PhD Student

David Lanier Major

dmajor@rhsmith.umd.edu

Resumé

Major: Strategy

Minor: Organization and Management Theory

Education

  • Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business. Pittsburgh, PA
    MBA/MSIA, graduated May 1996, in Production/Operations and Strategy

  • Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
    B.Sc., graduated May 1992, in Industrial Management-Engineering Track

Research Interests

  • Competitive Strategy – Competitive dynamics; global rivalry

  • Entrepreneurship – Venture capital globalization; international entrepreneurship

Teaching Experience

  • Lecturer – University of Maryland, BMGT 495 – Business Policies: 2006-2007

  • Executive Trainer – US corporate client  training – 2000-2004

Research in Progress

  • Major, D.L., Smith, K.G., Grimm, C., & Maggitti, P. Learning through Action: The role of experience and vicarious learning. Empirical work targeted for journal submission in 2007.
  • Major, D.L., Livingood, R.S., Waguespack, D., & Gupta, A. Vicarious experience and venture capital globalization. Empirical work targeted for journal submission in 2007.
  • Major, D.L., Smith, K.G., & D’Aveni, R. Recursive links between competitive action and firm resources. Empirical work targeted for journal submission in 2007.

Conference Presentations

  • Major, David.  Dampening Rival Actions: The moderating role of experience in dynamic competition. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, 2007.  Philadelphia, PA 

  • Major, David.  Leading the firm's response: Effects of leadership types in dynamic competition. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, 2007.  Philadelphia, PA  

  • Major, David.  Prior experience as a moderator of rivalry: Firm learning through dynamic competition.  Presentation at the 27th Annual Conference of the Strategic Management Society, 2007.  San Diego, CA

  • Major, D.L., Livengood, R.S., Waguespack, D., & Gupta, A. Vicarious experience and venture capital globalization.  Presentation at the 3rd Annual Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference, 2007.  College Park, MD     

  • Major, David.  Constructing a national entrepreneurial infrastructure.  Presentation at the Academy of Management and United Nations Global Business Forum, 2006.  Cleveland, OH 

  • Major, David.   Are cross-border investment decisions rational?  Ramming through the expected utility model.  Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, 2006.  Atlanta, GA

  • Major, David.  The national entrepreneurial infrastructure: How nation-states may encourage local entrepreneurship.  Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, 2006.  Atlanta, GA 

  • Major, David.  Attending toward innovation:  An attention-based model of the likelihood for product innovation.  Presentation at the 25th Annual Conference of the Strategic Management Society, 2005.  Orlando, FL

  •  Major, David.  Firms attending to innovation:  An industry-level attention model of the likelihood for product innovation.  Presentation at the 25th Annual Conference of the Strategic Management Society, 2005.  Orlando, FL

Professional Affiliations

  • Academy of Management – BPS, OMT divisions

  • Strategic Management Society – Global Strategy division

  • West Coast Entrepreneurship Research Symposium

  • The PhD Project Management Doctoral Student Association

Service:

  • Ad Hoc Reviewer, Academy of Management,  2006

  • Chair, BPS Division Paper Session, Academy of Management conference, 2006

  • Chair, OMT Division Paper Session, Academy of Management conference, 2007

  • Panelist,  KPMG sponsored,  The PhD-Project, 2007

  • Athlete, National AIDS Marathon Training Program (raised $3,021 in sponsorships)

Awards and Honors

  • Research Excellence Award Nominee – 2006, 2007 Promising Young Scholar (The PhD-Project)

  • Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation funding for the West Coast Research Entrepreneurship Symposium – Doctoral Consortium 2006, 2007

  • Robert H. Smith School Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship 2005-2007

  • Emily Heinz Merit Scholar

  • AlliedSignal Corporate Scholar

Other Interests

  • Spanish language and Latin culture

  • Outdoor sports – distance running (2007 Miami Full Marathon), tennis, sea kayaking, and others

  • Music – singing (Gospel), African drumming (Djembe, Dunun)