Page 10 - Harvard Business Review (November-December, 2017)

IDEA WATCH TRASH TALK CAN BACKFIRE

MARKETING U.S. VENTURE-
CAPITAL
INVESTMENT
EXPLOITING THE IN CLEAN

TECHNOLOGY
POWER OF DROPPED

FROM NEARLY
MOTIVATION COMPLETE SETS
TRASH TALK CAN BACKFIRE 17%
Some CEOs routinely say negative Some beer retailers let customers buy bottles OF TOTAL VC
things about competitors, engaging INVESTMENT
in a corporate form of trash talk: à la carte, filling a six-pack with six different
Think of Virgin’s Richard Branson brands of beer. In such cases, how often does IN 2011 TO
and T-Mobile’s John Legere. LESS THAN
Trash talking is common at lower someone buy just five?
organizational levels as well: 57% In a field study and several lab
of Fortune 500 employees surveyed
said it happens in their workplace experiments, researchers explored
at least monthly. Past research people’s drive for complete sets—looking
suggests that the tactic is effective,
distracting or upsetting people and specifically at behaviors around items 8%
diminishing their performance. But grouped arbitrarily into “pseudo-sets.” IN 2016, OWING
a new study reveals a downside: In the field study, some donors to the
Trash talk often instills a desire for IN PART TO THE
retaliation and inspires the target to Canadian Red Cross were urged to give AVAILABILITY OF
perform better. six items that would make up a “global
In six lab experiments, the CHEAP NATURAL
researchers found that participants survival kit,” while others were asked GAS AND THE
who were taunted by someone simply to donate individual items.
they believed to be a competitor FAILURE OF
(“You’re a total loser”; “I’m going Members of the first group were seven SOME HEAVILY
to crush you”) did better on most times as likely as members of the second
computer tasks than participants VC-FUNDED
who received neutral messages; to donate all six items. In one of the lab CLEANTECH
they were more motivated than experiments, subjects could accept each of
others and sought to see the person COMPANIES.
who’d insulted them lose. (Their four increasingly risky gambles or decline
ability to think imaginatively was at any point and cash out; the gambles “CLEANTECH VENTURE CAPITAL:
CONTINUED DECLINES AND NARROW
diminished, though, and they were presented to some as belonging to GEOGRAPHY LIMIT PROSPECTS,” BY
DEVASHREE SAHA AND MARK MURO
were likelier to cheat.) “Habitual
trash-talkers need to recognize that a set. Those subjects were twice as likely
they are unintentionally boosting as others to take the unattractive fourth
their targets’ motivation and
performance,” the researchers write. bet. “Even without providing an explicit
“[They should] engage in deeper target or a goal,” the researchers write,
perspective-taking to gauge the
interpersonal consequences of their “pseudo-set framing creates the notion
rude behavior.” ■ of a group or set, which alters people’s
ABOUT THE RESEARCH “Trash- perceptions of and activates their desire
Talking: Competitive Incivility
Motivates Rivalry, Performance, and for completeness.” It’s an urge upon which
Unethical Behavior,” by Jeremy A. Yip,
Maurice E. Schweitzer, and Samir marketers can capitalize. ■
Nurmohamed (Organizational Behavior
and Human Decision Processes, ABOUT THE RESEARCH “Pseudo-Set Framing,” by Kate Barasz et al.
forthcoming) (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, forthcoming)

28 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017