CV

Employment

Professor of Management | 2022– present
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Visiting Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business | 2022
Visiting Professor, UC Irvine Merage School of Business | 2022
Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business | 2021

Provost’s Chair in Business | 2019–2022
Director, Cultural Science Innovations Center | 2017–2022
Associate Professor (with tenure) | 2017–2022
Nanyang Assistant Professor | 2016–2017
Assistant Professor | 2015–2016
Division of Leadership, Management, and Organisation
Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University

Assistant Professor of Management and Organisation | 2012–2015
National University of Singapore

Postdoctoral Scholar in Management | 2010–2012
Columbia University

Education
Ph.D. in Psychology, Stanford University 2010
B.A. in Economics (with Honors), Stanford University 2005

Awards
2021 Responsible Research in Management Award
2020 Nanyang Research Award (Young Investigator)
2020 Research Excellence Award, Nanyang Business School
2018 Poets and Quants “Top 40 Business Professors Under 40”
2016 Research Excellence Award, Nanyang Business School
2016 Singapore Business Review’s “18 influential business professors under 40”
2016 Nanyang Assistant Professorship award
2015 Rising Star Award (Inaugural), Association for Psychological Science
2014 Outstanding Educator Award, National University of Singapore Business School

Society memberships
2021 Fellow, Society for Personality and Social Psychology
2020 Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
2017 Fellow, Society for Experimental Social Psychology

Popular Press Publications
Madan, S., Nanakdewa, K., Savani, K., & Markus, H. R. (2021). What makes employees feel empowered to speak up? Harvard Business Review, October 13, 2021.
Feng, Z., Liu, Y., Wang, Z, & Savani, K. A method for overcoming implicit bias when considering job candidates. Harvard Business Review, July 21, 2020.
Ma, A., Yang, Y., & Savani, K. How to respond to “Take it or leave it.” Harvard Business Review, May 25, 2020.
Savani, K., & Zou, X. How to get high-potential employees interested in leadership development programs. Harvard Business Review, September 7, 2018.
Savani, K. Why strangers can expect more help from people in mixed neighborhoods. Straits Times, September 12, 2018.
Savani, K. Decisions, decisions … the more (options) the merrier. Straits Times, November 27, 2017.
Basu, S. & Savani, K. To make better choices, look at all your options together. Harvard Business Review, June 28, 2017.
Savani, K. When decisions are based on social norms rather than our preferences. Straits Times, February 28, 2017.

Editorial Service
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Associate Editor, 2019-present
Management and Organization Review, Senior Editor, 2018
Social and Personality Psychology Compass, Section Editor, 2015-2018
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Editorial board member, 2013-present
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Editorial board member, 2013-present
Personnel Assessment and Decisions, Editorial board member, 2017-present
Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Editorial board member, 2016-2018
Frontiers in Psychology, Editorial board member, 2016-2017

Grants
1. Highlighting the Power of Individuals’ Choice and Agency to Prevent Illicit Drug Activities. US$228,420.
2. Taking Advantage of the Future Economy: Role of Universal Mindsets (PI). Singapore Social Science Research Council. US$443,481.
3. Enhancing productivity of innovations across cultures for Singapore (Co-PI). Singapore Social Science Research Council. US$1,726,201.
4. Cultural Differences in Memory Processes: Evidence from Part-set Cueing Deficit and Collaborative Inhibition (PI). Singapore Ministry of Education ACRF Tier 1 Grant. US$72,400.
5. Achieving “Car-Lite Singapore”: Understanding Motorist Behavior and Developing Interventions (PI). Behavioral Studies in the Energy, Water, Waste and Transportation Sectors. US$496,241.
6. Influence of Social Motivations on Cultural Learning, Adjustment, and Integration (PI). Singapore Social Science Research Council. US$411,987.
7. Psychological Consequences of Exposure to Variability (PI). Nanyang Assistant Professorship Award. US$646,655.
8. Role of Implicit Processes in Cultural Learning (PI). Singapore Ministry of Education ACRF Tier 2 Grant. US$204,714.
9. Cultural Differences in Meta-norms (PI). Singapore Ministry of Education ACRF Tier 1 Grant. US$66,112.
10. Humanities and Social Sciences Fellowship (PI). National University of Singapore. US$40,000.
11. Improving Quality of Decision Making Through an Active Decision Making Mindset (PI). Singapore Ministry of Education ACRF Tier 1 Grant. US$28,960.
12. Decision Making in Indian Cultural Contexts (Co-PI). Singapore Ministry of Education ACRF Tier 1 Grant. US$55,680.

