Katina Sawyer

Katina Sawyer joined the Eller College of Management in 2022. Before coming to Eller, she worked as an Assistant Professor of Management at the George Washington University and as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Human Resource Development at Villanova University. She earned a dual-PhD in Psychology (Industrial-Organizational) and Women's Studies from the Pennsylvania State University in 2012 and a BA in Psychology from Villanova University in 2006. Her research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations, positive organizational scholarship, and employee well-being. She has received research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Society for Human Resource Management, as well as various early-career research awards. She has also received both national and university-wide early-career teaching awards. Finally, in alignment with her focus on practical impact, she was awarded with the Presidential Scientist-Practitioner Distinction from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2019. 

Selected Publications

• Sawyer, K.B. & Clair, J. (2022). Hope cultures in organizations: Tackling the grand challenge of commercial sex exploitation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 67, 289-338.
• Sawyer, K.B., Thoroughgood, C.N., Stillwell, E., Duffy, M, Scott, K.B., & Adair, L. (2022). Being present and being thankful: A multi-study investigation of mindfulness, gratitude, and employee helping behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107, 240-262. 
• Thoroughgood, C.N., Sawyer, K.B., & Webster, J. (2021). Because you’re worth the risks: Acts of oppositional courage as symbolic messages of relational value to transgender employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106, 399-411.
• Salter, N., Sawyer, K.B., & Gebhardt, S. (2021). How does intersectionality impact work attitudes? The effect of layered group memberships in a field sample. Journal of Business and Psychology, 36, 1035-1052. 
• Zagenczyk, T.J., Purvis, R.L., Cruz, K., Thoroughgood, C.N., & Sawyer, K.B. (2021). Context and social exchange: perceived ethical climate strengthens the relationships between perceived organizational support and organizational identification and commitment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32, 4752-4771. 
• Sawyer, K.B. (2021). When objectivity is out of reach: Learnings from conducting research with commercially sexually exploited women. Academy of Management Perspectives, 3, 367-383. 
• Thoroughgood, C.N., Sawyer, K.B., & Webster, J. (2020). Finding calm in the storm: A daily investigation of how trait mindfulness buffers against paranoid cognition and emotional exhaustion following perceived discrimination at work. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 159, 49-63
• Sawyer, K.B., Young, S. & Thoroughgood, C., & Dominquez, K. (2020). Does reducing male domination in teams attenuate or intensify the harmful effects of perceived discrimination on women’s job satisfaction? A test of competing hypotheses. Applied Psychology, 69, 557-577. 
• Siegel, J. A., & Sawyer, K. B. (2019). Eating disorders in the workplace: A qualitative investigation of women’s experiences. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43, 37- 58. 
• Houston, L., Grandey, A., & Sawyer, K.B. (2018). Who cares if “service with a smile” is authentic? An expectancy-based model of customer race and differential service reactions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 144, 85-96. 
• Webster, J., Maranto, C., Adams, G, Sawyer, K.B., & Thoroughgood, C. (2018). Workplace contextual supports for LGBT employees: A meta- analytic review and agenda for future research. Human Resource Management, 57, 193-210.
• Sawyer, K.B., Thoroughgood, C.N., & Ladge, J. (2017). Invisible families, invisible conflicts: Examining the added layer of work-family conflict for employees with LGB families. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103, 23-39.
• Martinez, L.R., Sawyer, K.B., & Wilson, M.C. (2017). Understanding the experiences, attitudes, and behaviors of sexual orientation and gender identity minority employees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103, 1-6. 
• Thoroughgood, C.N., Sawyer, K.B. & Webster, J. (2017). What lies beneath: How paranoid cognition explains the relations between transgender employees' perceptions of discrimination at work and their job attitudes and wellbeing. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103, 99-112.
• Thoroughgood, C.N. & Sawyer, K.B. (2018). Who wants to follow the leader? An examination of follower identities in determining leader preference. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33, 181-202.
• Thoroughgood, C.N., Sawyer, K.B., & Padilla, A. (2018) Destructive leadership: Beyond leader- centrism and toward a holistic conceptual framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 151, 627-649. 
• Martinez, L., Sawyer, K.B., & Thoroughgood, C.N., & Ruggs, E., & Smith, N. (2017). The importance of being “me”: The relation between authentic identity expression and transgender employees’ work-related attitudes and experiences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102, 215-226.22.

Awards and Honors

• 2022 Outstanding Publication in Positive Organizational Scholarship award from the Center for Positive Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
• Editors Commendation from the Journal of Business and Psychology (Salter, Sawyer, & Gebhardt, 2022).
• Dean’s Emerging Scholar Award, George Washington University School of Business (2020)
• Outstanding Master of Human Resource Management Faculty Award, George Washington University, School of Business, Master’s in HRM program (2020)
• Reviewer of the Year Award from the Journal of Organizational Behavior (2019)
• SIOP Scientist-Practitioner Presidential Distinction (2019
• Finalist for Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research (Sawyer, Thoroughgood, & Ladge, 2017)
• Editors Commendation from the Journal of Business and Psychology (Thoroughgood & Sawyer, 2018)
• SIOP’s LGBT Research Award (2016, 2017, 2018)
• Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2017
• Dr. Terry Nance Award for Teaching and Engagement Excellence – Center for Access, Success and Achievement, Villanova University (2016)
• Mary Roth Walsh Teaching of the Psychology of Women Award – American Psychological Association (2016)
• American Psychological Association, Division 35, Section IV Early Career Researcher Award (2016
• Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award – Villanova University, Honors College (2015)
• Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award – Villanova University (2014)
• HR Rising Star of the Year Award – Delaware Valley, Nominee (2013)
• Powerful Voice Award for work on gender equality – Women’s Way (2014)
• Organizational Citizenship Behavior Award - Penn State I/O Psychology Program (2008)
• Member of Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society and Psi Chi Honors Society

Editorial Boards and Service

• Journal of Applied Psychology - Editorial Board (2021-present)
• Journal of Organizational Behavior - Editorial Board (2018-present)
• Journal of Business and Psychology - Editorial Board (2015-present)
• Guest Editor, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Special Issue (“Women in Leadership”)
• Guest Editor, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Special Issue (“Understanding the Experiences, Attitudes and Behaviors of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Minority Employees”)