James Vardaman - Department of Management

James Vardaman

Professor | PhD Coordinator | Free Enterprise Chair of Excellence

901.678.4551 FCBE 220 jvardamn@memphis.edu

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Dr. James Vardaman holds the Free Enterprise Chair of Excellence and is a Professor of Management in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, where he also serves as the Management PhD program coordinator. Dr. Vardaman’s research focuses on employee retention and reactions to change in entrepreneurial ventures, with a particular emphasis on the study of family businesses.

Dr. Vardaman is Senior Editor at Journal of Small Business Management and a member of the Editorial Review Board for Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Journal of Management. He is also a fellow of the Southern Management Association.

His research has been published in journals such as Organization Science, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Human Relations, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Family Business Review, and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.

Recent Publications

Lanivich, S.L., Amodako, S., Vardaman, J.M., Donbesuur, F., & Tang, T., (2025). Founder regulatory focus: Effects on entrepreneurial orientation and venture performance. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1535.
Vardaman, J.M., McLarty, B.M., & Carter, M.C. (2025). All is well until it isn’t: Socioemotional wealth congruence and employee behavior in family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 49(2), 435-460. https://10.1177/10422587241270638.
Vardaman, J.M., McLarty, B.M., Memili, E., Kotlar, J., & Liguori, E. (2024). The power of people in family firms. Journal of Small Business Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2024.2418863.
Antin Yates, V.M., Vardaman, J.M., McLarty, B.D., Kluemper, D., & Pollock, J. (2024). Bridging the Gap: The role of entrepreneurs’ egotism and structural hole occupancy in venture performance. Journal of Small Business Management, 63(3), 1365-1399. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2024.2382212.
Vardaman, J.M., Maher, L., Sterling, C., Allen, D., & Dhaenens, A. (2023). Collective friend group reactions to organizational change: A field theory approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1002/job/job.2706.
Vardaman, J.M. & Montague-Mfuni, M. (2023). Forced transgenerational succession: Insights from a South African family business. Journal of Small Business Management, 61(6), 2762-2787. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1937634
Antin-Yates, V.M., Vardaman, J.M., & Chrisman, J.J. (2023). Social network research in family businesses: A review and integration. Small Business Economics, 60, 1323-1345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-022-00665-y.
Vardaman, J.M., & Tabor, W.E. (2022). Crafting a retention strategy for your family business. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/09/crafting-a-retention-strategy-for-your-family-business?ab=hero-subleft-2
Vardaman, J.M., Markin, E., Penney, C.R., Marler, L., & McKee, D. (2022). Willing and able? The screening and adoption of habitual family venture opportunities. Family Business Review, 35(2), 126-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865211059467
Carr, J.C., Vardaman, J.M.,Marler, L.E., McLarty, B.D., & Blettner, D. (2021). Psychological antecedents of decision comprehensiveness and their relationship to decision quality and performance in family firms: An upper echelons perspective. Family Business Review, 34(1), 33-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486520917774
Vardaman, J.M., Amis, J.M, Wright, P., & Dyson, B. (2021). Reframing childhood obesity: The role of community interests in change implementation failure. Human Relations, 74(2), 258-285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726719899464
Tabor, W.E., & Vardaman, J.M. (2020). Succession in family firms: The importance of non-family buy-in. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/05/the-key-to-successful-succession-planning-for-family-businesses?ab=hero-subleft-3&fbclid=IwAR2z9JPU1K4bgSctSOEs-ivVpmQiSthJk67oC7r9R2diWAvThma5E8m8Y2k
Tabor, W.E., & Vardaman, J.M. (2020). How family businesses can attract quality non-family employees. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/02/how-family-businesses-can-attract-non-family-talent?ab=hero-subleft-3&fbclid=IwAR0J-h6XQ8ZvpzNFP5ncPKbfcKCH-Jj1wWkjlKehOLRw1xw3jSSrOk0i6Vg.
McLarty, B.D., Vardaman, J.M., & Barnett, T.R. (2019). Congruence and exchange: The influence of supervisors on employee performance in family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 43(2), 302-321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258718796079
Vardaman, J.M, Allen, D.G., & Rogers, B.L. (2018). We are friends but are we family? Organizational identification and nonfamily employee turnover. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 42(2), 290-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258717749235
Tabor, W.E., Chrisman, J.J., Madison, K., & Vardaman, J.M. (2018). Nonfamily members in family firms: A review and future research agenda. Family Business Review, 31(1), 54-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486517734683
Allen, D.G., & Vardaman, J.M. (2017). Recruitment and retention across cultures. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 153-181. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113100
Vardaman, J.M., Allen, D.G., Otondo, R.F., Hancock, J., Shore, L. & *Rogers, B. (2016). Social comparisons and organizational support: Implications for retention and commitment. Human Relations, 69(7), 1493-1505. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715619687
Vardaman, J.M., Taylor, S.G., Allen, D.G., Gondo, M.B., & Amis, J.M. (2015). Translating intentions to behavior: The interaction of network structure and behavioral intentions in understanding employee turnover. Organization Science, 26(4), 1177-1191. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2015.0982
Vardaman, J.M., & Gondo, M.B. (2014). Socioemotional wealth conflict in family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(6), 1317-1322. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12126
Allen, D.G., Hancock, J.., Vardaman, J.M., & McKee, D.N. (2014). Analytical mindsets in turnover research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(1), 61-86. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1912

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