Michael Schaerer

Michael Schaerer is an Associate Professor at Singapore Management University. He received his PhD from INSEAD.

Michael is interested in the psychological principles that govern organizational behaviour in hierarchically differentiated environments. Michael's research is primarily driven by two underlying questions: a) How do people in powerless positions think, feel, and behave in the workplace? and b) How can organizational decision makers effectively manage the effects of social hierarchies? Michael's work contributes to research on judgment and decision making, negotiation, and teams, and helps inform how powerlessness and hierarchical differentiation affect individual, interpersonal, and group-level outcomes. Michael previously worked as a strategy consultant at The Boston Consulting Group and holds a master's degree from The London School of Economics and a bachelor's degree from the University of St.Gallen.

Education

• 2012 - 2017 Ph.D. in Management (Organizational Behavior) - INSEAD
• 2009 - 2010 M.Sc. in International Management - London School of Economics
• 2006 - 2009 B.A. in Business Administration - University of St. Gallen

Current Appointment(s)

• 2022 - Now Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources at Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University
• 2017 - 2021 Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources at Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University

Research Interests

• Social hierarchies (power, status, gender)
• Negotiation
• Groups and teams
• Judgment and decision-making
• Feedback and advice giving

Selected Awards

• Dean's Teaching Honor List, SMU, 2018; 2019; 2020; 2021
• MIM Excellent Teaching Award, Singapore Management University, 2020
• Winner Early Career Award, International Association for Conflict Management, 2020
• Winner Best Empirical Paper Award, Academy of Management, 2020
• Lee Kong Chian Fellowship, Singapore Management University, 2020-2021
• Nominated for Most Promising Teaching Award, SMU, 2019; 2020
• Winner Outstanding Article Award, International Association for Conflict Management, 2017
• INSEAD MBA Alumni PhD Award for outstanding achievements during the PhD program, 2017
• Winner Best Student Paper Award, International Association for Conflict Management, 2016
• Winner Best Student Poster Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2016
• Runner-up Best Student Poster Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2016
• Winner Best Student Paper Award, Academy of Management, 2015
• Swiss National Science Foundation Doc Mobility Scholarship, 2015-2016

Selected Journal Articles (Refereed)

• Tey, K., Schaerer, M., Madan, N., & Swaab, R.I. (2021). The impact of concession patterns on negotiations: When and why decreasing concessions lead to a distributive disadvantage. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 165, 153-166.
• Schaerer, M., Foulk, T. A., du Plessis, C., Tu, M.-H., & Krishnan, S. (2021). Just because you're powerless doesn't mean they aren't out to get you: Low power, paranoia, and aggressive behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 165, 1-20.
• Anicich, E. M., Schaerer, M., Gale, J. P., & Foulk, T. A. (2021). A fluctuating sense of power is associated with reduced well-being. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 92, 104057.
• Schaerer, M., Schweinsberg, M., Thornley, N., & Swaab, R. I. (2020). Win-win in distributive negotiations: The affective and economic benefits of strategic offer framing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 87, 103943.
• Anicich, E. M., Foulk, T., Osborne, M., Gale, J. P., & Schaerer, M. (2020). Getting back to the “new normal”: Autonomy restoration during a global pandemic. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(9), 931-943.
• Foulk, T., De Pater, I., Schaerer, M., du Plessis, C., Lee., R., & Erez, A. (2020). It’s lonely at the bottom (too): The effects of experienced powerlessness on social closeness and disengagement. Personnel Psychology, 73(2), 363-394.
• Schaerer, M., Teo, L., Madan, N., & Swaab, R. I. (2020). Power and negotiation: Review of current evidence and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 47-51.
• Schaerer, M., du Plessis, C., Yap, A.J., & Thau, S. (2018). Low power individuals in social power research: A quantitative review, theoretical framework, and empirical test. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 149, 73-96.
• Schaerer, M., Schweinsberg, M., & Swaab, R.I. (2018). Imaginary alternatives: The impact of mental simulation on powerless negotiators. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115(1), 96-117.
• Schaerer, M., Tost, L.P., Huang, L., Gino, F., & Larrick, R.P. (2018). Advice giving: A subtle pathway to power. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(5), 746-761.
• Schaerer, M., Kern, M., Berger, G., Medvec, V.H., & Swaab, R.I. (2018). The illusion of transparency in performance appraisals: When and why accuracy motivation explains unintentional feedback inflation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 144, 171-186.
• Schaerer, M., Loschelder, D, & Swaab, R.I. (2016). Bargaining zone distortion in negotiations: The elusive power of multiple alternatives. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 137, 156-171.
• Loschelder, D., Friese, M., Schaerer, M., & Galinsky, A.D. (2016). The too-much precision effect: When and why precise anchors backfire with experts. Psychological Science, 27(12), 1573-1587.
• Schweinsberg, M., et al. (2016). The pipeline project: Pre-publication independent replications of a single laboratory’s research pipeline. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 66, 55-67.
• Swaab, R.I., Phillips, K.W., & Schaerer, M. (2016). Secret conversation opportunities facilitate minority influence in virtual groups: The influence on majority power, information processing, and decision quality. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 133, 17-31.
• Schaerer, M., Swaab, R.I., & Galinsky, A.D. (2015). Anchors weigh more than power: Why absolute powerlessness liberates negotiators to achieve better outcomes. Psychological Science, 26(2), 170-181.
• Swaab, R.I., Schaerer, M., Anicich, E.M., Ronay, R., & Galinsky, A.D. (2014). The too-much-talent effect: Team interdependence determines when more talent is too much or not enough. Psychological Science, 25(8), 1581-1591.