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Gillian Ku

Professor of Organisational Behaviour; Chair, Organisational Behaviour Faculty

BA (Harvard) MS PhD (Northwestern)

Gillian Ku is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. She received her PhD in Management and Organizations from the Kellogg School of Management. Prior to her doctoral studies, Gillian earned her bachelor’s degree at Harvard University and worked at the Disney Corporation where she was a financial analyst for Disney’s international video distribution division.

Gillian’s internationally-recognised research is in the broad area of negotiations, decision-making, and interpersonal relationships. Specifically, her research has focused on the dynamics of emotionally-charged decision-making and she investigates the decision-making processes involved in negotiations, auction bidding, and auction fever. She also has active research projects on perspective-taking and gender differences in a variety of domains. Gillian’s research has been widely published in the premier outlets of her field, including Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Research in Organizational Behavior, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Harvard Business Review. Her research has also garnered international press coverage, including reports on auction behaviour at CNN, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times Magazine, BusinessWeek.com, and The Telegraph.

Gillian’s award-winning teaching focuses on negotiations, decision-making, and leading teams. She teaches on London Business School’s full-time MBA and Executive Education programmes. She has also consulted worldwide for schools (e.g. Indian School of Business and Cyprus International Institute of Management) and organisations (e.g. Diageo, Roche, Oman Oil, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation).

Research and Awards


  • Excellence in Teaching Award, London Business School, 2014 

  • London Business School Research Fellow of Organisational Behaviour, 2007-2009 

  • Best Paper Proceedings (Sivanathan, Molden, Galinsky, & Ku), Conflict Management Division, Academy of Management Conference, Philadelphia, PA, August 2007 

  • Doctoral Teaching Award for Distinction in Teaching, Kellogg School of Management, 2002-2003 

  • Outstanding Paper (Ku & Murnighan), International Association for Conflict Management Conference, Melbourne, Australia, June 2003 

  • Best Paper Proceedings (Ku, Malhotra, & Murnighan), Conflict Management Division, Academy of Management Conference, Seattle, WA, August 2003 

  • Selected for Academy of Management 2003 Organizational Behavior Doctoral Consortium 

  • Selected for Academy of Management 2002 Conflict Management Doctoral Consortium 

  • John Harvard Scholarship for Academic Achievement of the Highest Distinction, 1996-1997 

  • Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Scholarship for Academic Achievement of the Highest Distinction, 1996-1997 

  • Harvard College Scholarship, 1995-1996 

  • Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Certificate of Merit, 1995-1996 

  • Pomona Scholar (highest academic honour), 1993-1995

  • The role of emotions and arousal in decision-making
  • Auction fever
  • Predicting future behaviour and emotions
  • Perspective-taking and intergroup relations, and norm formation.

2023

Dropping anchor: A Field Experiment Assessing a Salary History Ban With Archival Replication

Sherman E L; Brands R; Ku G

Management Science 2023 In Press

2019

Auction fever: the unrecognized effects of incidental arousal

Adam M T P; Ku G; Lux E

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2019 January Vol 80 p 52-58

2018

The cultural boundaries of perspective-taking : when and why perspective-taking reduces stereotyping

Wang C S; Lee M; Ku G; Leung A

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2018 Vol 44:6 p 928-943

2017

Social-cognitive approach to understanding gender differences in negotiator ethics : the role of moral identity

Kennedy J A; Kray L J; Ku G

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 2017 Vol 138 p 28-44

2015

The promise and perversity of perspective-taking in organizations

Ku G; Wang CS; Galinsky AD

Research in Organizational Behavior 2015 Vol 35 p 79-102

2014

Perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in intergroup contact

Wang CS; Tai K; Ku G; Galinsky AD

PLoS ONE 2014 Vol 9 p 44409

Stupid doctors and smart construction workers: Perspective-taking reduces stereotyping of both negative and positive targets

Wang C S; Ku G; Tai K; Galinsky A D

Social Psychological and Personality Science 2014 Vol 5:4 p 430-436

2012

Starting high and ending with nothing: The role of anchors and power in negotiations

Schweinsberg M; Ku G; Wang C S; Pillutla M

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2012 Vol 48:1 p 226-231

2010

Compensatory ethics

Zhong C-B; Ku G; Lount R B Jr; Murnighan J K

Journal of Business Ethics 2010 Vol 92:3 p 323-339

Escalation of commitment

Ku G; Staw B

Book Chapter: In J.M Levine & M.A Hogg eds., Encyclopedia of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, pp 241-241, SAGE Publications, 2010

Perception through a perpective-taking lens: Differential effects on judgement and behavior

Ku G; Wang C S; Galinsky A D

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2010 Vol 46:5 p 792-798

2009

To start low or to start high? The case of auctions versus negotiations

Galinsky A; Ku G; Mussweiler

Current Directions in Psychological Science 2009 Vol 18:6 p 357-361

2008

Before escalation: The effects of behavioral and affective forecasting in escalation of commitment

Ku G

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2008 Vol 34:11 p 1477-1491

Learning to de-escalate: The effects of regret in escalation of commitment

Ku G

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 2008 Vol 105:2 p 221-232

Perspective-takers behave more stereotypically

Galinsky A D; Wang C; Ku G

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2008 Vol 95:2 p 404-419

The promise and peril of self-affirmation in de-escalating commitment

Sivanathan N; Molden D; Galinsky A; Ku G

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 2008 Vol 107:1 p 1-14

When winning is everything

Malhotra D; Ku G; Murnighan J K

Harvard Business Review 2008 Vol 85 p 78-86

2007

Trap of affirmation: hidden costs of deescalating commitment through self-affirmation

Sivanathan N; Molden D C; Galinsky A D; Ku G

Academy of Management Proceedings 2007 Vol 2007 p 1-6

2006

Group context, social identity, and ethical decision making: a preliminary test

Zhong C-B; Ku G; Lount R B Jr; Murnighan J K

In Tenbrunsel A E ed., Ethics in groups: research on managing groups and teams, Vol 8 p 151-177, Elsevier, 2006

Starting low but ending high: a reversal of the anchoring effect in auctions

Ku G; Galinsky A D; Murnighan J K

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2006 Vol 90:6 p 975-986

The view from the other side of the table.

Galinsky A D; Maddux W W; Ku G

Negotiation 2006 Vol 9:3 p 1-4

2005

Perspective-taking and self-other overlap: fostering social bonds and facilitating social coordination

Galinsky A D; Ku G; Wang C

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations 2005 Vol 8:2 p 109-124

Towards a competitive arousal model of decision-making: a study of auction fever in live and internet auctions

Ku G; Malhotra D; Murnighan J K

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 2005 Mar Vol 96:2 p 89-103

2004

The effects of perspective-taking on prejudice: the moderating role of self-evaluation

Galinsky A D; Ku G

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2004 Vol 30:5 p 594-604

2003

Animal madness: competitive arousal and emotions in live and internet auctions

Ku G; Malhotra D; Murnighan J K

Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings 2003 Conflict Management Division

To control or not to control stereotypes: separating the implicit and explicit processes of perspective-taking and suppression

Galinsky A D; Martorana P V; Ku G

in Forgas J P, Williams K D and Von Hippel W H eds., Social judgements: implicit and explicit processes, p 343-363, Philadelphia: Psychology Press, 2003

2001

The on-line auction phenomenon: growth, strategies, promise, and problems

Ku G; Malhotra D

Negotiation Journal 2001 Vol 17:4 p 349-361


Teaching portfolio

Our teaching offering is updated annually. Faculty and programme material are subject to change.