Gender stereotypes about women’s ease of being misled predict negotiator deception
Kray, L. J., Kennedy, J. A., & Van Zant, A. B. (2014). Not competent enough to know the difference? Gender stereotypes about women’s ease of being misled predict negotiator deception. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 125, 61-72.
Who is willing to sacrifice ethical values for money and social status? Gender differences in reactions to ethical compromises
Kennedy, J. A., & Kray, L. J. (2013). Who is willing to sacrifice ethical values for money and social status? Gender differences in reactions to ethical compromises. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5 (1), 52-59.
When overconfidence is revealed to others: Testing the status-enhancement theory of overconfidence
Kennedy, J. A., Anderson, C., & Moore, D. M. (2013). When overconfidence is revealed to others: Testing the status-enhancement theory of overconfidence. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 122 (2), 266-279
A status-enhancement account of overconfidence
Anderson, C., Brion, S., Moore, D. M., & Kennedy, J. A. (2012). A status-enhancement account of overconfidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103 (4), 718-735.
Chapters
Political correctness and group composition: A research agenda
Chatman, J. A., Goncalo, J. A., Kennedy, J. A., & Duguid, M. M. (2012). Political correctness and group composition: A research agenda. In E. Mannix, & M. Neale (Eds.), Research on managing groups and teams (Vol. 15, pp. 161-183). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
A micropolitics model of status hierarchies in teams
Anderson, C., & Kennedy, J. A. (2012). A micropolitics model of status hierarchies in teams. In E. Mannix & M. Neale (Eds.), Research in managing groups and teams (Vol. 15, pp. 49-80). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Psychological perspectives on leadership
Chatman, J. A. & Kennedy, J. A. (2010). Psychological perspectives on leadership. In N. Nohria, & R. Khurana (Eds.), Leadership: Advancing the discipline (pp. 159-182). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
