Harvard Fires Tenured Professor Francesca Gino Over Data Falsification Allegations

Strategic Insights -

Francesca Gino, a Harvard Business School professor, has been fired after multiple allegations of falsifying data in her research on ethics and behavior. The university put her on administrative leave in 2023 and an internal investigation found evidence of research misconduct. Gino, who maintained her innocence, had her tenure revoked, a first for the Ivy League institution in about 80 years. She first arrived at HBS in 2010 and became a full professor in 2014, leading the Negotiations, Organizations and Markets Unit from 2018 to 2021.

Key Takeaways:

  • Francesca Gino, a tenured professor at Harvard Business School, was fired over allegations of data falsification in her research on ethics and behavior.
  • The university put her on administrative leave in 2023 after multiple allegations surfaced, and an internal investigation found evidence of research misconduct.
  • Gino had maintained her innocence, but her tenure was revoked, the first time in about 80 years for a professor at the Ivy League institution.
  • The incident involved a 2012 paper co-authored by Gino and Max Bazerman, which was later retracted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences due to findings of data falsification.
  • An internal investigation found that Gino had added to a database and altered a file, providing "compelling evidence" of data falsification.
  • The data falsification allegations also involved four academic papers co-authored by Gino, with no involvement from her co-authors, according to the DataColada blog.
  • Gino filed a $25m lawsuit against Harvard and DataColada, but a federal judge dismissed her defamation claims, allowing her to argue that Harvard had breached its contract.
  • Gino has consistently denied the allegations of fraud, stating that she is innocent and will prove it in court.