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Stephan Meier

Stephan Meier
James P. Gorman Professor of Business; Chair of Management Division
Management Division
Chair
Management Division
Areas of Expertise
Globalization Leadership & Organizational Behavior Strategy
Contact
Office: 926 Kravis
E-mail: [email protected]
Links
Personal Website

Stephan Meier is currently the chair of the Management Division and the James P. Gorman Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich, was previously a senior economist at the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and taught courses on strategic interactions and economic policy at Harvard University and the University of Zurich. His research interest is in behavioral strategy. He investigates the impact of psychology and economics on human decision-making and its implications for public policy and firms' strategy. Current research topics include how non-selfish behavior affect organizations or the effect of borrower's decision-making on financial institutions' strategy. His work has been published in the leading academic journals including the American Economic Review and Management Science, and has been profiled by the press such as The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

Education
MA and PhD, University of Zurich
Joined CBS
2008

All Activities

  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Awards and Honors
  • Press
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
Type
Journal Article
Keum, Daniel and Stephan Meier
. “License to Layoff? Unemployment Insurance and the Moral Cost of Layoffs.”
Organization Science
(Forthcoming).
Read More about License to Layoff? Unemployment Insurance and the Moral Cost of Layoffs
Download PDF on License to Layoff? Unemployment Insurance and the Moral Cost of Layoffs
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan and Suparee Boonmanunt
. “The Effect of Financial Constraints on In-Group Bias: Evidence from Rice Farmers in Thailand .” (January 24, 2023).
Read More about The Effect of Financial Constraints on In-Group Bias: Evidence from Rice Farmers in Thailand
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan
. “Monetary incentives increase COVID-19 vaccinations.”
Science
vol.
374
, (October 01, 2021):
879
-
882
.
Read More about Monetary incentives increase COVID-19 vaccinations
Type
Journal Article
Campos-Mercade, Pol, Armando Meier, Florian Schneider, Stephan Meier, Devin Pope, and Erik Wengstrom
. “Monetary incentives increase COVID-19 vaccinations.”
Science
vol.
374
, (October 01, 2021):
879
-
882
.
Read More about Monetary incentives increase COVID-19 vaccinations
Type
Journal Article
Cassar, Lea and Stephan Meier
. “Intentions for Doing Good Matter for Doing Well: The Negative Effects of Prosocial Incentives.”
The Economic Journal
vol.
131
, (January 01, 2021):
1988
-
2017
.
Read More about Intentions for Doing Good Matter for Doing Well: The Negative Effects of Prosocial Incentives
Download PDF on Intentions for Doing Good Matter for Doing Well: The Negative Effects of Prosocial Incentives
Type
Journal Article
Agarwal, Sumit, Souphala Chomsisengphet, Stephan Meier, and Xin Zou
. “In the Mood to Consume: Effect of Sunshine on Credit Card Spending.”
Journal of Banking & Finance
vol.
121
, (December 01, 2020):
1
-
20
.
Read More about In the Mood to Consume: Effect of Sunshine on Credit Card Spending
Download PDF on In the Mood to Consume: Effect of Sunshine on Credit Card Spending
Type
Journal Article
Boonmanunt, Suparee, Agne Kajackaite, and Stephan Meier
. “Does Poverty Negate the Impact of Social Norms on Cheating?”
Games and Economic Behavior
vol.
124
, (November 01, 2020):
569
-
578
.
Read More about Does Poverty Negate the Impact of Social Norms on Cheating?
Download PDF on Does Poverty Negate the Impact of Social Norms on Cheating?
Type
Journal Article
Johnson, Eric, Stephan Meier, and Olivier Toubia
. “What's the Catch? Suspicion in Bank Motives and Sluggish Refinancing.”
The Review of Financial Studies
vol.
32
, (January 01, 2019):
467
-
495
.
Read More about What's the Catch? Suspicion in Bank Motives and Sluggish Refinancing
Download PDF on What's the Catch? Suspicion in Bank Motives and Sluggish Refinancing
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Matt Stephenson, and Patryk Perkowski
. “Culture of Trust and Division of Labor in Non-Hierarchical Teams.”
