Jana Gallus

Jana Gallus is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioral Decision Making at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She is the Founding Director of the Center for Incentive Design, an Associate Editor at Management Science, a standing panelist for the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Director of the UCLA Anderson Behavioral Lab. Her research and teaching lie at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and behavioral economics, with a specific focus on how incentive systems affect organizational performance.

Dr. Gallus earned her Ph.D. in Economics summa cum laude from the University of Zurich in 2015. Prior to that, she completed a Double Master in Finance and Strategy, International Affairs and Governance from the University of St. Gallen and Sciences Po Paris (2009-2011), and a Bachelor and Master from Sciences Po Paris (2006-2011).

Her research focuses on understanding how people respond to various incentive systems - both financial (such as bonuses) and non-financial (such as public recognition). She is particularly interested in designing incentive systems that leverage people's non-financial motivations to improve organizational performance. Dr. Gallus has conducted field experiments with numerous organizations including Wikipedia, NASA, private sector tech firms, the American Red Cross, hospitals, schools, and universities to study incentive effects in real-world settings.

Dr. Gallus's publications reveal a consistent focus on the economics of awards and non-monetary incentives. Her work spans behavioral economics, organizational behavior, and strategic management, with particular attention to how recognition systems affect motivation, performance, and collaboration. She has examined these dynamics in diverse contexts including open-source communities like Wikipedia, healthcare settings, STEM fields, and academic environments. A recurring theme in her research is the complex relationship between awards, motivation, and performance, often revealing counterintuitive effects where well-intentioned recognition systems may have unintended negative consequences.

• Distinction as 'most promising economist' by DIE ZEIT
• Co-author of 'Honours versus Money: The Economics of Awards' (Oxford University Press, 2017)
• Publications in top journals including PNAS, Psychological Review, Management Science, and Strategic Management Journal

Dr. Gallus advises organizations across various sectors on incentive design, innovation prizes, impact evaluation, and inclusion strategies. She has built the Center for Incentive Design at UCLA, which adopts an interdisciplinary approach to pressing societal issues in education, health, and housing. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications, as evidenced by her extensive media coverage in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and BBC News.