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Susan J. Ashford is a management scholar whose research focuses on organizational behavior, leadership, feedback seeking, self-regulation, individual proactivity, job insecurity, issue selling, and work in the gig economy. She is the Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Ashford is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Ashford received a B.A. in environmental studies, with a minor in economics, from San Jose State University in 1977. She later attended Northwestern University, where she earned an M.S. in organizational behavior in 1981 and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior in 1983, with a minor in sociology.

Ashford began her academic career at Northwestern University before joining the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where she served as assistant professor and later associate professor of organizational behavior from 1983 to 1991.^[1]

In 1991, Ashford joined the University of Michigan Business School as associate professor of organizational behavior. She served as interim associate dean for the PhD Program from 1994 to 1995 and was promoted to professor of organizational behavior in 1996.^[2] From 1997 to 1998, she was a visiting professor of organizational behavior at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She later served as associate dean for academic affairs from 1998 to 1999 and senior associate dean for academic affairs from 1999 to 2002.^[3]

Ashford became the Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan Business School in 1998.^[4] She was faculty director of the Executive MBA Program from 2002 to 2012^[5] and associate dean for leadership development and the Executive MBA from 2007 to 2012.^[6] From 2013 to 2020, she chaired the Management and Organizations area at the Ross School of Business.^[7]

Ashford has also served as a research fellow at Vlerick Business School and as a board member of the Sanger Leadership Center.^[8]

Ashford’s research is in organizational behavior, with a focus on individual agency, leadership, feedback seeking, self-regulation, job insecurity,^[9] issue selling, and changing forms of work.^[10] Her work has examined how individuals gather information, adapt to work transitions, manage impressions, and act proactively within organizations.^[11]

A major part of Ashford’s research has focused on feedback seeking and self-regulation.^{[12] [13]} Her early work developed feedback seeking as a way individuals obtain information about their performance and adapt to organizational environments.^[14] Later studies examined how feedback-seeking behavior relates to managerial effectiveness, creativity, competing work demands, and the social costs of asking for feedback.^{[15] [16] [17]}

Ashford has also written on issue selling, voice, and influence in organizations.^[18] This work has studied how employees and middle managers raise strategic, social, and gender-equity issues with senior leaders.^[19] Her research in this area has considered how organizational context, identity, emotions, and impression management affect whether individuals speak up and whether their concerns are heard.^{[20] [21]}

Another area of her work concerns leadership and leadership development. Her research has addressed informal leadership, leader identity, leadership emergence, learning from experience, and the psychological risks that may discourage capable individuals from taking leadership roles.^{[22] [23] [24] [25]} She has also examined how reflection and mindful engagement contribute to leadership growth.^{[26] [27]}

Ashford’s more recent research has examined independent work, non-standard employment, and the gig economy. Her publications in this area have considered how independent professionals manage uncertainty, identity, well-being, social connection, and professional development outside traditional organizational structures.^{[28] [29] [30] [31]}

• Fellow, Academy of Management, 2002^[32]
• Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize, University of Michigan, 2011^[33]
• Senior Faculty Research Award, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 2014^[34]
• Award for Scholarly Contributions to Management, Academy of Management, 2017^[35]
• Researcher of the Year, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 2020^[34]
• Organizational Behavior Division Lifetime Achievement Award, Academy of Management, 2020^[36]
• Visionary Circle Research Grant, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2020^[37]
• Fellow, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2024^[38]
• Administrative Science Quarterly Award for Scholarly Contribution, 2025^[39]
• Andy Andrews Distinguished Faculty Service Award, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 2005^[40] and 2025^[41]

Category:Living people Category:Management scientists Category:Organizational theorists Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:San Jose State University alumni Category:University of Michigan faculty Category:Ross School of Business faculty Category:Dartmouth College faculty