Estelle E. Archibold

 I am an organizational researcher who uses mixed and multi-modal methods to investigate organizations, fields and social movements. My research focuses on generative conflict, ally work and cross-cultural dynamics, as well as social innovations in organizations. I also use process theory and emerging theory in positive institutional work as frameworks for my research.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in Management and Organization at the Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University. In June 2022, I defended my dissertation, "The Role of Disruptions and Disruptor Identity in Generative Conflict: Setting the Conditions for Conflict Reflexivity in Teams During the COVID-19 Pandemic" in Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. My dissertation develops a theory of generative conflict based on a multi-year enactive ethnography in which I employ multiple methods of data generation (including ethnographic field work, digital methods, experimental vignettes and action research), as well as data analysis (including grounded theory, narrative analysis,  thematic analysis and gestural analysis). This generative work lays the foundation for several empirical studies and manuscripts.

I build on insights from more than fifteen (15) years of academic study and practice in conflict transformation, reconciliation, ethics, as well as cross-stakeholder negotiations in the United States and abroad in countries such as Liberia and Ghana in West Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Also, my prior executive coaching practice supported leaders, managers and teams experiencing conflict among members and followers during organizational mergers and reorganizations. I worked across several sectors including government, non-governmental organizations, public health, international development and education. Currently, I continue my engaged scholarship as a research affiliate of the Leadership Initiative with The University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy where I collaborate with scholars and practitioners on discovering the impact of cross-cultural transformative leadership, restorative justice and social movements on public policy decision-making and discourse.