Jessica Paek
I am an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
I investigate how people can better pursue their goals in organizations and society. Specifically, my research on goal pursuit explores two central questions: (1) First, what are unrecognized obstacles to goal pursuit and how can they be overcome? and (2) Second, what influences how people give and receive help in organizations as people pursue their goals? The aim of my work is to better understand the barriers to successful goal pursuit and the interpersonal dynamics that aid or hinder goal pursuit in organizations.
Publications
*Goya-Tocchetto, D., *Paek, J. J. W., & Wade-Benzoni, K. A. (Conditionally accepted). Legacy motive activation as a catalyst for prosocial action. Academy of Management Perspectives. *Denotes equal authorship. [abstract]
Ma, A., Paek, J. J. W., Liu, F., & Kim, J. (2024). Threats to personal control fuel similarity-attraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [abstract; link; osf]
Paek, J. J. W., Goya-Tocchetto, D. & Wade-Benzoni, K. A. (2024). The Andrew Carnegie Effect: Legacy motives increase the intergenerational allocation of wealth to collective causes. Social Psychological and Personality Science. [abstract; link; osf]
*Wingrove, S. C., *Paek, J. J. W., Ponce de Leon, R., & Fitzsimons, G. M. (2023). Tying the Value of Goals to Social Class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125(4), 699-719. *Denotes equal authorship. [abstract; link; osf]
Paek, J. J. W., Zee, K. S., Fitzsimons, G. M., & Higgins, E. T. (2022). Congratulations, so happy for you! Promotion motivation predicts social support for positive events. Motivation Science, 8(4), 285-297. [abstract; link; osf]
Manuscripts Invited for Revision & Under Review
Paek, J. J. W., & Kakkar, H. To Give a Fish or to Teach How to Fish: Examining Leaders’ Autonomy or Dependency Helping Behaviors. Invited Resubmission at Journal of Applied Psychology. [abstract]
• Winner of 2021 AOM Best Theoretical/Empirical Paper Award (Conflict Management Division)
Paek, J. J. W., & Fitzsimons, G. M. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: How Progress Steadiness Affects Motivation. Invited Resubmission at Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. [abstract]
Selected Works in Progress
Paek, J. J. W., & Tai, K. Slow and steady wins the race: The effect of perceptions of employees’ unsteady task progress on promotability. Working paper for Journal of Applied Psychology: 4 studies with 781 participants completed. [abstract]
• Nominee for 2024 AOM Best Student-Led Paper Award (Managerial and Organizational Cognition Division)
Paek, J. J. W., & Kakkar, H. When given a fish versus offered a fishing rod: Outcomes of receiving different types of help at work. Working paper for Journal of Applied Psychology: 3 studies with 1,094 participants completed. [abstract]
Paek, J. J. W., & Fitzsimons, G. M. Being enabled? When and why help has negative consequences. Working paper for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: 8 studies with 5,148 participants completed. [abstract]
Paek, J. J. W., Ma, A., Hu, X., & Larrick, R. P. The Impact of Leaders’ Perceived Decision Speed on Observers’ Evaluations of Leaders. Working paper for Organization Science: 4 studies with 1,711 participants completed. [abstract]
Paek, J. J. W., Fox, M., Burmeister-Lamp, K., & Wade-Benzoni, K. A. Firm founding as self-extension: Legacy motivation predicts entrepreneurship. Working paper for Academy of Management Journal: 3 studies with 791 participants completed. [abstract]
Paek, J. J. W., Kanze, D., & Wade-Benzoni, K. A. Legacy motivations & Entrepreneurship: A field experiment. Data collection in progress: 1 ongoing field study with 165 participants.