James Westphal

Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration
Professor of Strategy
Co-Director of ICOS

Education
BA University of California
Davis
PhD Northwestern University
Biography

Jim conducts research in the areas of strategic management and organizational theory, with a focus on social and psychological processes in corporate governance and strategic decision making. He previously served as Division Chair of the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management and as Representative-at-Large of the Organization and Management Theory (OMT) Division of the Academy. Jim has received the Best Paper Award from the OMT Division of the Academy on five occasions (1994, 1996, 2006, 2011, and 2013), and he received the Saroj Parasuraman Outstanding Publication Award from the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division of the Academy in 2014. He received the Researcher of the Year Award in 2007 and 2014 and the University of Texas College of Business Administration Award for Research Excellence in 2000-2001 and 2006-2007. He was elected to the Macro-Organizational Behavior Society in 2004, the Fellows of the Academy of Management in 2011, and the Fellows of the Strategic Management Society in 2019. In 2005-2006 he was a Harrington Faculty Fellow. Jim's research has been referenced in Business Week, CNBC, The Economist, The Financial Times, Fortune, Harpers, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other publications. He has taught courses in strategic management and organizational behavior at the undergraduate, M.B.A., and Ph.D. levels.

Latest Faculty News & Research
Seeking input when the train has left the station: The decoupling of participative strategic decision-making processes and the role of new technology in symbolic management.
Authors
Westphal, J.D., Zhu, D.H., and Kunapuli, R.
Published Date
08/2023
Authors
Westphal, J.D., Zhu, D.H., and Kunapuli, R.
Source
Strategic Organization
Volume
21
Issue
4
Pages
741-771
Systemic Symbolic Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Purpose: A Cautionary Tale
Authors
Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
08/2023
Authors
Westphal, J.D.
Source
Strategy Science
Volume
8
Pages
221-232
Birds of a feather flock (even more) together: An intergroup relations perspective on how #MeToo-related media coverage affects the evaluation of prospective corporate directors.
Authors
Bednar, M.K., Westphal, J.D., and McDonald M.L.
Published Date
2022
Authors
Bednar, M.K., Westphal, J.D., and McDonald M.L.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
43
Pages
2313-2350
From help to harm: Increases in status, perceived under-reciprocation, and the consequences for access to strategic help and social undermining among top managers.
Authors
Keeves, G. and Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2021
Authors
Keeves, G. and Westphal, J.D.
Source
Organization Science
Volume
32
Issue
4
Pages
909-1148
Structural power, corporate strategy, and performance
Authors
Zhu, D.H., and Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2021
Authors
Zhu, D.H., and Westphal, J.D.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
42
Issue
3
Pages
624-651
Capitalizing on categories of social construction: A review and integration of organizational research on symbolic management strategies.
Authors
Schnackenberg, A., Bundy, J., Coen, C., and Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2019
Authors
Schnackenberg, A., Bundy, J., Coen, C., and Westphal, J.D.
Source
Academy of Management Annals
Volume
13
Issue
2
Pages
375-413
Under the radar: How firms manage competitive uncertainty by appointing friends of other CEOs to their boards.
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Zhu, D.H.
Published Date
2019
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Zhu, D.H.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
40
Issue
1
Pages
79-107
Those closest wield the sharpest knife? How ingratiation leads to resentment and social undermining of the CEO.
Authors
Keeves, G., Westphal, J.D., and McDonald, M.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Keeves, G., Westphal, J.D., and McDonald, M.
Source
Administrative Science Quarterly
Volume
62
Issue
3
Pages
484-523
Persona non grata? Determinants and consequences of social distancing from journalists who engage in negative coverage of firm leadership.
Authors
Shani, G., and Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2016
Authors
Shani, G., and Westphal, J.D.
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
59
Issue
1
Pages
302-329
Psyched-up to suck-up: Self-regulated cognition, interpersonal influence, and recommendations for board appointments in the corporate elite.
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Shani, G.
Published Date
2016
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Shani, G.
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
59
Issue
2
Pages
479-509
Predicting organizational identification at the CEO level.
Authors
Lange, D.A., Boivie, S., and Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2015
Authors
Lange, D.A., Boivie, S., and Westphal, J.D.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
36
Issue
8
Pages
1224-1244
How directors' prior experience with other demographically similar CEOs affects their appointments onto corporate boards and the consequences for CEO compensation.
Authors
