Research Seminar: Prof Corentin Hericher

Seminar Title: Is it fair to be accurate? Moral-emotional responses to organizations’ AI orientation choices

Abstract: While research on algorithmic decision-making has grown substantially, little is known about people’s moral reactions to organizations’ AI orientation choices. Drawing on deonance theory, we hypothesize that an organization’s choice between an algorithm maximizing accuracy at the expense of fairness and one prioritizing fairness over accuracy triggers distinct moral-emotional responses among observers. We conducted three vignette-based experiments comparing accuracy- and fairnessoriented algorithms in hiring (Studies 1 and 3) and dismissal (Study 2), with different degrees of accuracy loss (Study 3). Results indicate that moral emotions (i.e., other-condemning and other-praising) mediate the effects of algorithmic orientation on observers’ behavioral responses (i.e., negative and positive word-of-mouth) toward the organization. This paper advances understanding of human psychology vis-a-vis algorithms by showing how accuracy–fairness trade-offs shape moral appraisals of organizations. We extend deonance theory to algorithmic decisionmaking by demonstrating that AI orientation choices in HRM elicit distinct moral emotions and subsequent behavioral responses.

Bio: Corentin Hericher is an assistant professor at UCLouvain, Belgium. He obtained his PhD in Management from the same university in 2020. His work focuses on employees' reactions to how organizations treat their stakeholders. He has published works in journals such as the Journal of Management and the Journal of Business Research. This includes reactions to corporate social responsibility, corporate social irresponsibility, and stakeholder management. Prior to becoming an assistant professor, he worked as a consultant in financial crime. He also served in the Army before his studies. On top of his professional activities, he is also a core member of the European Business Ethics Network's Belgian section and board member of Transparency International Belgium. Since January 2026, he also works as an adjunct lecturer at Trinity College Dublin.

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