Julia Langdon

Julia Langdon joined ESMT Berlin as an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in August 2023. Since April 2024 she holds the Volkswagen Group Junior Chair for Ethics and Diversity in Organizations. She received her Ph.D. in Management from London Business School in 2023. She also holds a Master’s degree in Cognitive and Decision Sciences from University College London and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Warwick University.

Julia’s research focuses on exploring how organizations can stop key organizational constituents—senior managers, board members, and employees—from acting unethically by identifying the complex psychological contortions people use to justify unethical behavior. She also investigates the factors that shape stakeholder responses following ethical scandals.

In a second research stream, Julia also investigates how people’s beliefs about morality and their reasoning around it influence their own behavior and the behavior of others in unexpected ways. Connecting core theories of morality and human behavior to the study of lay theories and diversity, respectively, she explores potential interventions that can promote ethical behavior and inclusion, especially for disabled professionals. Across both of these programs of research, she uses experimental and field methods.