Daniel Effron

Dr. Daniel A. Effron is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, where he serves as Chair of the Organisational Behaviour Faculty. Previously, he taught at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and was a fellow of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

Dr. Effron earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from Stanford University and a B.A. in psychology from Yale University (magna cum laude).

His research focuses on the psychology of unethical behavior, examining how people rationalize dishonest actions and the mental shortcuts that lead to unethical decisions. Dr. Effron studies topics including moral licensing (how doing good can free people to do bad), workplace ethics, political dishonesty, and the spread of misinformation. His work reveals how workers are more likely to overbill when it's their "last chance," and how political leaders get off the hook for dishonesty by inviting supporters to imagine how lies "could have been true."

Dr. Effron's research has been published in top academic journals including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Consumer Research. His findings have received extensive media coverage in outlets such as the Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, and BBC News.

Dr. Effron has received numerous accolades:

• Named one of the "Best 40 Business Professors Under 40" by Poets & Quants
• Teaching awards from the MBA classes of 2015 and 2020
• 2023 Excellence in Teaching award (London Business School's highest teaching honor)
• Received tenure three years early

As an educator, Dr. Effron teaches 'The Science of People in Organisations' and 'Ethics in Work, Organisations, and Society.' He is known for weaving students' real-world experiences into his teaching. In executive workshops, he helps clients including BMW, HSBC, Lloyds of London, KPMG, Porsche Holding, Samsung, and Tata improve employee engagement, lead high-performing teams, influence without authority, and lead more ethically. Dr. Effron actively shares his research through TEDx talks, media interviews on Bloomberg and Meet the Press, and a New York Times op-ed.