The Why Podcast: Why is that person being so nice to them?

‘If I scratch your back, someone else will scratch mine…’

In this episode of The Why Podcast, Ena Inesi talks us through her research into how indirect reciprocity works within power hierarchies. It turns out that the judgements we make when we see someone performing an act of kindness affect how we behave towards them, which also influences the flow of resources in social groups.

Ena is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. The full research paper, ‘When it pays to be kind: The allocation of indirect reciprocity within power hierarchies’, can be found here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl…49597821000443. Kathy Brewis is Senior Managing Editor of Think at London Business School.

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