Dr. Taylor holds the position of Associate Professor in Nutrition and Hospitality Management, foodservice management, financial management, and consumer behavior.
Research Interests
Dr. Taylor's interests include:
- Foodservice Operations Management
- Financial Management
- Human Resource Managment
- Methodoloy and Statistics
Biography
Jim Taylor, Ph.D., MBA, is an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management at the University of Mississippi. Prior to academia, Dr. Taylor worked over three decades in the foodservice industry, including positions as an executive chef of fine dining operations, general manager of casual theme restaurants, and a food and beverage director of casino convention operations. His research has focused on financial and menu analysis, sustainability, human resources, beverage consumption, and consumer behavior primarily in the foodservice segment of the hospitality industry. All of his experiences have not only expanded the body of knowledge but have been used to enhance the teaching experiences of undergraduate and graduate students in lectures, courses, and programmatic development.
Dr. Taylor has been involved in the development of a menu analysis model using Data Envelopment Analysis that incorporated labor attributes, case studies on green restaurants and robotic chefs, interviewing and hiring preferences for hospitality management students involving dress, technology, and academic standings, and consumption behavior of both craft beer and wine.
In addition to his expansive industry experience, applied research, and teaching endeavors, Dr. Taylor has been active as a board member of the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, worked with the state legislator to reinvigorate the restaurant industry during and after the pandemic, and assisted in efforts to engage high school students through the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Educational Foundation.
Publications
The menu is foundational to all restaurants. Dr. Taylor begins here, with the menu itself and breaks it down from nutritional considersations to how it affects commerical and noncommericla foodservice operations. Dr. Taylor also covers multiple aspects of the foodservice industry, including:
- Commercial and noncommerical foodservice operations
- Marketing
- Facilities management
- Procurement
- Technology
- Sustainability
Dr. Taylor's writing has appeared in the following refereed journals:
- Pittman, Jeffrey II; Choi, Cindy; and Taylor, James J. (2023) "Robot Chef Adoption: The New Industry Strategy To Combat Labor," ICHRIE Research Reports: Vol. *: Iss. 1, Article 1.
- Taylor, J., Jo, J., Choi, H., Ruetzler, T., Reynolds, D., & Davis, C. (2022). Craft Beer Consumption: The Roles of Motivation and Personal Involvment. International Journal of Hospitality Beverage Management. Paper Vol. 3.
- Jo, J., Choi, E. & Taylor, J. (2020) Challenges and benefits of implementing green practices at a restaurant. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Cases. 8 (3) 39.
- Taylor, J, Bing. M., Reynolds, D., Davison, H. K., & Ruetzler, T. (2018). Motivation and personal involvment leading to wine consumption. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(2), 702-719.
- Joung, H., Choi, E., & Taylor, J., (2018). Investigating difference in job-related attitudes between full-time and part-time employees in the foodservice industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(2), 817-835.
- Leib, T., Reynolds, D., Taylor J., & Baker, W. (2017) Web-based menu design: A conjoint value analysis. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration.
Dr. Taylor has also co-authored a chapter for Hospitality: An Introduction (18th ed.) titled "Foodservice Industry and Operations."
Courses Taught
- NHM 310 Hospitality Industry Accounting
- NHM 363 Procurement
- NHM 381 Bar and Beverage Management
- NHM 441 Foodservice Operations and Leadership
- NHM 462/72 Quantity Foods and lab
- NHM 467 Hospitality Financial Services Management
- NHM 615 Advanced Financial Management
- NHM 617 Advanced Foodservice
- NHM 627 Trends and Topics in Hospitality and Leadership
- NHM 628 Organizational Behavior in Hospitality
Education
B.S. Business Administration, University of Southern Mississippi (1991)
MB.A. Business Administration, University of South Florida (1994)
Ph.D. Nutrition, University of Southern Mississippi (2005)