Journal Editor's Meet:'Doing Publication Worthy Research in Marketing'

Program Schedule:

1. Anirban Mukhopadhyay (Editor of Journal of Consumer Psychology): is Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the School of Business and Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research examines the interplay between consumers’ lay beliefs, emotions, and self-regulatory decisions, and has been published in leading journals in Marketing, Psychology, Corporate Strategy, and Economics. He holds a PhD in Marketing from Columbia University, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and a B.Sc. (Hons.) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and was previously on the faculty of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is a past winner of the Early Career Award of the Society for Consumer Psychology, has co-chaired the Annual Conference of the Society for Consumer Psychology, and has been recognized as a Young Scholar by the Marketing Science Institute.

2. P. K. Kannan (Editor of International Journal of Research in Marketing): is the Dean’s Chair in Marketing Science at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His main research focus is on marketing modeling, applying statistical and econometric methods to marketing data. His current research stream focuses on attribution modeling, media mix modeling, new product/service development and customer relationship management (CRM).

He has received several grants from National Science Foundation (NSF), Mellon Foundation, SAIC, and PricewaterhouseCoopers for his work in this area and research papers have been published in Marketing Science, Management Science, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Marketing. His research has won the prestigious John Little Best Paper Award (2008) and the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Practice Prize Award (2007). His research has also been selected as a finalist for the Paul Green Award twice (2008, 2014) and he has won the AMA/MSI Paul Root Award twice (2014, 2016).

3. Rajan Varadarajan (Ex-editor of the Journal of Marketing and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science): Dr. Rajan Varadarajan is University Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Regents Professor, and holder of the Ford Chair in Marketing and E-Commerce in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. His primary teaching and research interests are strategic marketing, innovation and environmental sustainability. He has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters, and made over 200 presentations at conferences, consortia, universities and other forums. The Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Management Science, Business Horizons, California Management Review and Sloan Management Review are among the journals and business magazines in which Rajan has published his research.

Dr. Varadarajan served as editor of the Journal of Marketing from 1993 to 1996 and as editor of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science from 2000 to 2003. He is a recipient of a number of honors and awards including the following:

• Texas A&M University Mays Business School Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship (2016)
• American Marketing Association-Irwin-McGraw Hill Distinguished Marketing Educator Award (2015).

4. Vithala R. Rao (Senior Editor, Customer Needs and Solutions): is Deane W. Malott Professor of Management Professor of Marketing and Quantitative Methods Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. His research interest lies in Development and application of analytical and empirical models for marketing research and marketing strategy. He holds PhD from University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) which was Outstanding Dissertation––American Marketing Association and MA, Sociology from University of Michigan. He won 2016 AMA Fellow, American Marketing Association, 2016 Ziegel Award, Techno metrics Churchill Award, AMA MRSIG, Faculty Research Award, Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, 2000-01 given to the School’s most productive scholar over the previous five years.

Presented by PH. D Students:

1. Aishwarya Ramasundaram, Marketing
Title: The Point of No Return

Abstract: This article explores the unique phenomenon of consumers not returning products purchased online despite the presence of favorable return policies. In study 1, an interpretative qualitative approach is used to develop a conceptual framework which explains the phenomenon. In study 2, a cross-cultural critical incident technique (CIT) study capturing 390 non-return incidents in India and U.S validates the model and provides qualitative and empirical insights on the various dimensions of non-return such as reasons, coping mechanisms, attributions and emotions.

2.Tanvi Gupta, Marketing
Title: How Visual Density Impacts Consumer Choices: Experiential Meanings of Micro-spaces

Abstract: Prior research has shown that high interstitial space increases brand value (Sevilla & Townsend 2016). This paper conceptualizes the design feature of visual density and demonstrates the opposite effect, i.e., low interstitial space increases brand preference. We show that visual density in brand aesthetics has two positive effects on consumer perception. Firstly, visual density lowers perceived risk driven by the conceptual metaphor of tight equals secure. Secondly, visual density increases value-for-money driven by the conduit metaphor of empty space = wasted resource. Content analysis of over 500 brand logos provides support for both mediating paths of brand perceptions. The two conceptual metaphors would be established through a series of experiments. Since tight cultures are characterized by high population, space scarcity, low sense of personal space, and chronic exposure to risk (Gelfand, et al. 2006, Hall 1963), their notions of space would differ from loose cultures. Hence, cultural tightness, and its characteristic consumer traits of prevention focus and value-consciousness are hypothesized to moderate each path respectively.

3.Vedha Ponnappan, Marketing

Title: Sugar tax: Should manufacturer pass through tax to consumers or reformulate products?

Abstract: The global epidemic of diet-related health concerns has induced policymakers to use taxation-based interventions. The manufacturer of the taxed products may choose to pass on the sugar levy fully/partly to the consumers or reformulate the products by reducing the taxed product attribute to avoid/lower sugar tax. In this research, we examine manufacturer’s optimal response strategy to such policy interventions, by first investigating consumer’s potential response to a sugar tax or product reformulation. Using a direct utility based structural model we recover consumer preferences and price sensitivity to predict their potential response. Our findings provide insights to manufacturers as well as policymakers.