Dana Sumpter

Dana Sumpter
Associate Professor
Pepperdine University
dana.sumpter@pepperdine.edu
Website

Related Research Interests

My research employs a cross-cultural lens in understanding social behavior at work, studying topics including energy, mindfulness, power, and work relationships. I’ve published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Human Resource Management, Organizational Dynamics, and Perspectives on Psychological Science. In addition, I’ve written several book chapters, for the Long Beach Business Journal, and have been quoted in HR Magazine.

My research has received grants from the Center for Innovation Research in Cultural Intelligence and Leadership, and the Center for Organizational Research. I’m a co-founder of the Mindfulness at Work micro-community of scholars, and am a member of the Positive Relationships at Work micro-community of scholars (both through the Positive Organizational Scholarship community). Previously, I was a Vice President of HR at Citigroup, based in New York and Singapore. Across 10 Asia-Pacific nations, I led live executive trainings and coached executives on HR and people management skills.

I am curious about work relationship processes, including the dynamics of how positive work relationships are formed, nourished, and maintained; how less-than-positive relationships are tolerated, improved, or repaired; and the interpersonal processes (including interactions) that provide the grounding for long-term work relationships. As a qualitative scholar, I seek understanding of more inductive and exploratory research questions related to work relationships.

Related Publications

  • Sumpter, D. M., Gibson, C. B., & Porath, C. (2017). Act Expediently, with Autonomy: Vicarious Learning, Empowered Behaviors, and Performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32(2), 131-145.
  • Owens, B. P., Baker, W. E., Sumpter, D. M., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Relational energy at work: Implications for job engagement and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(1), 35.
  • Kopelman,S., Feldman, E., McDaniel, D.M., and Hall, D.T.  2012.  “Mindfully Negotiating a Career with a Heart” Organizational Dynamics. 41: 163-171.
  • McDaniel, D.M.  2011. Energy at Work: A Multinational, Cross-Situational Investigation of Relational Energy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Irvine.
  • Sumpter, D.M., Gibson, C.B., Phan, J. & Porath, C.  In press. Vicarious empowerment as a novel mechanism for empowering high power distance employees. Forthcoming at Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
  • Mills, M., Reina, C. & Sumpter, D.M. In press. Bringing our humanness to the workplace: Fostering reflection and reflexivity via mindful relating. Forthcoming at Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
  • Reina, C., Mills, M. & Sumpter, D.M. In press. A mindful relating framework for understanding the trajectory of work relationships. Forthcoming at Personnel Psychology.
  • Sumpter, D.M. & Gibson, C.G. 2023.  Riding the wave to recovery: Relational energy as an HR managerial resource for employees during crisis recovery. Human Resource Management. 62(4): 581-613.  https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22117 *Special issue on Relational perspectives on human resource management.
  • Sumpter, D.M. & Gibson, C.B. 2023. Enhancing work relationships across cultures:  The role of energy In cross-cultural work interactions.  International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 23(1):193-214.  https://doi.org/10.1177/14705958231155009