Jessica Reif

__PRESENT

• Jessica Reif and Cummings, J. N. (2026), The Generative AI Dilemma in Knowledge-Intensive Teams, Academy of Management Review. Abstract

  In knowledge-intensive teams, collaborative interactions among teammates have historically served as the primary means through which members access task-relevant information, advice, and feedback. Generative artificial intelligence (AI), however, now offers members an alternative source of these resources. We develop a multilevel theory that proposes team members who are proficient with generative AI are more likely to perceive the resources it can offer as functionally equivalent to those they can access through their teammates. In turn, we propose that some members will shift their knowledge-seeking interactions to generative AI. As this substitution behavior accumulates within a team, the team’s collaboration network is less likely to foster the critical emergent states that support team effectiveness. The key insight of our theory is a dilemma for knowledge-intensive teams: generative AI can boost team performance by helping members to work more efficiently, but a lack of collaboration among teammates can offset these gains and undermine team satisfaction.

• Jessica Reif, Lecuona, J.R., Cummings, J. N. (2026), Space and Structure: The interplay between proximity, unit boundaries, and supervision in shaping workplace interactions, Organization Science. Abstract

  Organizations commonly colocate employees in the same office to foster collaboration, yet spatial interventions often fail to deliver their intended benefits. Conflicting evidence in the proximity and office design literatures highlights the need for a better understanding of when and how physical space shapes workplace interactions, particularly across organizational units. Drawing on theories of attention, we propose that spatial arrangements and organizational structures intersect to influence employees’ attentional processes. We argue that (1) proximity’s effects on work-related interactions should be stronger for same-unit dyads than cross-unit dyads because organizational relationships determine who is most likely to stand out in a busy office environment, and (2) proximity to supervisors should reduce cross-unit interactions as employees focus on demonstrating unit-focused productivity to nearby authority figures. We find evidence consistent with these hypotheses in a field study in which employees were quasi-randomly assigned to desks following a headquarters relocation, creating exogenous variation in proximity between employees from different units and between employees and their supervisors. This research contributes to the literatures on boundary spanning, physical space, and organizational attention by demonstrating that office design’s impact on collaboration depends critically on the organizational relationships among the employees within the space.

• Jessica Reif, Larrick, R.P., Soll. J.B. (2025), What’s accessible is expressible: When advice seekers are more likely to anchor their advisors, Social Psychological and Personality Science. Abstract

  Despite evidence that advice is most beneficial for increasing decision accuracy when advisors form independent judgments, people sometimes undermine this independence by sharing their preliminary conclusions when seeking advice. We propose that following the prescription to think independently before seeking advice paradoxically leads people to make this mistake. Specifically, we argue that deeper engagement with a decision makes one’s own perspective more accessible and likely to be shared during an advice interaction. In two preregistered studies (N = 2,109), we demonstrate that higher levels of engagement with the decision prior to seeking advice increase the likelihood that the seeker will anchor the advisor. This suggests that advice seekers who follow prescriptions to form a judgment prior to seeking advice may inadvertently introduce bias into advice interactions, undermining the independence of the advice they seek. These findings contribute to the advice-seeking literature by revealing a process by which anchors emerge naturally in information exchange.

• Jessica Reif, Larrick, R.P., Soll. J.B. (2025), Evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using artificial intelligence, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Abstract

  Despite the rapid proliferation of AI tools, we know little about how people who use them are perceived by others. Drawing on theories of attribution and impression management, we propose that people believe they will be evaluated negatively by others for using AI tools and that this belief is justified. We examine these predictions in four preregistered experiments (N = 4,439) and find that people who use AI at work anticipate and receive negative evaluations regarding their competence and motivation. Further, we find evidence that these social evaluations affect assessments of job candidates. Our findings reveal a dilemma for people considering adopting AI tools: Although AI can enhance productivity, its use carries social costs.

• Jessica Reif, Larrick, R.P., Soll. J.B. (2024), The inclusion of anchors when seeking advice: Causes and consequences, . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Abstract

  Scholars have devoted considerable research attention to examining how people use advice from others. However, there is much less research exploring the preceding step of how people solicit advice from others. Sometimes advice seekers include their own thinking in their requests for advice, providing anchors that make it difficult for their advisors to access their own independent judgments. Across naturalistic and laboratory samples, we find that advice seekers include anchors when seeking quantitative advice between 20 and 50 percent of the time. In five preregistered studies (N = 6,981), we investigate the causes and consequences of including anchors when seeking advice. We find that impression management motives increase the tendency to include anchors when seeking advice, while a goal of minimizing influence on advisors reduces the tendency to include anchors. We then show that anchors are indeed effective in achieving impression management goals, but that advice seekers who include them benefit less from opinion combination strategies such as averaging because they introduce shared sources of error. This work contributes to the literatures on advice seeking, anchoring, and collective judgments.

__PRESENT

Past Courses

• MGMT2390 - Leading and Managing Teams

  Learn to build, structure, and run teams for the full range of work they do – from decision-making to coordination to creating creative synergy and efficiencies. Through a series of dynamic immersions in trading floors, factories, military conflicts, natural disasters, and fabrication mock-ups, you will develop a visceral and memorable understanding of what teams need to thrive and how to avoid the predictable forces that derail them. This course is built to change how you engage and lead teams for the rest of your academic and professional career.

__PRESENT

__PRESENT

Knowledge @ Wharton

• The New Strategy Behind Revenue Growth, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/24/2026
• What the World Cup Teaches Brands About Cultural Marketing, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/22/2026
• How Constraints Shape Creativity and Athletic Development, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/22/2026
• Why Consumers Are Still Spending Despite Inflation, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/21/2026
• Social Security’s Funding Crisis and the Future of Retirement, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/17/2026
• How AG1 Built Trust Through Podcast Marketing, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/16/2026
• Why Is Everything Gambling Now?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2026
• Become an Insider Faster: Relationships Drive Results, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2026
• Why Companies Are Rethinking the Rush to Implement AI, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2026
• Breaking Down Randomness, Win Probability, and Competitive Balance Across Sports, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2026