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Bridging behavioral science and executive practice to improve how organizations identify and develop talent

Samantha N. Smith

Samantha with four other Ph.D. students on HBS's campus

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<h1>About Me    </h1>
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I am a behavioral scientist.
I examine when competitive incentives help talent emerge—and when they create costly trade-offs for identity, belonging, and advancement.
Drawing on work with Fortune 500 leadership, I show how competition can increase the strategic value of distinctiveness while imposing long-term costs on belonging. My research is informed by experiences in human capital at Apollo Global Management and executive assessment at ghSMART, where I am a <a href="https://ghsmart.com/team/samantha-n-smith/" target="_blank">Research Fellow</a>. 
I earned an A.B. in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience &amp; Cognitive Science from Princeton. Before beginning my <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=1308979" target="_blank">Ph.D. at Harvard</a>, I was a Research Fellow at Kellogg School of Management, where I conducted independent research and supported six faculty across management and economics.

Black concrete wall with spot light stage. Stock photo

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Outside of work, I serve as a Board Ambassador at First Tee–Silicon Valley, Alumni Engagement Board member at the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, and Ambassador for the Chronic Disease Coalition. These roles expand access to opportunity—a motivation that also informs my research.

Samantha is a behavioral scientist.

Her research examines the psychological consequences of competition in organizations. Specifically, she studies how individuals navigate tensions between social preferences and strategic imperatives when pursuing professional goals. Her work reveals competition's dual role in both identifying talent and shaping how that talent develops and emerges.

Samantha earned my A.B. in psychology with minors in neuroscience and cognitive science from Princeton University. Before beginning her Ph.D., she was a Research Fellow at the Kellogg School of Management, where she contributed to research on the effects of socioeconomic inequality on relationship formation and voting preferences.

Samantha's research and teaching bridge academic training with deep roots in application, building on experience in human capital strategy at Apollo Global Management and executive assessment at ghSMART. 