James' research focuses on how human resource management practices foster organizations' capacity for entrepreneurship and strategic renewal. In a second stream he focuses on the influence of cultural and psychological factors on entrepreneurial behavior. His research has been published in scholarly outlets such as the Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Human Resource Management, Organizational Research Methods, Multivariate Behavioral Research, R&D Management and several other journals and books.

James serves as Editor-in-Chief at Human Resource Management, included in the Financial Times shortlist of influential management journals. He is also an Editor at Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, and a member of the editorial boards of Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management Studies, Human Resource Management Review, and the Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, and an active member of the Academy of Management. In 2009, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the Human Resources Division.

Research Interests

(1) The applied psychology of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, particularly the intersections among culture, dispositions, motives, and cognitions with respect to entrepreneurial action.
(2) Strategic Human Resource Management, and especially the application of HRM practices to the development of entrepreneurial capabilities in established organisations.