Ayalla Ruvio: Ayalla Ruvio is an applied consumer behavior researcher who explores the psychology of consumers shopping behaviors. She focuses on issues, such as identity and consumption, material vs. experiential consumption, loyalty rewards programs, retail trends, and consumer arrogance. Ruvio is associate professor of marketing at the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.

A sampling of available sources:

Ruvio, A. (2008). Unique like everybody else? The dual role of consumers’ need for uniqueness. Psychology & Marketing, 25(5), 444–464. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20219

Ruvio, A. A., & Shoham, A. (2016). Consumer arrogance: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 3989–3997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.004

Ruvio, Ayalla., & Belk, R. W. (2013). The Routledge companion to identity and consumption. Routledge.

 

Jagdish N. Sheth: In collaboration with John A. Howard, Jagdish N. Sheth developed in 1970 the Theory of Buyer Behavior, which identifies the various elements that influence the consumer’s purchase decision process and how they interact with each other. The theory proposes that consumers are active decision-makers who seek information from multiple sources to make informed choices.

A sampling of available sources:

Howard, J. A., & Sheth, J. N. (1969). The theory of buyer behavior. Wiley.

Sheth, J. N. (2021). Future of brick and mortar retailing: how will it survive and thrive? Journal of Strategic Marketing, 29(7), 598–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2021.1891128

Sheth, J. N. (2020). Customer value propositions: Value co-creation. Industrial Marketing Management, 87, 312–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.10.012

 

Hawkins Stern: Hawkins Stern is an industrial economist who developed the Impulse Buying Theory in 1962. He argued sudden impulses to buy goods fit nicely alongside rational purchasing decisions for the average consumer.

A sampling of available sources:

Stern, H. (1962). The Significance of Impulse Buying Today. Journal of Marketing, 26(2), 59-. https://doi.org/10.2307/1248439

 

Abigail Sussman: Abigail Sussman is a professor of marketing and Beatrice Foods Company faculty scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She researches how individuals form judgments and make decisions, from underlying mechanisms to applications. Sussman investigates questions at the intersection of psychology, economics, and finance, with the aim of improving financial well-being.

A sampling of available sources:

Batista, R. M., Sussman, A. B., & Trueblood, J. S. (2023). Self-other differences in perceptions of wealth. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 104, 104420-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104420

Homonoff, T., O’Brien, R., & Sussman, A. B. (2021). Does Knowing Your FICO Score Change Financial Behavior? Evidence from a Field Experiment with Student Loan Borrowers. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 103(2), 236–250. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00888

Sussman, A. B., Hershfield, H. E., & Netzer, O. (2023). Consumer Financial Decision Making: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 8(4), 365–372. https://doi.org/10.1086/727194

 

Veronica Lynn Thomas: Veronica Thomas is associate professor of marketing at Towson University. She studies relationship marketing, social influence, and branding.

A sampling of available sources:

Thomas, V. L., & Fowler, K. (2021). Close Encounters of the AI Kind: Use of AI Influencers As Brand Endorsers. Journal of Advertising, 50(1), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2020.1810595

Thomas, V. L., Johnson, J. W., & Jewell, R. D. (2016). The tangled web we weave: Deceptive consumption behaviors as a means to cope with identity threat. Marketing Theory, 16(4), 493–512. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593116666409

Thomas, V. L., & Saenger, C. (2020). Feeling excluded? Join the crowd: How social exclusion affects approach behavior toward consumer-dense retail environments. Journal of Business Research, 120, 520–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.064

 

Vilma Todri: Vilma Todri is associate professor of information systems and operations management at Goizueta Business School, at Emory University. She studies digital strategy, digital marketing, social media, and consumer behavior in technology-mediated environments.

A sampling of available sources:

Ghose, A., & Todri-Adamopoulos, V. (2016). Toward a Digital Attribution Model: Measuring the Impact of Display Advertising on Online Consumer Behavior. MIS Quarterly, 40(4), 889–910. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2016/40.4.05

Todri, V. (2022). Frontiers: The Impact of Ad-Blockers on Online Consumer Behavior. Marketing Science (Providence, R.I.), 41(1), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2021.1309

Todri, V., Adamopoulos, P. (Panos), & Andrews, M. (2022). Is Distance Really Dead in the Online World? The Moderating Role of Geographical Distance on the Effectiveness of Electronic Word of Mouth. Journal of Marketing, 86(4), 118–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429211034414

 

Beth Vallen: Beth Vallen is professor of marketing and business law at Villanova University School of Business. She is an expert on consumer behavior, with a focus on health-related decision making.

A sampling of available sources:

Connell, P. M., Finkelstein, S. R., Scott, M. L., & Vallen, B. (2018). Negative associations of frozen compared with fresh vegetables. Appetite, 127, 296–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.05.134

Irmak, C., Vallen, B., & Robinson, S. R. (2011). The Impact of Product Name on Dieters’ and Nondieters’ Food Evaluations and Consumption. The Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 390–405. https://doi.org/10.1086/660044

Mende, M., Ubal, V. O., Cozac, M., Vallen, B., & Berry, C. (2024). Fighting Infodemics: Labels as Antidotes to Mis- and Disinformation? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 43(1), 31–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156231184816

 

Thorstein Veblen: Veblen developed the Socio-Psychological Model that states consumers’ social and cultural backgrounds are important determinants of their buying behavior. According to Veblen, consumer purchases are driven primarily by their need to maintain a social class and prestige rather than intrinsic needs.

A sampling of available sources:

             Veblen, T. (2014). The collected short works of Thorstein Veblen. Vernon Press.

Veblen, T. (1979). The theory of the leisure class. Penguin Books.

Veblen, T., & Mitchell, W. C. (Wesley C. (1936). What Veblen taught; selected writings of Thorstein Veblen. The Viking Press.

 

Frederick E. Webster: Frederick E. Webster was the Charles Henry Jones Third Century Professor of Management at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Webster’s area of expertise was industrial and business marketing.

A sampling of available sources:

Webster, F. (2000). Understanding the relationships among brands, consumers, and resellers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300281002

Webster, F. E. (1975). Determining the Characteristics of the Socially Conscious Consumer. The Journal of Consumer Research, 2(3), 188–196. https://doi.org/10.1086/208631

Webster, F. E., & Lusch, R. F. (2013). Elevating marketing: marketing is dead! Long live marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(4), 389–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0331-z

 

Katherine White: Katherine White is a consumer psychologist at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, in Canada. Her research focuses on how social contexts, identities, and emotions shape how consumers make ethical prosocial, and sustainable choices.

A sampling of available sources:

Simpson, B., Schreier, M., Bitterl, S., & White, K. (2021). Making the World a Better Place: How Crowdfunding Increases Consumer Demand for Social-Good Products. Journal of Marketing Research, 58(2), 363–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243720970445

White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919825649

White, K., & Peloza, J. (2009). Self-Benefit versus Other-Benefit Marketing Appeals: Their Effectiveness in Generating Charitable Support. Journal of Marketing, 73(4), 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.4.109

 

Kit Yarrow: Kit Yarrow was a consumer psychologist and professor at Golden Gate University. She was a recognized authority on the psychology of consumers.

A sampling of available sources:

Yarrow, K. (2019). The Narcissistic Consumer. WWD, 26–26.

Yarrow, K., & Morgan, A. (2014). Decoding the new consumer mind : how and why we shop and buy (First edition.). Jossey-Bass.

Yarrow, K., & O\’Donnell, Jayne. (2009). Gen buy : how tweens, teens, and twenty-somethings are revolutionizing retail (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.