top of page

ACADEMIC POSITIONS
________________________________________________________________________

 

 

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC                       2018-present
Kenan-Flagler Business School
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior

& Crist W. Blackwell Scholar

Faculty Chair of Full Time MBA Program (2019-20)

 

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC                       2011-2017
Kenan-Flagler Business School
Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior

& Parr Center for Ethics Fellow

(*Maternity leave - 2012)

 

Duke University, Durham, NC                                                 2015-2017
Fuqua School of Business
Visiting Asst. Prof. of Mgmt. & Org.


Harvard University, Cambridge, MA                                      2010-2013
Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics
Research Fellow

 

Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA                            2010-2013
Women and Public Policy Program
Research Fellow


Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA                                   2009-2010 
Program on Negotiation
Graduate Research Fellow




EDUCATION
________________________________________________________________________

 

Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior                                          2011 
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

 

M.S. in Finance                                                                       2005 
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering                                         2001 
Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India



 

PUBLICATIONS (* Denotes equal contribution)

________________________________________________________________________

 

Hu, Q., Adam, H., Desai, S.D., & Mo, S. (Forthcoming). Turning a blind eye to team Members’ Unethical Behavior: The role of reward systems. Journal of Business Ethics.

 

Desai, S.D, & Gunia, B.C. (2023). The interplay of gender and perceived sexual orientation at the bargaining table: A social dominance and intersectionalist perspective. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 179.

Leigh, A., & Desai, S.D. (2022).  What’s race got to do with it? The interactive effect of race and gender on negotiation outcomes. Organization Science, 34(2), 935-958.

 

[The 4 year gap in my CV is indicative of a time marked by personal loss, Covid 19, health issues, legal complexities & data collection endeavors that did not meet the statistical significance threshold. #adaptability #perseverance #scientificinquiry]

Desai, S. D., & Kouchaki, M. (2017). Moral symbols: A necklace of garlic against unethical requests. Academy of Management Journal, 60(1), 7-28. 

 

Desai, S. D., & Kouchaki, M. * (2015). Work-report formats and overbilling: How unit-reporting vs. cost reporting increases accountability and decreases overbilling. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 130, 79-88.



Kouchaki, M. *, & Desai, S. D. * (2015). Anxious, threatened, and also unethical: How anxiety makes individuals feel threatened and commit unethical acts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 360-375.

 

Desai, S. D., Chugh, D., & Brief, A. P. (2014). The implications of marriage structure for men’s workplace attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward women. Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(2), 330-365.

 

Gino, F., & Desai, S. D. (2012). Memory lane and morality: How childhood memories promote prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(4), 734-758. --https://manycoauthors.org/gino/105.

 

Desai, S. D., Sondak, H., & Diekmann, K. A. (2011). When fairness neither satisfies nor motivates: The role of risk aversion and uncertainty reduction in attenuating and reversing the fair process effect. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 116, 32-45.

Desai, S. D., Brief, A. P., & Williamson, R. B. (2010). Task design. In R. J. Corsini (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Psychology (4th Ed.). NY: John Wiley.

 

Desai, S. D., Brief, A. P., & George, J. (2009). Meaner managers: A consequence of income inequality. In R. Kramer, M. Bazerman, & A. Tenbrunsel (Eds.), Social decision making: Social dilemmas, social values, and ethical judgments (pp. 315-334). NY: Taylor & Francis.

 

 

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

______________________________________________________________________

University of Buffalo, New York. May 2023.

Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Women & Public Policy Program. Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 2022.

Harvard Law School. Program on Negotiation. Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 2022.

University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business, College Park, Maryland, March 2020.

Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden, November 2019.

European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), Berlin, Germany, November 2019.

INFORMS Faculty Workshop, University of Washington, Foster School of Business, October 2019.

Duke University, New Directions in Leadership Research, Fuqua School of Business, Durham, NC, June 2019.

5th Symposium on Ethics and Social Responsibility, Keynote speaker, Lisbon, Portugal, June 2019.

ISCTE-Instituto Universario de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, June 2019.

Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management, Nashville, TN, April 2018.
The Parr Center for Ethics at UNC (in conjunction with the Philosophy, Politics, & Economics Talk Series), Chapel Hill, NC, April 2018.
New York University, Stern School of Business, New York City, March 2018.

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College at Hanover, October 2017.

Osmania University, Department of Management, Hyderabad, India, September 2017.

Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Arison School of Business, Tel Aviv, Israel, July 2017.

Darden School of Business at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, March 2017.

SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy, March 2017.

INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, January 2017.

Ross School of Business at University of Michigan in Ann-Harbor, MI, November 2016.

Anderson School of Business at University of California at Los Angeles, CA, October 2016.

London Business School, London, UK, November 2016.

University College London, London, UK, November 2016.

McCombs School of Business at University of Texas at Austin, TX, October 2016.

Action Design, Durham, NC, June 2016.

Google re:Work conference, Mountainview, CA, April 2016.

Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame, IN, April 2016.

Harvard Business School at Harvard University in Boston, MA, February 2016.

Ross School of Business at University of Michigan in Ann-Harbor, MI, October 2015.

Indian School of Business, Women in Business Workshop, Hyderabad, India, September 2015.

Asper School of Business at University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, April 2015.

Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, September 2014.

Indian School of Business, Women in Business Workshop, Mohali, India, September 2014.

Punjab Engineering College, PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh, September 2014.

Indian School of Business, Dept. of Organisational Behaviour, Hyderabad, India, September 2014.

Carolina Women in Business, Chapel Hill, NC, November 2013.

Fine Arts League of Cary, Cary, NC, February 2012.

Indian Institute of Science, Dept. of Management, Bangalore, India, December 2011.

University of North Carolina, Dept. of Soc. Psych., Chapel Hill, NC, November 2011.

IBM Center for Social Software, Cambridge, MA, November 2011.  

Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal, October 2011.

Catolica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal, October 2011.

The Catalyst, New York, NY, June 2011.

Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA, April 2011.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, February 2010.

London School of Economics & Political Science, London, UK, November 2009.



 



FUNDED GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS & HONORS

________________________________________________________________________


Research Initiative Grant from the The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (2021).

Kenan Institute Research Grant (2021)

MBA Teaching All Star Award, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Judge, 2019 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition

University Research Council's Junior Faculty Development Award (2014-2015)

Center for International Business Education & Research Mini Grant (2013-2014) 

Research Fellowship, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University (2010-2013)

Research Fellowship, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School (2010-2013)

IACM Graduate Student Scholarship (2010)

Graduate Research Fellowship, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School (2009-2010)

Mariner S. Eccles Graduate Fellowship in Political Economy (2008-2009)

Finalist, ASPEN Dissertation Proposal Award (2008)

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) Research Initiative Grant # 168 (2006-2008)

Graduate Travel Award, Australian Research Council EDN (2008)

Conference Scholarship, Ethical Dimensions in Business, University of Notre Dame (2008)

Travel Award, International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics (2006)

Graduate Travel Award, Western Academy of Management (2006)

 

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

________________________________________________________________________

Behavioral Ethics, Organization Studies, Justice, Diversity, Decision-Making.

 

 

INVITED CONFERENCES, CONSORTIA & WORKSHOPS

________________________________________________________________________

 

Gender at Work Conference, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA (GaW 2015-present).

OB Junior Faculty Workshop, Academy of Management Meetings at Philadelphia, PA (AOM 2014). 

Negotiations and Decision Making: Trust, Emotions, Ethics, and Morality Workshop, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA (TEEMs 2010).

Ethical Dimensions in Business: Perspectives from the Business Academic Community, Notre Dame at South Bend, IN (EDB 2008).

CM Doctoral Student Consortium, Academy of Management Meetings at Anaheim, CA (AOM 2008).

Behavioural Economics: Theory, Experiment and Policy Workshop at Melbourne, Australia (EDN 2008).

OB Doctoral Student Consortium, Academy of Management Meetings at Philadelphia, PA (AOM 2007).

