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Nicholas Hays

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Associate Professor
Department: Management
Office:
North Business Building
632 Bogue St Rm N423
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-3510
Main Street Capital Corporation Endowed Faculty in Business Fellow
Department: Management
Areas of Expertise
  • Biography
    Nicholas Hays received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from UCLA, and his B.A. in Psychology and B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. His research examines the psychology of hierarchy, specifically how power and status hierarchies, the most prevalent forms of social hierarchy, affect individuals' experiences and group processes. His research has been published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Current Opinion in Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Prior to MSU, Dr. Hays was a Visiting Assistant Professor at NYU's Stern School of Business.

    Before his academic career, Dr. Hays worked in management consulting for Booz & Company in New York and Bridge Strategy Group in Chicago.
  • Education
    BA Psychology 2000, University of Pennsylvania
    BS Economics 2000, University of Pennsylvania
    Ph.D. Management 2012, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Publications
    Article
    Hays, N. A., Li, H., Yang, X., Oh, K., Yu, A., Chen, Y.-R., Hollenbeck, J. R., & Jamieson, B. (in press). A tale of two hierarchies: Interactive effects of power differentiation and status differentiation on team performance. Organization Science.
    Article
    Matusik, J. G., Mitchell, R. L., Hays, N. A., Fath, S., Hollenbeck, J. R. (in press). The highs and lows of hierarchy in multiteam systems. Academy of Management Journal.
    Article
    Lee, H. W., Hays, N. A., & Johnson, R. E. (2021). To thine own (empowered) self be true: Aligning social hierarchy motivation and leader behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(7), 1033-1048.
    Article
    Mitchell, R. L., Bae, K., Case, C. R., Hays, N. A. (2020). Drivers of hierarchy striving. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 189-195.
    Article
    Yu, A., Hays, N. A., & Zhao, E. (2019). Development of a bipartite measure of social hierarchy: The perceived power and perceived status scales. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 152, 84-104.
    Article
    Hays, N. A., & Blader, S. L. (2017). To give or not to give? Effects of status and legitimacy on generosity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology112(1), 17-38.
    Article
    Bendersky, C., & Hays, N. A. (2017). The effects of status conflicts in groups where members disagree about status hierarchies. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(2), 124-132.
    Article
    Hays, N. A., & Bendersky, C. (2015). Not at all inequality is created equal: Effects of status versus power hierarchies on competition for upward mobility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(6), 867-882.
    Article
    Hays, N. A., & Goldstein, N. J. (2015). Power and legitimacy influence conformity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 60, 17-26.
    Article
    Hays, N. A. (2013). Fear and loving in social hierarchy: Sex differences in preferences for power and status. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(6), 1130-1136. 
    Article
    Bendersky, C., & Hays, N. A. (2012). Status conflict in groups. Organization Science, 23(2), 323-340. 
    Article
    Goldstein, N. J., & Hays, N. A. (2011). Illusory Power Transference: The Vicarious Experience of Power. Administrative Science Quarterly, 56(4), 593-621.
  • Courses
    • MGT 840: Organizational Leadership
    • MGT 460: Management Capstone
    • PIM 852: Negotiations
    • MGT 475: Negotiations and conflict management
    • MGT 474: Negotiations
    • MGT 832: Negotiations and conflict management
    • HCM 820: Negotiations
  • Awards
    • Best Theoretical Conference Paper - 2008
      From the International Association of Conflict Management
    • Best Empirical Conference Paper - 2013
      From the International Association of Conflict Management
    • Best Symposium - 2017
      From the Academy of Management, Organizational Behavior Division
  • Media Mentions

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