Strategic Management Journal
vol.
40
, (January 01, 2019):
1171
-
1193
.
Read More about Culture of Trust and Division of Labor in Non-Hierarchical Teams
Download PDF on Culture of Trust and Division of Labor in Non-Hierarchical Teams
Type
Journal Article
Johnson, Eric, Stephan Meier, and Olivier Toubia
. “What’s the Catch? Suspicion of Bank Motives and Sluggish Refinancing.”
The Review of Financial Studies
vol.
32
, no.
2
(January 01, 2019):
467
-
495
.
Read More about What’s the Catch? Suspicion of Bank Motives and Sluggish Refinancing
Download PDF on What’s the Catch? Suspicion of Bank Motives and Sluggish Refinancing
Type
Journal Article
Cassar, Lea and Stephan Meier
. “Nonmonetary Incentives and the Implications of Work as a Source of Meaning.”
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol.
32
, (January 01, 2018):
215
-
238
.
Read More about Nonmonetary Incentives and the Implications of Work as a Source of Meaning
Download PDF on Nonmonetary Incentives and the Implications of Work as a Source of Meaning
Type
Journal Article
Kast, Felipe, Stephan Meier, and Dina Pomeranz
. “Saving More in Groups: Field Experimental Evidence from Chile.”
Journal of Development Economics
vol.
00
, (January 01, 2018):
00
.
Read More about Saving More in Groups: Field Experimental Evidence from Chile
Type
Journal Article
Xie, Wenwen, Benjamin Ho, Stephan Meier, and Xinyue Zhou
. “Rank reversal aversion inhibits redistribution across societies.”
Nature Human Behavior
vol.
1
, (July 10, 2017):
1
-
5
.
Read More about Rank reversal aversion inhibits redistribution across societies
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Brigitte Madrian, Hal Hershfield, Abigail Sussman, Saurabh Bhargava, Jeremy Burke, Scott Huettel, Julian Jamison, Eric Johnson, John Lynch, Scott Rick, and Suzanne Shu
. “Behaviorally Informed Policies for Household Financial Decisionmaking.”
Behavioral Science & Policy
vol.
3
, (January 01, 2017):
27
-
40
.
Read More about Behaviorally Informed Policies for Household Financial Decisionmaking
Type
Journal Article
Carvalho, Leandro, Stephan Meier, and Stephanie Wang
. “Poverty and Economic Decision-Making: Evidence from Changes in Financial Resources at Payday.”
American Economic Review
vol.
106
, (January 01, 2016):
260
-
84
.
Read More about Poverty and Economic Decision-Making: Evidence from Changes in Financial Resources at Payday
Download PDF on Poverty and Economic Decision-Making: Evidence from Changes in Financial Resources at Payday
Type
Journal Article
Chatterji, Aaron, Michael Findley, Nathan Jensen, Stephan Meier, and Daniel Nielson
. “Field Experiments in Strategy Research.”
Strategic Management Journal
vol.
37
, (January 01, 2016):
116
-
132
.
Read More about Field Experiments in Strategy Research
Download PDF on Field Experiments in Strategy Research
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Lamar Pierce, Antonino Vaccaro, and Barbara La Cara
. “Trust and in-group favoritism in a culture of crime.”
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
vol.
132
, (January 01, 2016):
78
-
92
.
Read More about Trust and in-group favoritism in a culture of crime
Download PDF on Trust and in-group favoritism in a culture of crime
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan and Charles Sprenger
. “Temporal Stability of Time Preferences.”
Review of Economics and Statistics
vol.
97
, (May 01, 2015):
273
-
286
.
Read More about Temporal Stability of Time Preferences
Download PDF on Temporal Stability of Time Preferences
Type
Journal Article
Masella, Paolo, Stephan Meier, and Philipp Zahn
. “Incentives and Group Identity.”
Games and Economic Behavior
vol.
86
, (July 01, 2014):
12
-
25
.
Read More about Incentives and Group Identity
Download PDF on Incentives and Group Identity
Type
Journal Article
Kessler, Judd and Stephan Meier
. “Learning from (Failed) Replications: Cognitive Load Manipulations and Charitable Giving.”
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
vol.
102
, (June 01, 2014):
10
-
13
.
Read More about Learning from (Failed) Replications: Cognitive Load Manipulations and Charitable Giving
Download PDF on Learning from (Failed) Replications: Cognitive Load Manipulations and Charitable Giving
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Ben Levinger, and Marques Benton
. “The Cost of Not Knowing the Score: Self-Estimated Credit Scores and Financial Outcomes.”
