Martha Feldman

Martha Feldman is a Professor at the University of California, Irvine, renowned for transforming organizational studies through her development of Routine Dynamics and contributions to public management. Her research focuses on how practices enable organizational change, with cross-disciplinary impact in management theory, sociology, and qualitative methodology.

Education includes a PhD supervised by James G. March, preceded by studies in French and Political Science. Pivotal experiences include ethnographic work at the Department of Energy and observational studies of university housing routines that challenged conventional stability assumptions.

Research spans three core domains: (1) Routine Dynamics examining how routines generate organizational flexibility; (2) Public Management analyzing inclusive governance practices; and (3) Qualitative Methods demystifying analytical processes through frameworks like methodological bricolage.

Awards include:

• EGOS Honorary Membership (2022)
• Two honorary doctorates
• Multiple best paper awards

She founded the Routine Dynamics scholarly community through EGOS Standing Working Groups and maintains key collaborations with Brian Pentland (routine theory), Karen Locke (qualitative analysis), and Anne Khademian (public engagement).