Carl Zeithaml specializes in the field of strategic management, with an emphasis on global and competitive strategy. He conducts research and writes cases on global strategy, international expansion strategies, knowledge-based sources of competitive advantage, corporate political activity, strategic decision making, the strategic role of the board of directors, the implementation of acquisition and diversification strategies, and organizational transformation. He focuses much of his research agenda on global firms, high-technology industries, the energy industry, and the healthcare industry.

Professor Zeithaml has published his research in academic and professional journals and presented at numerous professional meetings. He co-authored several cases on global strategy issues as well as cases focused on firms in China and Southeast Asia. His recent publications include “Measuring Organizational Knowledge: A Conceptual and Methodological Framework,” in Strategic Management Journal; “Managing Organizational Competencies for Competitive Advantage: The Middle Management Edge,” in Academy of Management Executive; “Competencies and Firm Performance: Examining the Causal Ambiguity Paradox,” in Strategic Management Journal; “Garbage Cans and Advancing Hypercompetition: The Creation and Exploitation of New Capabilities and Strategic Flexibility in Two Regional Bell Operating Companies,” in Organization Science; and “The International Expansion Process of MNEs from Developing Countries: A Case Study of Thailand’s CP Group,” in Asia Pacific Journal of Management. Professor Zeithaml’s recent presentations at the Academy of Management national meetings include “Preserving and Transferring Knowledge-Based Resources During Post-Acquisition Implementation: A Study of High-Tech Acquisitions” and “A Resource-Based Approach to New Market Entry: An Empirical Study.”

Professor Zeithaml served as Dean of the McIntire School for 23 years (1997-2020), joining the School after spending more than a decade at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to UNC, he served on the faculties of Texas A&M University and the University of Maryland. During his five terms as Dean of the Commerce School, Professor Zeithaml led the implementation of McIntire’s strategy to achieve a position of global preeminence in business education. The McIntire School’s B.S. in Commerce Program and its M.S. programs in Accounting, Business Analytics, Commerce, Global Commerce, and the Management of Information Technology are consistently ranked among the top programs nationally. The McIntire School provides all students with opportunities to study at many of the best business schools in the world and to visit important global centers of commerce and industry.

Previously, Professor Zeithaml served on editorial boards and was active in professional associations. He received two teaching awards and several major awards at the University, including the Thomas Jefferson Award and the Raven Society Award. Professor Zeithaml was a regular participant in executive education programs, particularly for global firms and healthcare organizations, and he served as a Director of Dollar Tree, Inc. from 2007 to 2021. Subsequent to his 2024 retirement from the McIntire School, he accepted and started a full-time faculty position at DIS–Study Abroad in Scandinavia (Copenhagen), teaching courses on global strategy and writing cases involving European businesses.