Ethan Burris
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Department: Management
Additional Titles: Professor
Research Areas: Dispute Resolution, Managerial Group & Org Decision Making, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Learning & Change
Ethan Burris is the senior associate dean for academic affairs at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also a professor of management, teaching undergraduate and MBA courses on people analytics, impactful leadership, global management, power and politics, group management, and organizational behavior.
A renowned researcher and consultant, Burris has helped improve operations and employee engagement for several top companies, including Fortune 100 technology, financial service, and insurance businesses. He has also worked with Fortune 500 companies in the casual dining, grocery, and retail sectors, along with hospitals, defense contractors, commercial real estate companies, and governmental agencies. Burris has also acted as a visiting scholar for Microsoft and Google.
He investigates leaders' influence on employee voice in the workplace and the impact of employee voice on personal and organizational performance. Highly regarded in both industry and academia, Burris has presented his research insights to business schools around the world and has been featured in national media outlets.
In addition to teaching, Burris serves as faculty co-director for Texas McCombs’ Center for Leadership and Ethics and has a courtesy appointment in the Department of Medical Education at UT.
He earned a Ph.D. in management and organizations from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he worked as a lecturer before joining Texas McCombs. He also earned an M.S. in management at Cornell and a B.A. in psychology, organization, and human resources from Washington University.
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP & AWARDS
2019 |
Amplify Inclusion Award |
2018-19 |
Organization Science Editorial Board Outstanding Reviewer |
2018 |
Jim Nolen Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching |
2017 |
Research Excellence Award for Associate Professors |
2017 |
Organization Science Editorial Board Outstanding Reviewer |
2015 |
Academy of Management Journal Editorial Board Outstanding Reviewer |
Publications
Ethan Burris, Elizabeth McClean, James Detert, and Timothy Quigley. Sep/Oct 2023. The Agency to Implement Voice: How Target Hierarchical Position and Competence Changes the Relationship Between Voice and Individual. Organization Science 34(5): 1695-1715.
.
Ethan R. Burris, Luis L. Martins, and Yurianna Kimmons. Sep 2022. Mixed Messages: Why Manager (Do Not) Endorse Employee Voice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 172: 104185.
Ethan Burris and Ruchi Sinha. Don’t Let “Being New” Stop You from Speaking Up. Harvard Business Review. Advice. (“Practitioner”) Jan. 25, 2022
Ethan R. Burris. 2022. How to Sell Your Ideas Up the Chain of Command. Harvard Business Review 100(1-2): 139-143.
Hannes L. Leroy; Moran Anisman-Razin; Bruce J. Avolio; Henrik Bresman; J. Stuart Bunderson; Ethan R. Burris; et al. Walking Our Evidence-Based Talk: The Case of Leadership Development in Business Schools. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, (Feb 2022), Vol. 29 (1): 5-32.
Ethan R. Burris. Why Speaking Up about Things Other Than Your Job is a Good Thing. Sloan Management Review, forthcoming.
Ethan R. Burris, Dawn Klinghoffer, Elizabeth McCune, and Tannaz Sattari Tabrizi. 2020. Can You Be Too Well Connected? Harvard Business Review Digital Articles Aug. 5.
Ethan R. Burris. 2019. Why Managing Employee Voice Is Easier Said Than Done. People and Strategy 42(3), 11-12.
Ethan R. Burris, Kevin W. Rockmann, and Yurianna S. Kimmons. 2017. The Value of Voice to Managers: Employee Identification and the Content of Voice. Academy of Management Journal 60(6), 2099-2125.
James R. Detert and Ethan R. Burris. 2016. Can Your Employees Really Speak Freely? Harvard Business Review 94(1), 80-87.
Taeya M. Howell, David A. Harrison, Ethan R. Burris, and James R. Detert. 2015. Who Gets Credit for Input? Demographic and Structural Cues in Voice Recognition. Journal of Applied Psychology 100(6), 1765-1784.
Nathanael J. Fast, Ethan R. Burris, and Caroline A Bartel. 2014. Managing to Stay in the Dark: Managerial Self-Efficacy, Ego Defensiveness, and the Aversion to Employee Voice. Academy of Management Journal 57(4), 1013-1034.
Ethan R. Burris, James R. Detert, and Alexander C. Romney. 2013. Speaking Up vs. Being Heard: The Dimensions of Disagreement Around and Outcomes of Employee Voice. Organization Science 24(1), 22-38.
James R. Detert, Ethan R. Burris, David A. Harrison, and Sean R. Martin. 2013. Voice Flows to and around Leaders: Understanding When Units Are Helped or Hurt by Employee Voice. Administrative Science Quarterly 58(4), 624-668.
Elizabeth J. McClean, Ethan R. Burris, and James R. Detert. 2013. When Does Voice Lead to Exit? It Depends on Leadership. Academy of Management Journal 56(2), 525-548.
Ethan R. Burris. 2012. The Risks and Rewards of Speaking Up: Responses to Voice in Organizations. Academy of Management Journal 55(4), 851-875.
James Detert, Ethan R. Burris, and David A. Harrison. 2010. Debunking Four Myths About Employee Silence. Harvard Business Review 88(6), 26.
J. Sharek, Ethan R. Burris, and Caroline A Bartel. 2010. When Does voice Prompt Action? Constructing Ideas That Trigger Attention, Importance and Feasibility.. Best Paper Proceedings, Academy of Management.
Ethan R. Burris, Rodgers, M. S., Mannix, E. A., Hendron, M., and Oldroyd, J. 2009. Playing Favorites: The Influence of Leaders' Inner Circle on Group Processes and Performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 35, 1244-1257.
Ethan R. Burris, J.D. Detert, and D.S. Chiaburu. 2008. Quitting Before Leaving: Attachment and Detachment in Employee Voice. Journal of Applied Psychology 93, 912-922.
J. D. Detert and Ethan R. Burris. 2007. Leadership Influences on Employee Voice Behavior: Is the Door Really Open? Academy of Management Journal 50, 869-884.
J. D. Detert, L. K. Trevino, Ethan R. Burris, and M. Andiappan. 2007. Managerial Modes of Influence and Counterproductivity in Organizations: A Longitudinal Business Unit Level Investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology 92, 993-1005.
Sullivan, B.A., O'Connor, K.M., and Ethan R. Burris. 2006. Negotiator Confidence: The Impact of Self-Efficacy on Negotiation Performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 42, 567-581.
O’Connor, K.M., Arnold, J.A., and Ethan R. Burris. 2005. Negotiators’ Bargaining Histories And Their Effects On Future Negotiation Performance. Journal of Applied Psychology 90, 350-362.