Derek Harmon

My research focuses on the intended and unintended effects of communication used by organizational actors. Much of my work explores these ideas by looking at how the financial markets react to communication from the Chair of the Federal Reserve, company founders during initial public offerings, and CEOs during major organizational events like mergers and acquisitions. In doing so, I am developing new ways to look at language and the social evaluation processes that explain how audiences might react. Methodologically, I explore these topics using archival work, content analysis, and lab experiments.

Interests

• stakeholder relationships, markets, language, entrepreneurship, transparency, Federal Reserve, AI decision-making, computational linguistics

Publications

• Harmon, D. (2020). The Hidden Cost of Transparency Pledges. London School of Economics Business Review.
• Newman, D., Fast, N., & Harmon, D. (2020) When Eliminating Bias Isn’t Fair: Algorithmic Reductionism and Procedural Justice in Human Resource Decisions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 160, 149-167.
• Harmon, D. (2019). When the Fed Speaks: Arguments, Emotions, and the Microfoundations of Institutions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 64(3), 542-575.
• Harmon, D., Haack, P., & Roulet, T. (2019) Microfoundations of institutions: A matter of structure vs. agency or level of analysis? Academy of Management Review, 44(2), 464-467, dialogue piece.
• Harmon, D. (2019) Arguments and Institutions. In The Microfoundations of Institutions, Research in the Sociology of Organizations. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
• Glaser, V., Fast, N., Harmon, D., & Green, S. (2016). Institutional Frame Switching: How Institutional Logics Shape Individual Action. In How Institutions Matter! (pp. 35-69), Research in the Sociology of Organizations. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
• Harmon, D., Green, S., & Goodnight, G. (2015). A Model of Rhetorical Legitimation: The Structure of Communication and Cognition Underlying Institutional Maintenance and Change. Academy of Management Review, 40(1): 76–95.
• Harmon, D., Kim, P., & Mayer, K. (2015). Breaking the Letter vs. Spirit of the Law: How the Interpretation of Contract Violations Affects Trust and the Management of Relationships. Strategic Management Journal, 36(4): 497-517.
• Kim, P. & Harmon. D. (2014). Justifying One’s Transgressions: How Rationalizations Based on Equity, Equality, and Need Affect Trust After its Violation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20(4), 365-379.
• Kim, P., & Harmon, D. (2012). The nature of collective reactions to potential transgressions. In Neale, M.A., & Mannix, E.A. (Eds.), Research on Managing Groups and Teams: Looking Back and Moving Forward (Volume 15). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Below is a list of my awards and honors:

• Ghoshal Research and Practice Award Winner, Strategic Management Division, Academy of Management (2021).
• AMJ Outstanding Reviewer award (2020/2021).
• AMR Outstanding Reviewer award (2020/2021).
• Winner of ASQ Dissertation Award (2019)
• Winner of the Louis Pondy Best Dissertation Paper Award, awarded by the OMT Division of AOM (2017)
• Nominated for the William H. Newman Award for Best Paper Based on a Dissertation, winner announced at AOM (2017)
• Finalist for the Wiley Blackwell Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research Award, winner announced at AOM (2017).
• Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Southern California (2016).
• Teaching Award, Marshall School of Business (2016).
• The Order of the Aretè Award for Scholarship, University of Southern California (2016).
• Ph.D. Achievement Award, University of Southern California ($2500) (2016).
• Runner up at the INFORMS Dissertation Proposal Competition (2015)
• Marshall PhD Teaching Award, recognizes top two student instructors in the Marshall School of Business (2015)
• The Manning Endowed Fellowship recipient (2015 – 2016)
• Student Research Award ($2,500), Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurship (2015)
• Alberta Institutions Conference travel stipend ($500), OMT Division (2015)
• Best Graduate Student Paper as Lead Author, International Association for Conflict Management, Leiden, Netherlands, “Moving Beyond Intentionality: How Violations of Action versus Inaction Affect Trust Repair,” with Kim, P. (2014)
• Dispute Resolution Research Center (DRRC) Scholarship, sponsored by the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, International Association for Conflict Management, Leiden, Netherlands (2014)
• Faculty Research Award ($4,000), Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurship, with Kim, P. (2012)
• National Science Foundation Grant, “Breaking the Letter vs. Spirit of the Law: How the Interpretation of Contract Violations Affects Trust and the Management of Relationships,” PhD Student Development Workshop, Atlanta Competitive Advantage Conference (2012)
• Best Conference Paper Award Nomination, Strategic Management Society, “The Role of Institutional Identities and Frames in Contracting,” with Weber, L. & Glaser, V. (2011)