Professor Ballinger conducts research on the operation of memory, emotions, trust, and social exchange relationships in the work and organizational context. This research spans all levels of analysis, including work relationships, firm-stakeholder relationships, and corporate governance. He is currently an associate editor of Academy of Management Annals. He served as an associate editor of Academy of Management Review from July 2014 through June 2017 and as a guest editor for the journal’s 2018 Special Topic Forum on the Changing Nature of Work Relationships.

He has published in Academy of Management Review; Journal of Applied Psychology; Journal of Management; Personnel Psychology; Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes; and Strategic Management Journal. He is currently a member of the editorial review boards of Academy of Management Review and Journal of Applied Psychology and has reviewed for many other journals in organizational behavior and strategic management. He is a member of the Managerial and Organizational Cognition, Organizational Behavior, and Research Methods divisions of the Academy of Management.

Professor Ballinger has taught courses in leadership, organizational behavior, and human resources management at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels in the United States and in Germany. In 2013, he won an All-University Teaching Award from the University of Virginia and received a Student Council Teaching Award in 2020 and 2022. At McIntire, he teaches Organizational Behavior and is the teaching team leader for ICE Blocks 1 and 2.