Her research examines the influences of the market environment, the demographic composition of the organization, and an organization's formal and informal social structures on individuals' work experiences. Her most current work focuses on the formation of informal status hierarchies among coworkers in organizations, and status differences associated with demographic diversity. Her research has appeared in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, and Research in Managing Groups and Teams. Prior to her appointment to the Johnson School, she was an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Yale University. She first came to the Johnson School as a visiting associate professor in 2005-06. Spataro received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and her BA in economics and MA in sociology from Stanford University.