About
I am a Professor and serve as Head of the Department of Management at the Faculty of Business Administration, Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE), where I also chair the Research Ethics Committee.
I co-founded Decision Lab Prague, a research laboratory at VŠE focused on behavioral and experimental economics. The lab uses experimental methods to better understand decision-making processes of individuals, groups, and institutions, with applications in business, public policy, education, finance, and sustainability.
Contacts
Faculty of Business Administration
Prague University of Economics and Business
nám. W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3, Czech Republic
petr.houdek@vse.cz
+420 224 09 8423
Research Interests
Complete list of my publications.
My research focuses on behavioral economics, organizational behavior, and business ethics. I study how psychological factors shape decision-making in organizations, with particular emphasis on:
- Dishonest and unethical behavior in organizations
- Behavioral interventions (nudging) in organizational settings
- Moral psychology and strategic moralization
- Leadership attribution and organizational politics
- Cross-cultural differences in organizational behavior
- External validity of behavioral experiments
I employ experimental methods — both laboratory and field experiments, including virtual reality — and combine insights from psychology, economics, and management science. My work has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Perspectives, Journal of Business Research, Current Opinion in Psychology, Journal of Economic Psychology, Journal of Economic Methodology, Judgment and Decision Making, or Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Current Research Projects
| 🔬 GA ČR |
Strategic Moralization in Organizations: Experiments in the Lab and Virtual Reality2025–2027 · Principal Investigator This project investigates the strategic use and potential misuse of moralization in organizations and its impact on group dynamics and organizational outcomes. Using experiments in the lab and virtual reality, we examine how moralization affects employee decision-making, particularly in healthcare settings. |
| 💡 TA ČR |
Cognitive Biases and Errors in Information Processing: Prevention Strategies in Education2023–2026 · Principal Investigator This project aims to increase the resilience of Ministry of Education employees against misinformation and cognitive biases. The main tools are implementing a dynamic e-learning portal and introducing organizational changes to improve information processing. |
| 🏛️ MŠMT |
Centre for Inequality and Open Society (CONOS)2025–2028 · Team Member A large-scale interdisciplinary research project examining inequality from the perspectives of economics, law, and psychology. The research analyzes the impacts of technological innovations on inequality in markets, public administration, and the judiciary. |
| 🏛️ MŠMT |
Population Ageing and Related Challenges for Health and Social Systems (AGEING-CZ)2025–2028 · Team Member This project supports cutting-edge research on the aging Czech population with implications for public policy, focusing on health and social sectors. Research topics include demographic changes, growing inequalities, labor market impacts, behavioral aspects, and accessibility and quality of healthcare. |
Professional Affiliations
- Society for Judgment and Decision Making (SJDM)
- Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE)
- International Association for Research in Economic Psychology (IAREP)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Society for Neuroeconomics (SfN)
Links
🎓 Google Scholar
📊 ResearchGate
🌐 Personal Website