Brian Gunia, PhD

Brian Gunia joined the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in 2011. He is a Professor of Management. Brian studies three ways that people commonly jeopardize their careers: by negotiating ineffectively, acting unethically, and sleeping insufficiently. Instead of focusing on self-defeating choices themselves, however, he focuses on simple, theoretically-motivated measures that might enable individuals to negotiate more effectively, act more ethically, and sleep longer or better. Brian is the author of a negotiation blog called Life's Negotiable and a negotiation book called The Bartering Mindset. Prior to joining academia, Brian worked as a consultant at Deloitte.

Education

• Ph. D, Management & Organization, Northwestern University
• MS, Management & Organization, Northwestern University
• BA, Economics and Finance, Washington University

Research

Selected publications

Journal articles

• Desai, S., & Gunia, B. C. (2023). The interplay of gender and perceived sexual orientation at the bargaining table: A social dominance and intersectionalist perspective. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 179, 104279.
• Gunia, B. C. (2022) Sleep and deception. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47, 101379. Gunia, B. C., Adler, A. B., Bliese, P. D., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2021). How are you sleeping? Leadership support, sleep health, and work-relevant outcomes. Occupational Health Science, 5, 563-580. 
• Gunia, B. C., Gish, J. J., & Mensmann, M. (2021). Gunia, B. C. & Levine, E. E. (2019). Deception as competence: The effect of occupational stereotypes on the perception and proliferation of deception. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 152, 122-137.
• (Co-first authorship) Bhatia, N. & Gunia, B. C. (2018). “I was going to offer $10,000 but…”: The effects of phantom anchors in negotiation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 148, 70-86.
• Gunia, B. C., Barnes, C. M., & Sah, S. (2014). The morality of larks and owls: Unethical behavior depends on chronotype in addition to time-of-day. Psychological Science, 25, 2272-2274.
• Gunia, B. C., Swaab, R. I., Sivanathan, N. & Galinsky, A. D. (2013). The remarkable robustness of the first-offer effect: Across culture, power, and issues. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(12), 1547–1558.
• Gunia, B. C., Wang, L., Huang, L., Wang, J., & Murnighan, J.K. (2012). Contemplation and conversation: Subtle influences on moral decision making. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 13-33.
• Gunia, B. C., Brett, J. M., Nandkeolyar, A., & Kamdar, D. (2011). Paying a price: Culture, trust, and negotiation consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 774-789.

Books

• Gunia, B. C. (2019). The Bartering Mindset: A Mostly Forgotten Framework for Mastering your Next Negotiation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Teaching

Current

• Negotiation

Previous

• Negotiation (Online)
• Solving Organizational Problems

Honors and Distinctions

• Phi Beta Kappa, 2003
• Contributing author to Outstanding Conference Paper—Student as a First Author.
•  International Association of Conflict Management Conference. Thessaloniki, Greece, 2023.   
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Perspectives, 2022.
• Poets & Quants Professor of the Week. August 2019.  Dean’s Award for Faculty Excellence. 2015-2019.
• Best paper proceedings. Academy of Management Conference, Chicago. 2018.
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Perspectives, 2018.
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Perspectives, 2017.
• Fellow, Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise. 2014.
• Best paper proceedings. Academy of Management Conference, Philadelphia. 2014.
• Best paper proceedings. Academy of Management Conference, Orlando. 2013.
• Best Published Paper, International Association of Conflict Management Conference, Tacoma. 2013. 
• Paying a price: Culture, trust, and negotiation consequences (Gunia, Brett, Nandkeolyar, & Kamdar, 2011).
• Winner, Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award, Center for Creative Leadership and International Leadership Association. 2011.
• Best Student Paper, Conflict Management Division, Academy of Management Conference, San Antonio. 2011.
• The blame-taker’s dilemma.  Finalist, William H. Newman Award. Academy of Management Conference, San Antonio. 2011.
• Best paper proceedings. Academy of Management Conference, San Antonio. 2011.
• Best Student Paper, International Association of Conflict Management Conference, Istanbul. 2011.
• The blame-taker’s dilemma.  Summa cum Laude, Washington University in St. Louis. 2003.
• Phi Beta Kappa. 2003.

Impact and engagement

Policy

• Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Research collaboration, 2013-Present

In the media

• Waking up early isn't necessarily better. (5/25/24). TIME.
• Here’s how sleep affects your career and tips to get better sleep. (7/12/22). Forbes
• Does having ADHD help or hurt entrepreneurs? (11/3/21). The Wall Street Journal
•  Why working from home might promote more ethical decisions. (2/19/21). Forbes.
• The best books that will make you a master negotiator. (8/7/19). Forbes.
• The jobs where liars excel. (6/26/19). BBC.
• Why you may be prone to hiring a liar, and not even know it. (6/19/19). ScienceDaily.
• Become a better negotiator by not thinking about money. (5/21/19). Barron’s.
• A fresh approach to negotiation. (5/16/19). Curious Minds Podcast.
• Managing change? Manage your environment. (4/14/19). Forbes.
• Are you underpaid? The bartering mindset can help. (2/18/19). Barron’s.
• New office hours aim for well rested, more productive workers. (12/24/18). The New York Times.
• Thinking about it. (10/23/18). National Affairs. Should you start your day at 2:30 in the morning? (9/24/18). BBC.
• Trust matters the most in negotiations. (10/23/17). Forbes India.
• Daylight-saving time is bad for your relationships. (3/9/15). The Wall Street Journal.
• The Monday after the switch to Daylight Savings Time is disastrous for all kinds of workers. (3/9/15). Business Insider.
• No, mornings don’t make you moral. (2/25/15). The New Yorker.
• This flowchart proves 99 percent of work meetings are garbage. (2/12/15). Huffington Post.