Zhu, D. and Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2014
Authors
Zhu, D. and Westphal, J.D.
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
57
Issue
3
Pages
791-813
A behavioral theory of corporate governance: Explicating the mechanisms of socially situated and socially constituted agency.
Authors
James Westphal, Edward Zajac
Published Date
2013
Authors
James Westphal, Edward Zajac
Source
Academy of Management Annals
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
607-661
Social discrimination in the corporate elite: How status affects the propensity for minority CEOs to receive blame for low firm performance.
Authors
Sun Hyun Park, James Westphal
Published Date
2013
Authors
Sun Hyun Park, James Westphal
Source
Administrative Science Quarterly
Volume
58
Issue
4
Pages
542-586
Helping other CEOs avoid bad press: Social exchange and impression management support among CEOs in communications with journalists.
Authors
James Westphal, Sun Hyun Park, Michael L. McDonald, Mathew L.A. Hayward
Published Date
2012
Authors
James Westphal, Sun Hyun Park, Michael L. McDonald, Mathew L.A. Hayward
Source
Administrative Science Quarterly
Volume
57
Issue
2
Pages
217-268
Unintended agency: Impression management support as a trigger of institutional change in corporate governance.
Authors
James Westphal, Sun Hyun Park
Published Date
2012
Authors
James Westphal, Sun Hyun Park
Source
Research in Organizational Behavior
Volume
32
Issue
0
Pages
23-46
Avoiding bad press: Interpersonal influence in relations between CEOs and journalists and the consequences for press reporting about firms and their leadership
Authors
James Westphal, David Deephouse
Published Date
2011
Authors
James Westphal, David Deephouse
Source
Organization Science
Volume
22
Issue
4
Pages
1061-1086
Me or We: The Effects of CEO Organizational Identification on Agency Costs
Authors
Steven Boivie, Donald Lange, Michael McDonald, James Westphal
Published Date
2011
Authors
Steven Boivie, Donald Lange, Michael McDonald, James Westphal
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
54
Issue
3
Pages
551-576
Misperceiving the beliefs of others: How pluralistic ignorance contributes to the persistence of positive security analyst reactions to the adoption of stock repurchase plans
Authors
David Zhu, James Westphal
Published Date
2011
Authors
David Zhu, James Westphal
Source
Organization Science
Volume
22
Issue
4
Pages
869-886
My brother's keeper? CEO identification with the corporate elite, social support among CEOs, and leader effectiveness
Authors
Michael McDonald, James Westphal
Published Date
2011
Authors
Michael McDonald, James Westphal
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
54
Issue
4
Pages
661-693
Set up for a fall: The insidious effects of flattery and opinion conformity toward corporate leaders.
Authors
Sun Park, James Westphal, Ithai Stern
Published Date
2011
Authors
Sun Park, James Westphal, Ithai Stern
Source
Administrative Science Quarterly
Volume
56
Issue
2
Pages
257
A little help here? The effects of independent board control on CEO helping networks: A social identification perspective.
Authors
Michael McDonald, James Westphal
Published Date
2010
Authors
Michael McDonald, James Westphal
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
0
Issue
0
Pages
0
A matter of appearances: How corporate leaders manage the impressions of financial analysts about the conduct of their boards.
Authors
James Westphal, Melissa Graebner
Published Date
2010
Authors
James Westphal, Melissa Graebner
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
53
Issue
1
Pages
15-44
An Impression Management Perspective on Job Design: The Case of Corporate Directors.
Authors
James Westphal
Published Date
2010
Authors
James Westphal
Source
Journal of Organizational Behavior
Volume
31
Issue
0
Pages
319-327
Corporate governance and knowledge management: How board independence may increase CEO paranoia, and lead to increased top management team homophily.
Authors
Mason Carpenter, James Westphal, Michael McDonald
Published Date
2010
Authors
Mason Carpenter, James Westphal, Michael McDonald
Source
International Journal of Strategic Change Management
Volume
2
Issue
4
Pages
327-351
Stealthy footsteps to the boardroom: Executives? backgrounds, sophisticated interpersonal influence behavior, and board appointments.
Authors
Ithai Stern, James Westphal
Published Date
2010
Authors
Ithai Stern, James Westphal
Source
Administrative Science Quarterly
Volume
55
Issue
2
Pages
278-319
Strategic Management: State of the Field and its Future
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Garg, S.
Published Date
2021
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Garg, S.
Source
Oxford University Press
Pages
397-412
Boards of directors and strategic management in public firms and new ventures
Duhaime, I., Hitt, M., and Lyles, M.
A Journey Toward Influential Scholarship: Insights from Leading Management Scholars
Authors
Westphal, J.D.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Westphal, J.D.
Source
Oxford University Press
Making sense of a seemingly random walk: A path toward interdisciplinary scholarship, and how to avoid the pitfalls along the way.
X-P. Chen and H.K. Steensma
Symbolic Management: Governance, Strategy, and Institutions
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Park, S.H.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Westphal, J.D., and Park, S.H.
Source
Oxford University Press