Indiana University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University
Amber L. Stephenson, Ph.D., MPH, is an Associate Professor at Clarkson University in the David D. Reh School of Business. Stephenson teaches organizational behavior and organization theory courses, such as health systems management and structural dynamics of healthcare organizations in the Healthcare Management MBA program. Previously, Stephenson was the director and senior research associate at Temple University’s Nonprofit Evaluation Services and Training program, where she managed research, evaluation, programming, and capacity building exercises for partner organizations and created the International Nonprofit Training and Leadership (INTL) graduate certificate program. Stephenson received her doctorate in Administration and Leadership Studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of public health from West Chester University. She is a member of the Academy of Management (AOM, Health Care Management, Organizational Behavior, and Gender & Diversity in Organization Divisions), AcademyHealth, and American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).
One stream of my research investigates how women leaders experience gender bias. I have examined gender-based barriers and collaborated on the creation and validation of scale to measure how women leaders experience bias, conducted a cross industry comparison across four industries in the US, and investigated different aspects of the gender wage gap. This research has also informed my participation as Senior Personnel in the University's NSF ADVANCE grant.
Another stream of my research examines how professional identity, or defining the self-concept by affiliation with a professional role, affects perceptions and behaviors among the health care workforce. I have examined organizational and professional identification as it relates to a variety of behavioral and attitudinal outcomes like donations, promotion, and competitive attitude towards out-groups; how it can act as as a mechanism of optimizing engagement or creating brand advocates; and used social identity theory to further investigate potential problems in eliciting positive organizational behaviors after rebranding.
- John W. Graham, Jr. Faculty Research Award (2021)
- David D. Reh School of Business Service Excellence Award (2021)
- David D. Reh School of Business Teaching Excellence Award (2018)
- AcademyHealth Presidential Scholarship (2016)
- Nominated Attendee at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Leadership Conference for Women (2011)
- 23rd Annual Doctoral Fellowship Award (2010)
Diehl, A. B., Stephenson, A. L., & Dzubinski, L. M. (2022). Research: How Bias Against Women Persists in Female-Dominated Workplaces. Harvard Business Review. Available at https://hbr.org/2022/03/research-how-bias-against-women-persists-in-female-dominated-workplaces
Stephenson, A. L., Diehl, A. B. & Dzubinski, L. M. (2022). Cross industry comparison of gender bias experienced by women leaders. Personnel Review. Forthcoming.
Sullivan, E., Stephenson, A. L., & Hoffman, A. R. (2021). Engaging physicians in leadership: Motivations, challenges, and identity-based considerations. Journal of Healthcare Management. Forthcoming.
Stephenson, A. L., Raj, M., Thomas, S., Sullivan, E., DePuccio, M., Fleuren, B., & McAlearney, A. (2021). Reconceptualizing family caregivers as part of the health care team. Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy, 6, 20.
Stephenson, A. L., Tietschert, M., Hoff, T., Singer, S., & D’Aunno, T. (2021). Theoretically speaking: A user’s guide to theory exposition in publishing health care management research. Journal of Health Administration Education. Forthcoming.
Upadhyay, S., Stephenson, A. L., & Weech-Maldonado, R. (2021). Hospital cultural competency and attributes of patient safety culture: A study of US hospitals. Journal of Patient Safety. Forthcoming.
Raj, M. DePuccio, M., Stephenson, A. L., Sullivan, E., Lai, A., Fleuren, B., Sriharan, A., McAlearney, A. S. & Thomas, S. (2020). New ways of providing care mean new ways of receiving care: Recommendations for addressing evolving patient concerns during and beyond COVID-19. The American Journal of Managed Care, In press.
Lai, A., Thomas, S. C., Sullivan, E., Fleuren, B., Raj, M., DePuccio, M., Stephenson, A. L., & McAlearney, A. S. (2020). COVID-19 and the primary care workforce: Adjusting to rapid change in new roles and settings. Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy, 4(31), 104.
Yerger, D. B., & Stephenson, A. L. (2020). Advocating the use of threshold effects estimation: An illustration using the gender wage gap. Human Resource Development Quarterly, In press.
Diehl, A. B., Stephenson, A. L., Dzubinski, L.M., & Wang, D. C. (2020). Measuring the invisible: Development and multi-industry validation of the Gender Bias Scale for women leaders. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 31, 249-280.
Stephenson, A. L., Heckert, D. A., & Yerger, D. B. (2020). Examining college student retention: A closer look at low self-control. International Journal of Educational Management, 34(5), 953-964.
Upadhyay, S., Weech-Maldonado, R., Lemak, C. H., Stephenson, A. L., & Smith, D. G. (2019). Hospital staffing patterns and safety culture perceptions: The mediating role of perceived teamwork and perceived handoffs. Health Care Management Review, Forthcoming.
Stephenson, A. L., & Bell, N. M. (2019). Social identity and the prison health worker: Implications for practitioner satisfaction and turnover intentions. Health Care Management Review, 44(4), 286-295.
Upadhyay, S., Stephenson, A. L., & Smith, D. (2019). Readmission rates and their impact on hospital financial performance: A study of Washington hospitals. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 56, 1-10.
Stephenson, A. L., Radford, K., Upadhyay, S., & Williams, E. (2019). For your review: Insights from seasoned reviewers and editors on the peer-review process. Journal of Health Administration Education, 36(2), 217-232.
Stephenson, A. L., & Bell, N. M. (2019). Finding meaningful work in difficult circumstances: A study of prison health workers. Health Services Management Research, 32(2), 1-9.
Upadhyay, S., Weech-Maldonado, R., Lemak, C. H., Stephenson, A. L., Mehta, T., & Smith, D. G. (2018). Resource based view on safety culture’s influence on hospital performance: The moderating role of EHR implementation. Health Care Management Review, 45(3), 0-00.
Lock, M., Stephenson, A. L., Branford, J., Roche, J., Edwards, M. K., & Ryan, K. (2017). Voice of the clinician: The case of an Australian health system. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 31(6), 665-678.
Stephenson, A. L. (2016). Journey toward evidence-based: Seeking admission to formal program registries. Health Promotion Practice, 18(5), 681-689. DOI: 10.1177/1524839916670575.
Stephenson, A. L., & Yerger, D. B. (2016). How pretrial expectations and anticipated obstacles impact brand identification. Journal of Promotion Management. DOI: 10.1080/10496491.2016.1214207.
Stephenson, A. L., Heckert, D. A., & Yerger, D. B. (2016). College choice and the university brand: Exploring the consumer decision framework. Higher Education, 71(4), 489-503.
Stephenson, A. L. & Yerger, D. B. (2015). The role of satisfaction on alumni perceptions and supportive behaviors. Services Marketing Quarterly, 36(4), 299-316.
Stephenson, A. L. & Yerger, D. B. (2014). Optimizing alumni engagement: The effect of brand identification on alumni donation behaviors. International Journal of Educational Management, 28(7), 765-778.
Stephenson, A. L., & Bell, N.M. (2014). Motivation for alumni donations: a social identity perspective on the role of branding in higher education. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 19(3), 176–186.
Stephenson, A. L. & Yerger, D. B. (2014). Does brand identification transform alumni into university brand advocates? International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 11, 243–262.
Bell, N.M., & Stephenson, A. L. (2014). Variation in motivations by running ability: Using the theory of reasoned action to predict attitudes about running 5K races. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 6(3), 231-247.
Stephenson, A. L. (2013). The role of organizational identity in the YMCA rebrand of 2010. Sociological Perspectives, 29(1), 101-119.