Journal of Family and Economic Issues
vol.
32
, (January 01, 2014):
556
-
585
.
Read More about The Cost of Not Knowing the Score: Self-Estimated Credit Scores and Financial Outcomes
Type
Journal Article
Gerardi, Kristopher, Lorenz Goette, and Stephan Meier
. “Numerical Ability Predicts Mortgage Default.”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
vol.
110
, (June 24, 2013):
11267
-
11271
.
Read More about Numerical Ability Predicts Mortgage Default
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan and Charles Sprenger
. “Discounting Financial Literacy: Time Preferences and Participation in Financial Education Programs.”
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
vol.
95
, (January 01, 2013):
159
-
174
.
Read More about Discounting Financial Literacy: Time Preferences and Participation in Financial Education Programs
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Armin Falk, and Christian Zehnder
. “Do Lab Experiments Misrepresent Social Preferences? The Case of Self-selected Student Samples.”
Journal of the European Economic Association
vol.
11
, (January 01, 2013):
839
-
852
.
Read More about Do Lab Experiments Misrepresent Social Preferences? The Case of Self-selected Student Samples
Download PDF on Do Lab Experiments Misrepresent Social Preferences? The Case of Self-selected Student Samples
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan and Charles Sprenger
. “Time Discounting Predicts Creditworthiness.”
Psychological Science
vol.
23
, (January 01, 2012):
56
-
58
.
Read More about Time Discounting Predicts Creditworthiness
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Lorenz Goette, and David Huffman
. “The Impact of Social Ties on Group Interactions: Evidence from Minimal Groups and Randomly Assigned Real Groups.”
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
vol.
4
, (January 01, 2012):
101
-
115
.
Read More about The Impact of Social Ties on Group Interactions: Evidence from Minimal Groups and Randomly Assigned Real Groups
Download PDF on The Impact of Social Ties on Group Interactions: Evidence from Minimal Groups and Randomly Assigned Real Groups
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Lorenz Goette, David Huffman, and Matthias Sutter
. “Competition Between Organizational Groups: Its Impact on Altruistic and Anti-Social Motivations.”
Management Science
vol.
58
, (January 01, 2012):
948
-
960
.
Read More about Competition Between Organizational Groups: Its Impact on Altruistic and Anti-Social Motivations
Download PDF on Competition Between Organizational Groups: Its Impact on Altruistic and Anti-Social Motivations
Type
Journal Article
Goette, Lorenz and Stephan Meier
. “Can Integration Tame Conflicts?”
Science
vol.
334
, (December 09, 2011):
1356
-
1357
.
Read More about Can Integration Tame Conflicts?
Type
Journal Article
Gneezy, Uri, Stephan Meier, and Pedro Rey-Biel
. “When and Why Incentives (Don't) Work to Modify Behavior.”
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol.
25
, (January 01, 2011):
191
-
210
.
Read More about When and Why Incentives (Don't) Work to Modify Behavior
Download PDF on When and Why Incentives (Don't) Work to Modify Behavior
Type
Journal Article
Luechinger, Simon, Stephan Meier, and Alois Stutzer
. “Why Does Unemployment Hurt the Employed? Evidence from the Life Satisfaction Gap Between the Public and the Private Sector.”
Journal of Human Resources
vol.
45
, (January 01, 2010):
998
-
1045
.
Read More about Why Does Unemployment Hurt the Employed? Evidence from the Life Satisfaction Gap Between the Public and the Private Sector
Type
Journal Article
Fuster, Andreas and Stephan Meier
. “Another Hidden Cost of Incentives: The Detrimental Effect on Norm Enforcement.”
Management Science
vol.
56
, (January 01, 2010):
57
-
70
.
Read More about Another Hidden Cost of Incentives: The Detrimental Effect on Norm Enforcement
Download PDF on Another Hidden Cost of Incentives: The Detrimental Effect on Norm Enforcement
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan and Charles Sprenger
. “Present-Biased Preferences and Credit Card Borrowing.”
American Economic Journal
vol.
2
, (January 01, 2010):
193
-
210
.
Read More about Present-Biased Preferences and Credit Card Borrowing
Download PDF on Present-Biased Preferences and Credit Card Borrowing
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Dan Ariely, and Anat Bracha
