ABSTRACT
William R. (Bill) Davidson's career in retailing management includes over a half-century of significant achievements both in the academy and in industry. He was a member of the faculty at Ohio State University (OSU) for twenty-five years (1947–1972), during three of which he served as Chairman of the Marketing Department. He was elected President of the American Marketing Association in 1963; and in 1964, he was elected to the “Hall of Fame in Distribution” at the Boston Conference for Distribution. In 1968, he co-founded Management Horizons which he then guided for more than twenty years as it became the largest retail consulting firm in the world. In 1970, he was named “Marketing Man of the Year” by the magazine, Hardlines Wholesaling. He is also listed in Who's Who in America. A doctoral fellowship in his name was established at OSU in 1993; and since 1995, the Journal of Retailing has annually presented the William R. Davidson Award to authors of the best article in that journal.
