Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

When winning is everything.

Deepak Malhotra1, Gillian Ku, J Keith Murnighan

  • 1Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. dmalhotra@hbs.edu

Harvard Business Review
|June 12, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Conspiratorial beliefs and reduced vaccine acceptance: Understanding the role of perspective-taking.

Journal of experimental psychology. Applied·2025
Same author

Impact of Kinesio Taping on Pregnancy related Pelvic Girdle Pain and Disability.

Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology of India·2025
Same author

Microcystin-LR aerosol exposure increases inflammatory drivers of asthma, Evidence of an NF-κB amplification mechanism.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Evolution of Chronic Kidney Disease in Different Regions of the World.

Journal of clinical medicine·2025
Same author

Acute Exposure to Aerosolized Nanoplastics Modulates Redox-Linked Immune Responses in Human Airway Epithelium.

Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)·2025
Same author

Concurrent Control of Sodium and Bicarbonate Serum Concentrations Using a Four-Stream Hemodialysis Fluid Delivery System.

Hemodialysis international. International Symposium on Home Hemodialysis·2025
Same journal

The Case for Capitation.

Harvard business review·2016
Same journal

How to Pay for Health Care.

Harvard business review·2016
Same journal

How to Preempt Team Conflict.

Harvard business review·2016
Same journal

The Secrets of Great Teamwork.

Harvard business review·2016
Same journal

Leading the Team You Inherit.

Harvard business review·2016
Same journal

Wicked Problem Solvers.

Harvard business review·2016
See all related articles

Competitive arousal, an emotional state in business, can lead to poor decisions. Managers can mitigate this by identifying and addressing key drivers like intense rivalry, time pressure, and public scrutiny.

Area of Science:

  • Business Strategy
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Intense competition can trigger emotional responses in executives.
  • This emotional state, termed competitive arousal, often results in detrimental decision-making.
  • Understanding the triggers of competitive arousal is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the primary drivers of competitive arousal in managerial decision-making.
  • To explore strategies for mitigating the negative impacts of competitive arousal.
  • To provide insights into preventing destructive competitive behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of case studies, including Boston Scientific and Paramount.
  • Examination of research on auction dynamics and bidding situations.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Identification of key factors contributing to competitive arousal.

    • Main Results:

    • Three main drivers of competitive arousal were identified: intense rivalry (especially one-on-one), time pressure, and being in the spotlight (audience presence).
    • These factors, individually and combined, significantly impair managerial decision-making, leading to business failures.
    • Competitive arousal can lead to a "win-at-all-costs" mentality.

    Conclusions:

    • Managers can prevent competitive arousal by anticipating harmful competitive dynamics and restructuring deal-making processes.
    • Strategies include limiting roles in intense rivalry, reducing time pressure, and diffusing the spotlight.
    • Focusing on contests with a real advantage and stepping back from costly competitions is key to success.