Faculty and Research

Ian Larkin is an Assistant Professor in the Negotiation, Organizations and Markets Unit at Harvard Business School.  Ian researches the impact of incentive system design on employee behavior and firm performance; much of his research centers on salespeople.  He teaches the elective MBA course "Managing, Negotiating and Organizing for Value" (MONV), and in several executive education programs on negotiation and managing the negotiation process.

Ian's research statistically estimates the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentives on employee behavior and firm performance.  His research has estimated that companies using non-linear commission schemes to compensate salespeople face significant costs as salespeople "game" the compensation scheme in ways detrimental to the company.  Other research has demonstrated, however, that firms may use these non-linear schemes in order to attract highly confident salespeople.  He is currently working on a major research project that examines how the incentives of pharmaceutical sales representatives affect physician prescribing behavior.  His research has been published in Negotiation and the Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, and has been quoted in numerous media and industry publications.

Ian received his Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.  He completed an M.Sc. in Development Economics from the University of London, where he was a British Marshall Scholar.  As part of his undergraduate work at the University of Arizona, Ian spent over three years living in China, Japan, and Taiwan, and he speaks conversational Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.  As a junior he was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, given to students who commit to a career in public service.  Before entering his Ph.D. program, Ian spent four years as an Associate and Engagement Manager in the Hong Kong and Silicon Valley offices of McKinsey and Company, where he advised senior executives on corporate strategy in the banking and high technology industries.

Ian completed a three-week executive chef course in France and is currently trying to learn to bake, unfortunately with little success.  He also enjoys travel, the theater, and reading and writing fiction.  Although he has never been to Wisconsin, he is an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers.