2026
In press
A paradox of brokerage: Alter distrust, network self-promotion, and the willingness to accept referrals from brokers
Brands, R., Brady, G. L., & Mehra, A. — Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Garrett L. Brady
Assistant Professor
Department of Management and Technology
Bocconi University
Department of Management and Technology
Bocconi University
Milan, Italy
Leadership · Hierarchy · Influence
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Technology at Bocconi University. I received my PhD in Organizational Behavior from London Business School.
My research program is related to organizational behavior in general and to leadership, social hierarchy, and interpersonal influence in particular. Leaders are necessary and can profoundly benefit those they work for and lead. Still, many leaders choose to influence others in ways that harm employees, teams, and their organization. I am interested in when and why leaders negatively impact the organizations they direct and the subordinates they manage. To address these questions, I invoke an evolutionary lens of social influence. I focus on identifying how leaders' influencing strategies impact those below them in the hierarchy.
In the classroom, I engage students across undergraduate, MBA, and DBA programs in courses on leadership, research methods, and judgment and decision-making — always with an eye toward connecting rigorous scholarship with real-world practice.
I serve on the Editorial Board of Organization Science (2025–present) and review ad hoc for the Academy of Management Journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and the Journal of Business Ethics.
Four questions guiding my research
01
How is deference secured?
Dominance and prestige are distinct pathways to social rank. Because each secures deference through a different mechanism, the pathway a leader follows has systematic consequences for subordinates and teams.
02
What do observers infer?
Observers infer leaders’ motives, morality, and trustworthiness from how they gain and exercise influence. These inferences—accurate or not—shape trust, endorsement, and advancement.
03
Who bears the cost?
Leadership and hierarchy can erode ethical behavior, constrain career mobility, disrupt work–family life, and weaken cooperation. These costs often fall on subordinates rather than on the leaders who generate them.
04
How does AI reshape influence?
Artificial intelligence increasingly mediates how managers diagnose problems, give feedback, and exercise influence. I study what this delegation does to judgment, accountability, and the leader–subordinate relationship.
Publications
† equal authorship2026
In press
Just like my CEO: When perceived similarity makes pay inequality acceptable
Heller, D., Brady, G. L., Inesi, M. E., & Mussweiler, T. — Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
2026
Not-so-great expectations: Outgroup indifference facilitates conflict resolution in negatively interdependent contexts
Cohen-Chen, S., Brady, G. L., Van Kleef, G. A., & Halperin, E. — Political Psychology
2024
Perilous and unaccountable: The positive relationship between dominance and moral hazard behaviors
†Brady, G. L., †Kakkar, H., & Sivanathan, N. — Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
2024
More than meets the eye: The unintended consequence of leader dominance orientation on subordinate ethicality
Brady, G. L., & Sivanathan, N. — Organization Science
2022
Meh, whatever: The effects of indifference expressions on cooperation in social conflict
Cohen, S., Brady, G. L., Massaro, S., & van Kleef, G. A. — Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
2021
The power of lost alternatives in negotiations
Brady, G. L., Inesi, M. E., & Mussweiler, T. — Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
2017
This isn't the free will worth looking for: General free will beliefs do not influence moral judgments, agent-specific choice ascriptions do
Monroe, A. E., Brady, G. L., & Malle, B. F. — Social Psychological and Personality Science
Working papers
titles withheld while under reviewUnder review
[Title withheld]
Brady, G. L., Ku, G., & Wang, C. — Journal of Applied Psychology, 2nd-round revise & resubmit
[Title withheld]
†Ryan, M., & †Brady, G. L. — Organization Science, revise & resubmit
In preparation
Leader dominance as a product of a high social class upbringing
†Kakkar, H., †Brady, G. L., & Sivanathan, N. — four studies · target PNAS
Stigma by association: The impact of leader hierarchical orientation on subordinate career progress
Brady, G. L., & Kakkar, H. — three studies · target Academy of Management Journal
Value creation, value appropriation, and the cooperation dilemma
Panico, C., Barbi, G., Brady, G. L., & Di Stefano, G. — three studies · target Science
The cooperative economy
Lavie, D., Brady, G. L., Gutierrez, C., Stettner, U., & Ilies, R. — one field experiment
New directions
AI-assisted leadership feedback
Brady, G. L., & Haamann, P. — how artificial intelligence shapes managerial diagnosis and developmental guidance
AI-supported leadership development
Brady, G. L., & Laumann, B. — field experiments on artificial intelligence and managerial influence
Teaching
Undergraduate
Leadership Skills
Bocconi · 2022–present
Graduate & MBA
Behavioral Skills
Bocconi · 2022–present
Self-Leadership
Bocconi · 2026
The Art & Science of Managerial Decision-Making
Indian School of Business · 2025–present
Doctoral
Applied Research Methods
DBA, Bocconi · 2026–present
Literature Review
DBA, Bocconi · 2027
Organizational Behavior
PhD, Bocconi · 2026 · co-taught
Office
Università Bocconi
Department of Management & Technology
Via Sarfatti 25
20136 Milano, Italy
Department of Management & Technology
Via Sarfatti 25
20136 Milano, Italy