After spending a year studying art and architecture at Oxford College of Architecture he went to the University of York (England) where he received his B.A. in Sociology. He did postgraduate studies at the University of Leicester (M.Phil.) and Brown University (Ph.D.).

He joined the Wake Forest sociology faculty in 1985. His current teaching interests include: Global Capitalism; Sociology of Work and Industry; Business and Society and Economic Sociology.

He is the author of numerous articles on the European and North American clothing industries and U.S. labour relations; the former focusing upon restructuring, new technology and work practices as firms respond to the challenges of global competition. His last book [Understanding Organizational Evolution, Quorum Books/Greenwood Press, 2002] examined the link between managerial behaviour and organizational change as firms evolve. His current research is on the wine industry. One project focuses upon the growth of wineries in North Carolina and the emergence of clusters that facilitate knowledge sharing; the other on the changing competitive landscape amongst ultra premium wineries in Napa Valley, California.

He has held visiting appointments at the University of California-Irvine, University of Bradford Management Centre, ESC Toulouse and is currently Visiting Research Professor at Bordeaux Ecole de Management. He holds a joint appointment in International Studies and is Research Associate at Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University.

He is the North American Editor of the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management.