Courses Taught
The Science of Decision Making, Instructor (BBA course Nanyang Business School)
Course evaluation rating: 4.6 / 5.0 (Spring 2021)
Managerial Decision Making, Instructor (MBA course, Nanyang Business School)
Course evaluation rating: 4.6 / 5.0 (Fall 2015-2020)
Managerial Decision Making, Instructor (MBA course, NUS Business School)
Course evaluation rating: 4.7 / 5.0 (Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2014)
Managerial and Organizational Cognition (BBA course, NUS Business School)
Course evaluation rating: 4.8 / 5.0 (Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2014)
Negotiations and Bargaining, Instructor (BBA course, NUS Business School)
Course evaluation rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (Fall 2013)
Negotiation and Influence in Asia, Co-Instructor (Executive Education course, NUS)
Course evaluation rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (2012-2015)

Mentoring
Current Postdocs:
Wang Yan (PhD in Economics from Nanyang Technological University)

Former Postdocs:
Shilpa Madan (Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech University)
Vincent Chee (Assistant Professor, Lancaster University, UK)
Feng Zhiyu (Assistant Professor, Renmin University, China)
Li Shaobo (Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology)
Arjun Sengupta (Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham)

Current PhD students:
Lee Rui Ling (PhD student, supervisor)
Elizabeth Demisse Degefe (PhD student, supervisor)

Former PhD students:
Kevin Nanakdewa (Postdoc, University of Toronto)
Rashmi Sahai (Lecturer, Curtin University)

Dissertation committee member:
Kenneth Tai (Assistant Professor of OB at Singapore Management University)
Xu Tu (Assistant Professor of Accounting at University of Hawaii)
Yoo G-Song (Assistant Professor of Accounting at University of Sydney)
Lukas Helikum (Assistant Professor of Accounting at New Jersey City University)
Li Shaobo (Assistant Professor of Marketing at Southern University of Science and Technology, China)
Vincent Chee (Postdoctoral Scholar at Nanyang Business School)
Desiree Phua (Postdoc at Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences)
Shan Wen (Organizational Behavior)
Yap Wei Jie (Organizational Behavior)
Yang Yanjia (Accounting)
Cao Tongrui (Accounting)
Ian Chan (Accounting)
Pamela Goh (Psychology)

Invited Talks
05/2022 New York University, Motivational Psychology Lab
04/2022 Yale University, Department of Psychology
04/2022 Duke University, Department of Psychology
04/2022 Stanford Graduate School of Business
04/2022 San Diego State University
11/2021 Hong Kong University
11/2021 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
10/2021 Imperial College London Business School
10/2021 Stanford University, Department of Psychology
10/2021 International Association for Conflict Management
10/2021 Computational Culture Laboratory, Stanford and UC Berkeley
09/2021 Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Faculty of Business
09/2021 UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
05/2021 IESE Barcelona
04/2021 Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University
04/2021 Renmin University School of Business
03/2021 George Washington University School of Business
02/2021 Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
01/2021 Owen School of Management, Vanderbilt University
11/2020 Yale School of Management, Yale University
10/2020 INSEAD Singapore
03/2020 Columbia Business School, Columbia University
02/2020 Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
05/2019 Xi’an Jiaotong University Business School, China
04/2019 Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China
03/2019 Mindsets and Organizational Transformation, London Business School
02/2019 University of California at Irvine, Merage School of Business
10/2018 National Taiwan University
10/2018 National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
10/2018 Taiwanese Psychological Association Annual Conference
05/2018 Association for Psychological Science Annual Conference
05/2018 Duke University Fuqua School of Business
03/2018 University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research
03/2018 Society for Personality & Social Psychology, Culture Preconference
02/2018 University of Sydney Business School
11/2017 University of New South Wales Business School
07/2017 WU University Vienna, School of Business
02/2017 University of Lausanne, HEC Business School
10/2016 Peking University, Guanghua School of Management
09/2015 National University of Singapore, Department of Political Science
11/2014 UCLA Anderson School of Business
11/2014 Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Business School
10/2014 HKUST Division of Social Science
04/2014 Singapore University of Technology and Design
10/2013 Singapore Management University, Behavioral Science Institute
06/2013 University of Zurich, Department of Psychology
05/2013 Indian School of Business
01/2013 China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS)
12/2012 Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
11/2012 Kyoto University Kokoro Research Center
03/2012 National University of Singapore Business School
02/2012 University of California at San Diego, Rady School of Business
01/2012 London Business School
12/2011 INSEAD Singapore
11/2011 University of Chicago Booth School of Business
10/2011 University of Virginia Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
10/2011 Stanford Graduate School of Business
05/2011 New York University Stern School of Business
05/2010 Columbia Business School
02/2010 HEC Paris
01/2010 UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business