Orla Stapleton is assistant professor of development studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs who specializes in organizational sociology, cultural sociology, and qualitative methods. Her main research interest overlaps social interaction, constructing social solidarity, and business in community. She has been a Kellogg Institute faculty fellow since 2024.
Stapleton’s research has been published in the American Sociological Review, the Journal of Operations Management, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Her research won the 2020 Clifford Geertz Award for Best Article from the Culture Section of the American Sociological Association. She has also received best paper awards from the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the Midwest Sociological Society, and the North-Central Sociological Association.
Stapleton also is an award-winning instructor and has published four pedagogical case studies with teaching notes at the European Case Clearing House.
Prior to joining the Keough School, Stapleton held research positions in the Humanitarian Research Group at INSEAD and in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She holds a PhD in sociology from Indiana University, as well as postgraduate degrees in humanities from New York University and in development studies from SOAS University of London.