Jane Lê is an Associate Professor working at the boundary of Organization Theory and Strategic Management at The University of Sydney Business School. Her research focuses on practice-based studies of complex contexts, particularly infrastructure settings like energy, telecoms, rail and water that critically underpin our economy and quality of life.
She fosters particular interests in paradox and materiality. She aims to conduct research at the highest level, producing quality research outputs with real world relevance. Her work has appeared in a number of leading journals including Organization Science, Organization Studies, Strategic Organization, British Journal of Management, International Journal of HRM, and Organization.
Dr. Lê has a strong profile in her focal field of strategy-as-practice, where she currently leads the Research Community Platform at the European Group for Organizational Studies and is Incoming Chair for the Strategizing Activities and Practice interest group at the Academy of Management. However, her training in psychology and sociology, and breadth of experience working in human resource management, strategy and organizational studies, position her well to understand and appreciate work conducted along a broad spectrum of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Dr. Lê has developed strong expertise in research methods, having used a range of research designs, including cross-sectional and longitudinal case studies, and drawing on multiple qualitative data sources including interviews, observation and archival sources to study private and public sector organizations. She was recently successful in securing a highly competitive ARC Discovery Grant entitled ‘The Human Side of Energy Security’, which will examine how organisational practices and processes shape outcomes for secure, reliable and affordable energy with low environmental impact. Dr. Lê is also a passionate teacher, who strives to continuously engage with students and develops innovative ways to teach. She uses diverse teaching and assessment tools – including exercises involving LEGO and card games, as well as real-life simulations – to make learning more interesting and effective. Her student feedback is continuously above average. Dr. Lê’s core teaching areas are strategic management and research methods, though her versatile profile also positions her well to teach strategic human resource management, organisational behaviour, organisational change, organization theory, and management. She has taught on programs at all levels, including the MBA, PhD, MPhil, MComm/MSc and the BComm/BSc. These activities are supported by pedagogic training through a Postgraduate Certificate of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, as well as continuous professional development activities. For instance, she has built and manages a repository of teaching materials and co-organizes a successful recurring teaching workshop at the Academy of Management. She frequently receives invitations to teach and deliver training workshops at other institutions. Dr. Lê is a fervent advocate of research training. She enjoys mentoring doctoral and early career researchers, and has actively supervised more than 20 research students.
