The approach to research of the group takes a hard science and empirically driven perspective. Faculty members have a strong expertise in the application of statistical and modeling techniques as well as in the design of experiments and field experiments to analyze data in various forms. The mission of the group is to generate relevant and reliable insights that can contribute to the advancement of marketing as a discipline, and to provide actionable managerial tools to support the next generation of leaders. The group often collaborates with business; DiSA’s marketing faculty specialize in translating their research into practical tools that organizations and managers can use to make better decisions. The research activity of the group can be divided into three areas.
Consumer behavior and decision making
Understanding what drives customer choices, how people behave in different contexts, what consumers want, and why customers are satisfied is necessary for the long-term success of businesses and for creating value for the final customer. The DiSA marketing group has prominent researchers focused on consumer behavior in product and service contexts, primarily in the following areas:
- Construal level theory and inter-temporal choice
- Context effects and levels of representation on choice
- Phantom decoy effects in perceptual decision making
- Customization processes and extremeness aversion
- Interhemispheric communication and consumer choice
- Waiting perception and management in service settings
- Services and customer interaction with digital employees
- Public service delivery and interfirm networks and innovation
- Service quality and longitudinal analysis of customer satisfaction
- Complaint handling and service recovery management
- The role of emotions in communication campaigns and in service recovery
- Consumers’ reaction to referral reward programmes
- Citizen engagement in public services
Marketing modeling and database marketing
The confluence of rich customer databases, advances in methodology and digitization, and management’s demand for effective and accountable marketing tools has fueled growth in marketing analytics; it has become one of the most important fields in which firms can compete. The DiSA marketing group has expertise in this field of research. The faculty are actively involved in the following research domains:
- Measurement and analysis of marketing effectiveness along the customer journey
- Digital marketing and social media
- Channel migration models
- Customer acquisition funnel, retention, and customer profitability
- Privacy and willingness to disclose personal information
- Artificial intelligence and public service operations
Marketing management and strategy
Disa faculty working in this area sought to understand the effectiveness of various marketing strategies and to develop theoretical frameworks to support the design of innovative, efficient, and effective strategies. The group has made strong contributions in the following research domains:
- Fake news and branding
- Managing distribution channels including franchising and distribution networks
- Multichannel and omnichannel management
- Pricing and customer value management
- Assortment management in retailing
- New product introduction and innovation management
- Innovative technologies and virtual reality on retailing
- Corporate social responsibility
- Staff turnover