If You Like Data Colada ...

Harvard proves business ethics are baloney

First, let’s get past the irony of a Harvard Business School professor, globally renowned for her research into dishonesty, getting fired for alleged dishonesty.

Francesca Gino, 47, on Wednesday became the first Harvard professor stripped of tenure in 80 years following dragged-out investigations into her research.

Her Ivy-League career began to unravel in 2021 when Data Colada, a blog run by other behavioral science researchers, began raising concerns about “fraudulent data” in some of her work between 2012 and 2020. Harvard then began its own investigation and put Gino on administrative leave in 2023. And now, finally, she’s fired.

Data Colada doesn’t go down so smoothly at Harvard. (Photo illustration: AI generated.)

Gino vehemently denies the allegations and has filed a $25 million defamation and breach of contract lawsuit against Harvard and Data Colada. Her side of the story aims some pretty disturbing allegations against them as well – including a claim that Harvard made up a new rule during its investigation, just to fire her. (A judge has dismissed her defamation claims but other parts of her lawsuit continue.)

Gino’s complaint alleges she was the victim of a “smear campaign.” Imagine that. A smear campaign at Harvard. Here’s what she wrote on her LinkedIn page a year ago:

The Gino fiasco appears to be unrelated to Harvard’s existential battle with Donald Trump, which has resulted in the loss of $2.6 billion in federal funding. Gino has, however, co-authored works with titles that the president might not appreciate, like:

• “The deception spiral: Corporate obfuscation leads to perceptions of immorality and cheating behavior.”

• “Many others are doing it, so why shouldn’t I?”: How being in larger competitions leads to more cheating.”

• “How trust and distrust shape perception and memory.”

Lying, cheating and dishonesty are Gino’s bread and butter. Her resume touts more than 140 academic articles and her expertise in these areas landed her lucrative speaking and consulting gigs with some of the world’s biggest companies and organizations, including Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, Novartis, Procter & Gamble, and the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy.

She’s also been a trusted source to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets.

She was once listed among the 40 best business-school professors under 40 and ranked among the 50 most influential management thinkers. And she was reportedly one of Harvard’s highest-paid professors, making more than $1 million a year. (At that price, why not get her off the payroll?)

Why would she put such a stellar career at risk by manipulating data?

Maybe that’s how she achieved so much. Or maybe it was research. You know, like a professor studying hallucinogenics taking an ayahuasca retreat. In 2018, Gino wrote a book called, “Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life.”

Whatever the case, nobody in this academic cluster-blunder is going to come out smelling like a refreshing tropical beverage because one side or the other, or both, are lying.

When the smoke of litigation finally clears, it will be just as nasty a smudge on Harvard and its business school research as it is on Gino.

So excuse me while I get this song out of my head:

If you like Data Colada;

And getting caught in the shame.

If do shoddy research.

If you have half a brain.

If you like faking facts at midnight;

Hanging out with snowflakes.

Harvard’s the place that you looked for.

It’s a school full of snakes.

(There, I feel better now. Apologies to songwriter Rupert Holmes. And to Harvard: Let’s hope Trump doesn’t bury you, but please stop handing him shovels.)

Don’t Miss These Blunders