Jonathan Bendor

Research Statement

Jonathan Bendor's research focuses on three areas: 1) theories of bounded rationality—how cognitive constraints affect decision making; 2) the evolution of cooperation and of norms of collective action; 3) the study of bureaucracy—institutional methods of easing cognitive constraints faced by individual decision makers.

Bio

Jon Bendor is the Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Political Economics and Organizations at the Graduate School of Business. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1979, having earned all of his degrees at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Professor of Political Science, by courtesy, and also teaches in Stanford’s Public Policy Program. He was director of the GSB’s Doctoral Program for four years. He teaches the MBA course on negotiations and plans to write a (short) text on the subject.

Bendor was a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 1999-2000 and in 2004-2005. He is in the Who’s Who in Economics (4th ed.) and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Academic Degrees

• PhD, UC Berkeley, 1980
• MA, UC Berkeley, 1973
• BA, UC Berkeley, 1972

Academic Appointments

• At Stanford since 1979
• Professor of Public Policy and Public Management, Stanford GSB, 1994-1999
• Associate Professor of Public Policy and Public Management, Stanford GSB, 1986 -1994
• Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Public Management, Stanford GSB, 1979-1986

Awards and Honors

• Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Inc. Faculty Fellow for 2016-2017
• Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2004
• Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 2004
• Robert H. Durr Award, Midwest Political Science Association, 2001
• Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1999
• Heinz Eulau Award, American Political Science Association, 1998

Teaching

Degree Courses

2017-18

GSBGEN 541: Innovation and Problem Solving

This project-based seminar is a rare opportunity for students to focus on a significant, currently ongoing problem from their work/lives: with the help of classmates, participants spend 5 weeks exploring how various problem-solving methods and...

OB 381: Conflict Management and Negotiation

Conflict is unavoidable in every organization. The key question is how it will be handled: will it escalate to dysfunctional levels or will it be effectively managed? Hence, a first aim of the course is to develop your ability to analyze...

POLECON 660: Behavioral Political Economy

Most of modern political economy is based on theories of completely rational agents. This has been an enormously fruitful modeling strategy. (Ironically, the approach is sensible partly because researchers are themselves boundedly rational.)...

2016-17

GSBGEN 541: Problem-Solving and Creativity

This is a project-based course on problem solving and creativity. It is expected that everyone who takes the class will work on some significant problem that’s currently ongoing (e.g., the design of part of a complex project, a difficult...

OB 381: Conflict Management and Negotiation

Conflict is unavoidable in every organization. The key question is how it will be handled: will it escalate to dysfunctional levels or will it be effectively managed? Hence, a first aim of the course is to develop your ability to analyze...

Insights by Stanford Business

videoFaculty and Alumni Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Advice

December 28, 2016

Take these life lessons to heart and reset your thinking for the new year.

writtenJonathan Bendor: Why Criticism is Good for Innovation

June 23, 2015

How to quash bad ideas without stifling innovation.

writtenJonathan Bendor: A Toolkit for Solving Problems

May 29, 2015

Is classic research on decision-making still relevant today?