Internal Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics’ 12th Visiting Graduate Student Workshop at Arlington, VA (IFREE 2006).

Stanford Institute of Theoretical Economics Workshop at Stanford, CA (SITE 2004, 2010). 

 

 

TEACHING INTERESTS

________________________________________________________________________

 

Managerial Decision Making, Ethical Leadership, Negotiations, Leading & Managing, Power & Influence, Change Management, Personal Branding & Storytelling, Managing Complexity, Social Networks, Organizational Change, Power & Politics, Leading High Performing Teams, Influence Without Authority, Managing Diversity

 

 

PUBLISHED TEACHING MATERIALS

________________________________________________________________________

 

Desai, S. D. (2009). The Buena Vista condo. In R. J., Lewicki, B. Barry, & D. M. Saunders (Eds.), Negotiation: Readings, Cases, and Exercises (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE (MBA, Master of Accounting, PhD & Undergraduate Programs)

________________________________________________________________________

 

Managerial Decision Making (Elective) - MBA 840, Spring 2016-17; BUSI 490, Spring 2016-17, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Special Topics in Organizational Behavior (Elective) - PhD BUSI 858, Spring 2017, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Leading & Managing (Core Course) - MBA 801, Fall 2016, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Ethical Leadership (Core Course) – MBA 802, Spring 2012-15, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Negotiations (Elective) - MAC 880, Spring 2015-17; MBA 822, Spring 2013-14, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Responsible Leadership (Core Course, PGP) - MBA, Fall 2014 -present, Indian School of Business at Mohali/Hyderabad

Managing Organizations & Leading Change (Core Course, PGP MAX) - MBA, Fall 2017 -present, Indian School of Business at Hyderabad

Human Behavior in Organizations (Undergraduate) – MGT 3680, Fall 2007, University of Utah     

Personal Financial Planning and Insurance (Elective) - MBA 615, Summer 2005, Westminster College, SLC, Utah

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE (Executive Education Programs)

________________________________________________________________________

 

Topics:

Strategic Decision Making 

Business Ethics 

Negotiations 

Women in Business & Negotiations 

Power & Influence 

Behavioral Foundations of Change Management 
Leading High Performing Teams 

Influencing Stakeholders through Emotional Intelligence 

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Clients:

2U, Adani Group, Amgen, American Financial Services Association, Andersen Automobiles, Anderson Automotives, Avance, Bajaj FinServ, BHRP, Boeing, Bosch, Commscope, Comptor & Auditor General of India, Constellation Brands, Cornerstone, CRG Evolve, CSX Bioenergy, DXC, EDI, ExxonMobil, Ferguson, Fortune, FORSCOM, Huber, IBM, Institute of Defense & Business, JSW Steel, Kroger, Lowes, Marriott, Mechanical Contractors, NC Dept. of Public Safety, NC DHHS, Novozymes, Optum, Progressive Insurance, Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, SunBelt Rentals, Textron, US Air Force, US Army, US Navy, Veteran Affairs SLC, Vivo, Volvo-Eicher, Vulcan Materials, Water & Waste Water Management, and many more.

 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

________________________________________________________________________

 

AD-HOC REVIEWING FOR JOURNALS

Academy of Management Journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Human Relations, Negotiation Journal, Consciousness and Cognition, Cognition and Emotion



AD-HOC REVIEWING FOR CONFERENCES

Academy of Management Conference

International Association for Conflict Management Conference


AFFILIATIONS
________________________________________________________________________

Academy of Management
International Association of Conflict Management
Society for Judgment and Decision Making

Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
International Society for Justice Research

 



PERSONAL INFORMATION
________________________________________________________________________

 

SEXUALITY & PRONOUNS

Bisexual, she, hers

CITIZENSHIP

United States of America
India (Overseas Citizen of India)

LANGUAGES

Proficient: English, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi
Basic: Punjabi, Spanish

NON-ACADEMIC INTERESTS

Oil painting, Poetry

Desai in UNCs first annual report.jpg
Seated Business Formal.jpg
bottom of page