. “Doing Good or Doing Well? Image Motivation and Monetary Incentives in Behaving Prosocially.”
American Economic Review
vol.
99
, (January 01, 2009):
544
-
555
.
Read More about Doing Good or Doing Well? Image Motivation and Monetary Incentives in Behaving Prosocially
Download PDF on Doing Good or Doing Well? Image Motivation and Monetary Incentives in Behaving Prosocially
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan, Simon Luchinger, and Alois Stutzer
. “Bureaucratic Rents and Life Satisfaction.”
Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization
vol.
24
, (October 01, 2008):
476
-
488
.
Read More about Bureaucratic Rents and Life Satisfaction
Download PDF on Bureaucratic Rents and Life Satisfaction
Type
Journal Article
Benz, Matthias and Stephan Meier
. “Do people behave in experiments as in the field?—evidence from donations.”
Experimental Economics
vol.
11
, (February 15, 2008):
268
-
281
.
Read More about Do people behave in experiments as in the field?—evidence from donations
Download PDF on Do people behave in experiments as in the field?—evidence from donations
Type
Journal Article
Meier, Stephan
. “Do Subsidies Increase Charitable Giving in the Long Run? Matching Donations in a Field Experiment.”
Journal of the European Economic Association
vol.
5
, (December 01, 2007):
1203
-
1222
.
Read More about Do Subsidies Increase Charitable Giving in the Long Run? Matching Donations in a Field Experiment
Download PDF on Do Subsidies Increase Charitable Giving in the Long Run? Matching Donations in a Field Experiment
Type
Journal Article
Goette, Lorenz, David Huffman, and Stephan Meier
. “The Impact of Group Membership on Cooperation and Norm Enforcement: Evidence Using Random Assignment to Real Social Groups.”
American Economic Review
vol.
96
, (May 01, 2006):
212
-
216
.
Read More about The Impact of Group Membership on Cooperation and Norm Enforcement: Evidence Using Random Assignment to Real Social Groups
Download PDF on The Impact of Group Membership on Cooperation and Norm Enforcement: Evidence Using Random Assignment to Real Social Groups
Type
Journal Article
Frey, Bruno S. and Stephan Meier
. “Social Comparison and Pro-social Behavior: Testing 'Conditional Cooperation' in a Field Experiment.”
American Economic Review
vol.
94
, (December 01, 2004):
1717
-
1722
.
Read More about Social Comparison and Pro-social Behavior: Testing 'Conditional Cooperation' in a Field Experiment
Download PDF on Social Comparison and Pro-social Behavior: Testing 'Conditional Cooperation' in a Field Experiment
Type
Journal Article
Frey, Bruno and Stephan Meier
. “Pro-social behavior in a natural setting.”
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
vol.
54
, (January 01, 2004):
65
-
88
.
Read More about Pro-social behavior in a natural setting
Type
Journal Article
Frey, Bruno S. and Stephan Meier
. “Are Political Economists Selfish or Indoctrinated?”
Economic Inquiry
vol.
41
, (January 01, 2003):
448
-
462
.
Read More about Are Political Economists Selfish or Indoctrinated?
Type
Working Paper
Meier, Stephan, Maria Cotofan, and Robert Dur
. Does Growing up in Hard Economic Times Increase Compassion? The Case of Attitudes towards Immigration. July 17, 2022.
Read More about Does Growing up in Hard Economic Times Increase Compassion? The Case of Attitudes towards Immigration
Type
Working Paper
Meier, Stephan and Daniel Keum
. License to Fire? Unemployment Insurance and Moral Cost of Layoffs. July 01, 2020.
Read More about License to Fire? Unemployment Insurance and Moral Cost of Layoffs
Download PDF on License to Fire? Unemployment Insurance and Moral Cost of Layoffs
Type
Working Paper
Burbano, Vanessa, Stephan Meier, and Nicolas Padilla
. Gender Differences in Preferences for Meaning at Work. March 04, 2020.
Read More about Gender Differences in Preferences for Meaning at Work
Download PDF on Gender Differences in Preferences for Meaning at Work
Type
Working Paper
Meier, Stephan and Suparee Boonmanunt
. The Effect of Financial Constraints on Parochial Cooperation and Norm Enforcement. January 01, 2020.
Read More about The Effect of Financial Constraints on Parochial Cooperation and Norm Enforcement
Type
Working Paper
Martinez, Seung-Keun, Stephan Meier, and Charles Sprenger
. Procrastination in the Field: Evidence from Tax Filing. January 01, 2017.
Read More about Procrastination in the Field: Evidence from Tax Filing
Download PDF on Procrastination in the Field: Evidence from Tax Filing
