James Combs, Ph.D.

Della Phillips Martha Schenck Chair of American Private Enterprise and Professor of Management

James Combs, Ph.D.

Biography

.Jim earned his BS and MBA at UCF before receiving his Ph.D. in strategic management from Louisiana State University. He has served as an Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Journal and Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice. He is a past President of the Southern Management Association where he is also a Fellow. Jim has also served on the Academy of Management’s divisional boards for Business Policy & Strategy and Entrepreneurship divisions.

Teaching / Research Interest
Jim teaches strategic management and entrepreneurship at the undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D. levels. His research interest include franchising, the role of family dynamics in family firms, the factors that foster entreprenurship in family firms, franchising, corporate governance, especially in the family firm context.

Areas of Expertise
• Franchising
• Family Business
• Corporate Governance/Executive Compensation

Research & Consulting Activity
His research appears in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, and Organizational Research Methods. For a full listing, please see his Google Scholar page: Here

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In the News

  • WSJ: The Downside of Independent Boards
    Boards that are too independent can lead to lower profits, excessive CEO pay and more financial fraud, according to research by James Combs, Ph.D., the Della Phillips Martha Schenck Chair of American Private Enterprise and Professor of Management at the University of Central Florida.
  • Salaries of Local CEOs Decline
    The CEOs of Central Florida's publicly traded companies took a pay cut of nearly 11 percent in the last year they reported salaries, led by big cuts for executives at Darden Restaurants and Harris Corp.

Research and Publications

  • WSJ: The Downside of Independent Boards
    Boards that are too independent can lead to lower profits, excessive CEO pay and more financial fraud, according to research by James Combs, Ph.D., the Della Phillips Martha Schenck Chair of American Private Enterprise and Professor of Management at the University of Central Florida.