Ian Larkin is an Assistant Professor in the Strategy group at the UCLA Anderson
School of Management. He researches the optimal use of formal rewards systems
by companies, given the complex and often unanticipated effects these systems
have on employee motivation and decision making. His research quantifying the
cost incurred by a major enterprise software vendor due to salespeople deliberately
gaming their sales commission system, published in The Journal of Labor Economics,
is one of the most prominently cited empirical studies of incentive system gaming. It
was the basis for a case study widely used in MBA classes on compensation and
human resource management.
His recent research focuses on corporate awards and other programs companies use to formally recognize
employee performance, and demonstrates that these programs often have unintended costs, such as the
demotivation of some employee groups. A final stream of research investigates physician prescribing decisions
in light of different sales tactics used by pharmaceutical sales representatives. His research has been discussed
in a variety of media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes and National Public
Radio.
Ian teaches the core Business Strategy course at Anderson. Before coming to Anderson, he was a member of the
faculty at Harvard Business School, where he taught an elective MBA course on human resource management,
as well as several executive education courses. He received a Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at UC
Berkeley, and a M.Sc. from the University of London, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. Ian worked as an
Associate and Engagement Manager for McKinsey and Company, based in Hong Kong and Silicon Valley.
Ian’s hobbies include cooking, traveling and supporting the Green Bay Packers.