Can an Overconfident Employee be an Asset to a Company?

Is it always detrimental to a firm if an employee is overconfident? In this video, ANDRES ESPITIA studies overconfidence and presents some scenarios in which it can be of benefit. Espitia makes use of a game theoretic model and outlines case studies involving a nuclear power plant employee concerned with safety and a human resource manager responsible for performance based reward. The study finds that overconfidence may be an asset when firms require employees to react to evidence in an extreme manner, where a muted response is detrimental. The model developed for this project opens the way for further research on belief based biases. Ongoing work will also explore the effects of managerial efforts to promote or restrict overconfidence.