James Davis
Executive Director of Executive Education; MBA Program Director; Vernon M. and MaRee C. Buehler Endowed Professor of Management
Department(s):- Marketing and Strategy
- Master of Business Administration

Education
PhD, Corporate Strategy, University of Iowa, 1991
MEd, Brigham Young University, 1986
MBA, Idaho State University, 1980
BA, Brigham Young University, 1978
Interactions
Huntsman School Graduate Convocation Address - May 3, 2024
Quote
“We need to have better vision. More than anything in this world we need vision because we don’t see far enough; we don’t see clearly enough; and we don’t see it soon enough.”
- James Davis
Links
Biography
James H. Davis has been with Utah State University since 2011. He is the Vernon M. and MaRee C. Buehler Endowed Professor of Management and serves as the Executive Director of Executive Education. He received his Ph.D. in corporate strategy from the University of Iowa, M.B.A. from Idaho State University and M.Ed. and B.A. from Brigham Young University. His areas of specialization are strategic planning, family business, change management, entrepreneurship, and international management.
Prior to arriving at Utah State University, Dr. Davis was a Professor at the University of Notre Dame. He was the founding director of the nationally recognized Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. In the 10 years, he served as director for the center, it was consistently ranked among the top 20 programs of the country and received the NASDAQ Center of Excellence Award. At Notre Dame, Professor Davis was named the John F. O’Shaughnessy Chair of Family Enterprises and the Ray and Milan Siegfried Director of Entrepreneurial Studies. In 2005, he was given the University of Notre Dame President’s Award for his contributions to the University. He received the Notre Dame College of Business M.B.A. Outstanding Professor of the Year award in 1996, 1998 and 1999. He was named Outstanding Professor by Purdue University’s German International School of Management Administration in 2001. He was recognized as the 2002 Inspirational Teacher of the Year for Notre Dame’s executive programs. He received a Kaneb award for outstanding undergraduate teaching in 2003.
His research interests and publications are in the areas of corporate governance, strategic decision-making, trust, stewardship, and social capital. His articles have appeared in many publications including the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Management Education and International Journal of Value-Based Management. The Academy of Management recently recognized his research on trust as the best theoretical research of the second decade. He has served on the editorial boards for the Academy of Management Review and Business Horizons. He now serves on the board for Journal of Venture Capital and the Journal of Trust Research.
Professor Davis has designed and taught executive development workshops to a wide range of corporations and trade associations throughout the world. He has worked with a number of companies with strategic planning throughout the world including Continental Tire (Europe, China, India, Malaysia, Brazil), Sennheiser (Germany, North America), Koerber (Germany, China), Bayer (North America and Germany), Lanxess (North America and Germany), Far Eastern Group (Taiwan), Commodities Exchange and Government of Estonia, Cape Union Mart (South Africa) and Seminarium (Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, etc). He designed an experiential learning approach at the University of Notre Dame that has partnered Notre Dame College of Business Students with hundreds of organizations (for and not-for-profit) throughout the world.
Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Davis, J., Allen, M.R, Hayes, D., (2011). Stewardship and Trust in Family Business: Is Blood Thicker than Water?. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34:6, 1093-1116.
- M.R, B.P, Davis, J., G.M, (2011). The effects of changing power and influence tactics on trust in the supervisor: A longitudinal field study. Journal of Trust Research
- Davis, J., St. Marys College, R.J, Indiana University, L.M, St. Marys College, R.U, (2010). Character development in business education: A comparison of coeducational and single-sex environments.. Journal of Management Education
- Davis, J., Ruhe, J., Lee, M., (2008). Trust: An intercultural comparison of consumer perceptions. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 18:2, 150-165.
- Davis, J., Winthrop University, F.S, Indiana University, V.D, Winthrop University, H.V, (2007). An empirical test of stewardship theory. Journal of Business and Leadership: Research, Practice, and Teaching, 3:1, 40-50.
- Frankforter, S., Davis, J., Vollrath, D.A, Hill, V., (2007). Determinants of Governance Structure Among Companies: A Test of Agency Predictions. International Journal Of Management, 24:3, 454-462.
- Davis, J., Carter, S., Young, C., (2007). IPO boards of directors and firm performance: Threshold firms and governance theory boundaries. Corporate Ownership and Control, 4:2, 162-170.
- D, S., R, M., Davis, J., (2007). An integrative model of organizational trust: Past, Present, and Future. Academy of Management Review, 32:2, 344-354.
- Davis, J., Davis, J.H, Ruhe, J.A, Lee, M., Urajadhy, U., (2006). Mission Possible: Do School Mission Statements Work?. Journal of Business Ethics, 70, 99-110.
Books
- Urbany, J.E, Davis, J., (2010). Grow By Focusing on What Matters: Competitive Strategy in 3 Circles. Business Expert Press
- Davis, J., Saxton, T., Allen, M., (2009). Go to Market: What To Do After the Business Plan is Written. Prentice Hall
Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.