Davis obtained his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and psychology at the University of Michigan in 1984, his Master of Arts in Sociology from Stanford University, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1990.
After graduation Davis started his academic career at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management as assistant professor in 1990, and got promoted to associate professor In 1994 he returned to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business as associate professor, and got promoted to full professor In the year 1997-1998 he was research fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California.
Since 2001 he is professor of sociology at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he was also professor of management and organizations from 2002 to 2004.
Davis described his research interests as "broadly concerned with the effects of finance on society., Kristina A., and Henrich R., Mina Yoo, and Wayne East.
Recent writings examine how ideas about corporate social responsibility have evolved to meet changes in the structures and geographic footprint of multinational corporations. Whether "shareholder capitalism" is still a viable model for economic development. How income inequality in an economy is related to corporate size and structure.
Why theories about organizations do (or do not) progress. How architecture shapes social networks and innovation in organizations. Why stock markets spread to some countries and not others
And whether there exist viable organizational alternatives to shareholder-owned corporations in the United States.".
