Elisabeth Yang - Research

I am an organizational ethnographer and qualitative field researcher. I study work, technology, and frontline worker empowerment in the context of organizational and technological changes, either planned or unexpected.

AI and the Future of Work and Organizations

My first stream of research examines how organizations and their employees develop, use, and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) tools into their work.

The first paper from my dissertation centers on the use of a predictive AI model for patient deterioration. It examines how a specialized team of nurses served as “algorithmic brokers” by mediating between the AI system and their clinical colleagues to prevent patient emergencies.

My ongoing research in this stream includes examining AI development and governance processes in a radiology department, investigating how AI use affects learning and expertise, and exploring how translators and interpreters are navigating the disruptions brought by generative AI to their profession.

Images from Unsplash

Frontline Voice and Empowerment

My second stream of research focuses on understanding how organizations can heed frontline expertise and concerns. I uncover the barriers that prevent frontline insights from reaching decision-makers, identify innovative solutions that organizations can implement, and lay out practices that frontline workers can employ to amplify their voices and ensure their expertise is heard.

The second paper from my dissertation uncovers a novel structural solution, which we term a “voice conduit,” that ensures frontline concerns are continuously raised and heard within local teams characterized by conditions undermining psychological safety.

My published work “Opportunistic Change During a Punctuation: How and When the Front Lines Can Drive Bursts of Incremental Change” (co-authored with Julia DiBenigno), finds that, during unexpected environmental jolts, frontline staff can opportunistically employ a novel set of change advocacy tactics not only to initiate their long-desired yet previously stalled ideas, but also to sustain these changes as part of normal operations.

Research Publications

Yang, E. and DiBenigno J. 2025. Opportunistic Change During a Punctuation: How and When the Frontlines Can Drive Bursts of Incremental Change. Organization Science, 36(1), 40-64.

Sangal, R., Wrzesniewski, A., DiBenigno, J. Reid, E., Ulrich, A. Liebhardt, B. Bray, A., Yang, E., Eun, E., Venkatesh, A. and M. King. 2021. Work team identification associated with less stress and burnout among front-line emergency department staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic. British Medical Journal – Leader. Volume 5:51-54.

Manuscripts Under Review

Yang, E. and DiBenigno, J. Scaffolding Psychological Safety in Unstable Teams. Revise and Resubmit at Organization Science.

*Coff, J., *Yang, E., Assavabhokhin, A., Wiesenfeld, B. Molded by The Ghost: How Physicians Use–and Cease Using–Predictive AI to Learn a New Mental Model. Revise and Resubmit at Academy of Management Discoveries.

Research in Progress

Yang, E. To Err is Algorithmic: How Organizations Can Derive Value from Imperfect Predictive Algorithms (Job market paper, preparing for submission).

Yang, E. and Wiesenfeld, B. Choreographing Tensions: How a Radiology Department Orchestrates AI Governance Amid Uncertainty (Data analysis and writing stage)

Yang, E. Breadcrumbs Over Breakthroughs? Exploring the Unintended Consequences of Organizational Policies and Programs Designed to Promote Frontline Change Ideas (Additional data collection)