Ellen Auster's research interests center on strengthening strategic capabilities and the dynamics of strategic organizational change. A persistent theme in her work is creating shared leadership, stakeholder inclusive, value creating approaches that inspire innovation and enable the firm to cultivate the short and long-run capabilities needed for continuous evolution and success. Adopting a multi-theoretical approach, recent projects focus on: the dynamics of stragility; exploring the intersection between leadership, values and authenticity; navigating the politics and emotions of change; analyzing the barriers to social justice in promotion decisions at the top, and strategies for emerging economy firms. She has also written on pedagogy and business teaching.