Sara Soderstrom

Faculty Member, Erb Institute
Erb Undergraduate Fellows Faculty Director

Associate Professor
Erb Undergraduate Fellows Faculty Director

University of Michigan: Organizational Studies and Program in the Environment

Sara Soderstrom is an Associate Professor of Organizational Studies and Program in the Environment.

Soderstrom is a leader in organizational structures and their impacts on sustainability. Her research focuses on how corporations engage in societal sustainability challenges. She studies how individuals within organizations mobilize others, develop coalitions and access key decision-makers when they are trying to implement sustainability initiatives.

Soderstrom’s current research focuses on the intersections of diversity, equity and inclusion and sustainability.

In addition to conducting her own research, Soderstrom teaches classes to Erb undergraduate students, as well as to participants in Erb’s executive Sustainability Academy. She also advises Erb’s postdoctoral fellows, as well as student projects.

Soderstrom holds MSE degrees in Chemical and Environmental Engineering and a BSE degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. She earned her doctorate at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Erb Institute.

Organizational structure from interaction: Evidence from corporate sustainability efforts
Authors: SB Soderstrom, K Weber
Published Date: 2020
Source: Administrative Science Quarterly

Constructing a Distant Future: Imaginaries in Geoengineering
Authors: G Augustine, S Soderstrom, D Milner, K Weber
Published Date: 2019
Source: Academy of Management Journal

From Paradoxical Thinking to Practicing Sustainable Business: The Role of a Business Collective Organization in Supporting Entrepreneurs
Authors: SB Soderstrom, KL Heinze
Published Date: 2019
Source: Organization & Environment

Empowering Climate Leaders: An Open Resourcing Approach to Issue Selling
Authors: T Schifeling, SB Soderstrom
Published Date: 2019
Source: Academy of Management Proceedings

Playing Multiple Positions: Student-Athlete Identity Salience and Conflict
Authors: LD Lu, KL Heinze, S Soderstrom
Published Date: 2018
Source: Journal of Intercollegiate Sport

Navigating the Paradoxes of Sustainability
Authors: J Jay, S Soderstrom, G Grant
Published Date: 2017
Source: The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Paradox

Cultivating Detroit: Mobilizing good food entrepreneurs
Authors: SB Soderstrom, KL Heinze
Published Date: 2017
Source: Academy of Management Proceedings

In Their Words

“If organizations are not engaging a diversity of employees nor respecting their talents in an equitable way, they are losing out. Ultimately, the activities carried out by the organization will never be as good as they can be. As we face crises like climate change and injustice, we rely, now more than ever, on business innovations that move us towards a more equitable, sustainable future.”
–Sara Soderstrom