UVA - Darden School of Business - Jim Detert 6_BW

James (Jim) R. Detert

John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration

Hear my name

Education: BBA, University of Wisconsin; MBA, University of Minnesota; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University

Jim Detert is the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Prior to joining UVA, he taught at Cornell University's Johnson School of Management and was the faculty director for the School's leadership initiative. Detert has written many teaching cases and other curriculum materials and designed leadership and ethics classes taught to thousands of students of all ages around the world in degree and non-degree formats. He has received numerous awards for his teaching in both MBA and Executive MBA programs.

Jim's research focuses on workplace courage, improvement-oriented voice (why people speak up or stay silent at work), ethical decision-making and behavior, and other leadership-related topics. This research, as well as his consulting experiences, has been conducted across a variety of global high-technology and service-oriented industries as well as public sector institutions, including K-12 education. His research has appeared in many outlets, including Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science, Personnel Psychology, Research in Organizational Behavior, and Journal of Business Ethics. Detert's research has won several academic best paper awards and is regularly featured in various online and print media outlets. He is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, and the author of the book Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work, published by Harvard Business Review Press.

Jim received his M.A. in sociology and Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Harvard University. He also holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BBA from the University of Wisconsin.

Selected Publications

Detert, J.R., & Burris, E.R. 2016. Can your employees really speak freely? Harvard Business Review, January-February: 80-87.

Howell, T., Harrison, D., Burris, E.R., & Detert, J.R. 2015. Who gets credit for input? Demographic and structural status cues in voice recognition. Journal of Applied Psychology100(6): 1765-1784.

Ashford, S.J. & Detert, J.R. 2015. Get the boss to buy in. Harvard Business Review. January-February: 72-79.

Kish-Gephart, J., Detert, J.R., Trevino, L, Baker, V., & Martin, S. 2014. Situational moral disengagement: Can the effects of self-interest be mitigated? Journal of Business Ethics, 125(2): 267-285. 

Martin, S.R., Kish-Gephart, J., & Detert, J.R. 2014. Blind forces: Ethical infrastructures and moral disengagement in organizations. Organizational Psychology Review4(4): 295-325. 

Detert, J.R., Burris, E.R., Harrison, D., & Martin, S. 2013. Voice flows to and around leaders: Is more always better for unit performance? Administrative Science Quarterly58(4): 624-668. 

McClean, E., Burris, E.R., & Detert, J.R. 2013. When does voice lead to exit? It depends on leadership. Academy of Management Journal56(2): 525-548.

Burris, E.R., Detert, J.R., & Romney, A. 2013. Speaking up versus being heard: The disagreement around and outcomes of employee voice. Organization Science24(1): 22-38.

Moore, C., Detert, J.R., Trevino, L., Baker, V., & Mayer, D.  2012. Why employees do bad things: Moral disengagement and unethical organizational behavior.Personnel Psychology65(1): 1 - 48. (This paper received the following recognition in 2014:  Personnel Psychology Best Article in 2012 Award Finalist)

Detert, J.R.& Edmondson, A.C. 2011. Implicit voice theories: An emerging understanding of self-censorship at work. Academy of Management Journal, 54(3): 461 - 488. (This paper received the following two recognitions in 2012:  Academy of Management Journal Best Article in 2011 Award,  Academy of Management Organizational Behavior Division Outstanding Publication Award for the Best Paper Published in 2011)

Detert, J.R., Burris, E.R., & Harrison, D.A. 2010. Debunking four myths about employee silence. Harvard Business Review, June: 26. [Reprinted in US Airways Magazine, June 2010] 

Detert, J.R.& Trevino, L.K. 2010. Speaking up to higher ups: How supervisors and skip-level leaders influence employee voice. Organization Science, 21(1): 249 - 270.

Kish-Gephart, J., Detert, J.R., Trevino, L.K., & Edmondson, A.C. 2009. Silenced by fear: Psychological, social, and evolutionary drivers of voice behavior at work.Research in Organizational Behavior, 29: 163-193.

Burris, E.R., Detert, J.R., & Chiaburu, D.S. 2008. Quitting before leaving: The mediating effects of psychological attachment and detachment on voice. Journal of Applied Psychology93(4): 912-922.

Detert, J.R.& Pollock, T.G. 2008. Values, interests and the capacity to act: Understanding professionals' responses to market-based improvement initiatives in highly institutionalized organizations. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science,44(2): 186-214.

Detert, J.R., Trevino, L.K., & Sweitzer, V.L. 2008. Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology93(2): 374-391.

Detert, J.R.& Burris, E.R. 2007. Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal, 50(4) : 869-884 .

Detert, J.R.& Edmondson, A.C. 2007. Why employees are afraid to speak up.Harvard Business Review, May: 23-25.

Detert, J.R., Trevino, L.K., Burris, E.R., & Andiappan, M. 2007. Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: A longitudinal business-unit-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology,92(4): 993-1005.

Detert, J.R., Schroeder, R.S., & Cudeck, R. 2003. The measurement of quality management culture in schools: Development and validation of the SQMCSJournal of Operations Management, 21: 307-328.

Detert, J.R., Schroeder, R.S., & Mauriel, J.J. 2000. A framework for linking culture and improvement initiatives in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 25(4): 850-863.

Detert, J.R., Louis, K.S., & Schroeder, R.S. 2001. A culture framework for education: Defining quality values and their impact in U.S. high schools. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 12(2): 183-212. [Reprinted in Louis, K.S. 2006. Organizing for School Change: Contexts of Learning, Chapter 13: 255-276. NY: Routledge

Detert, J.R., & Jenni, R. 2000. An instrument for measuring quality practices in education. Quality Management Journal7(3): 20-37.

Detert, J.R., Bauerly-Kopel, M., Mauriel, J.J., & Jenni, R. 2000. Total Quality Management in U.S. high schools: Evidence from the field. Journal of School Leadership10(2): 158-177.