News

2012 Marketing Research Camp

April 30, 2012

The annual Darla Moore School of Business Marketing Research Symposium was held on April 20, 2012. Four leading researchers, Ann McGill (University of Chicago), Debbie Roedder John (University of Minnesota), Kusum Ailawadi (Dartmouth College) and P.K. Kannan (University of Maryland) presented their current research on consumer behavior and marketing strategy. The camp was well attended by faculty members and doctoral students from the marketing department.

After Randy Rose’s welcome remarks and opening of the research camp, the first speaker, Ann McGill, presented her findings on consumer reactions to anthropomorphized products that show that individuals with low levels of interpersonal trust are more persuaded by messages from less human agents than by those from more human agents. Her presentation was followed by Debbie Roedder John’s talk on how consumers with strong versus weak brand attachments avoid and abandon branded products when they are adopted by individuals from a dissimilar group. After lunch, Kusum Ailawadi gave a talk on how households alter their food purchases in response to a household member’s change in health status with a diagnosis of diabetes. Lastly, P.K. Kannan presented a three-level model of customers’ consideration of online channels/sources, their visits through these channels over time and subsequent purchase at the website.

The diverse topics presented generated enthusiastic and stimulating scholarly discussions among symposium participants. The symposium ended with a cocktail hour and dinner at the Columbia Museum of Art.