The Biological Basis of Business Behavior

A recent article in the Economist discusses research that combines biology, psychology, endocrinology, and genetics to better understand business behavior such as risk perception, trust, and innovation. A colleague at Ivey, Rod White, for example published a paper with co-authors Stewart Thornhill and Elizabeth Hampson which found that men with higher levels of salival testosterone were more likely to be entrepreneurs. A really important area where this type of research could be applied is ethical behavior (see my recent blog post on the neural differences of psychopaths from the general population and possible links to management behavior), leadership and consumer innovators or trend leaders.