Type
Working Paper
Luo, Jiao, Stephan Meier, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee
. No News Is Good News: CSR Strategy and Newspaper Coverage of Negative Firm Events. January 01, 2012.
Read More about No News Is Good News: CSR Strategy and Newspaper Coverage of Negative Firm Events
Download PDF on No News Is Good News: CSR Strategy and Newspaper Coverage of Negative Firm Events
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Meier, Stephan, Lea Cassar, Maria Cotofan, and Robert Dur
. “Macroeconomic Conditions When Young Shape Job Preferences for Life.”
Review of Economics and Statistics
. Forthcoming.
Read More about Macroeconomic Conditions When Young Shape Job Preferences for Life
Download PDF on Macroeconomic Conditions When Young Shape Job Preferences for Life
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Meier, Stephan and Lea Cassar
. “Stop Talking About How CSR Helps Your Bottom Line.”
Harvard Business Review
. January 31, 2018.
Read More about Stop Talking About How CSR Helps Your Bottom Line
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Meier, Stephan and Matthew Stephenson
. “When Do Monetary Incentives Backfire?”
Harvard Economic Review
. April 13, 2016.
Read More about When Do Monetary Incentives Backfire?
Type
Book
Meier, Stephan, Christopher Foote, and Lorenz Goette
. Policymaking Insights from Behavioral Economics. 
Boston
:
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
, 2009.
Read More about Policymaking Insights from Behavioral Economics
Type
Book
Meier, Stephan
. The Economics of Non-selfish Behaviour: Decisions to Contribute Money to Public Goods. 
Cheltenham, UK
:
Edward Elgar
, 2006.
Read More about The Economics of Non-selfish Behaviour: Decisions to Contribute Money to Public Goods
Type
Chapter
Meier, Stephan and Iris Bohnet
. “Trust, Distrust, and Bargaining.” In
The Oxford Handbook of Economic Conflict Resolution
, edited by
Gary E. Bolton and Rachel T. A. Croson
,
183
-
198
.
New York
:
Oxford University Press
, 2012.
Read More about Trust, Distrust, and Bargaining
Type
Chapter
Meier, Stephan
. “A Survey of Economic Theories and Field Evidence on Pro-Social Behavior.” In
Economics and Psychology: A Promising New Cross-Disciplinary Field
, edited by
Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer
,
51
-
88
.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
:
MIT Press
, 2007.
Read More about A Survey of Economic Theories and Field Evidence on Pro-Social Behavior
Download PDF on A Survey of Economic Theories and Field Evidence on Pro-Social Behavior
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Type
Course
B7759: International Seminar: South Africa
View Course on International Seminar: South Africa
Type
Course
B5502: Strategy Formulation
View Course on Strategy Formulation
Type
Course
B6502: Strategy Formulation
View Course on Strategy Formulation
Type
Course
B8551: Future of Work: Strategy & Leadership
View Course on Future of Work: Strategy & Leadership
Type
Course
B8779: Global Immersion: Africa's Consumer Market - The Case of Ghana
View Course on Global Immersion: Africa's Consumer Market - The Case of Ghana
Type
Case Study
Meier, Stephan
. Competitive Dynamics and Business Strategy. 
New York
:
Columbia Business School
, 2010.
Read More about Competitive Dynamics and Business Strategy
Type
Case Study
Meier, Stephan
. Competitive Dynamics and Business Strategy. 
Columbia Business School
:
CaseWorks
, 2010.
Read More about Competitive Dynamics and Business Strategy
Type
Case Study
Meier, Stephan, Bruce Kogut, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee
. Strategy Formulation and Competitive Advantage. 
Columbia Business School
:
CaseWorks
, 2009.
Read More about Strategy Formulation and Competitive Advantage
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Ideas
  • Research In Brief
  • Press Releases
Type
In the Media

Pandemic Accelerates Changes to Work Culture

The Hill
Type
In the Media

What Lies Behind Soaring U.S. Unemployment Claims Is the Mental and Emotional Cost

Columbia News
Type
In the Media

You Can Trick Yourself into Saving More. Here's How

CNBC
Type
In the Media

Are Customers or Employees More Important?

Forbes
Type
In the Media

Remote Work Skeptics Are Forgetting Their Most Valuable Asset: Their Customers. Here's Why.

Entrepreneur
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