Katz Business School Ranks No. 17 Worldwide in Marketing Research

Research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business has been recognized as among the most productive scholarly work in the field of marketing by the American Marketing Association. The cited research focuses on tracking trends in marketing, consumer behavior, and the use of social media.

The Katz School ranks no. 17 on the University Research Productivity in the Premier Marketing Journals (2010-2014) list, compiled by the association’s Doctoral Student Special Interest Group (DocSIG). Business schools worldwide were ranked based on the number of research articles their faculties published in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Marketing Science.

Katz faculty members were the authors of a total of 32 publications in those journals between 2010 and 2014. Contributing eight publications each were J. Jeffrey Inman, Cait Lamberton, and Andrew T. Stephen. The three professors tied for No. 19 among scholars worldwide on the companion Author Productivity in the Premier Marketing Journals (2010-2014) list.

“To be a world-class business school, you need a strong research culture. At Katz, our professors are motivated to answer challenging business questions. I’m delighted that our marketing group is being recognized for their important insights into the latest trends in marketing strategy, best practices, and consumer behavior,” says John T. Delaney, the Henry E. Haller Jr. Dean of the Katz School and the undergraduate College of Business Administration. 

J. Jeffrey Inman, known for his research on marketing in grocery stores, is the Albert Wesley Frey Professor of Marketing, a professor of business administration, and an associate dean for research and faculty. His work largely focuses on consumer decision making, shopper marketing, and eating behaviors. In a recent study, Inman found that consumers spend an additional dollar for every 55 feet they travel in a grocery store. That research, “The Effect of In-Store Travel Distance on Unplanned Spending: Applications to Mobile Promotion Strategies,” was published in the Journal of Marketing and won the 2014 Marketing Science Institute’s H. Paul Root Award.

Another of Inman’s research studies examined the ornate packaging of products and found that prominent cues in advertising and packaging can create a “double-edged sword” in which an increase in a product’s perceived efficiency drives consumers to use less of the product after the initial purchase. That research was published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research. 

“I’ve always been drawn to trying to better understand how people make choices, especially when there is so much information at our disposal to make the perfect choice. Katz is a great environment to study these questions because we get the resources we need to pursue our research,” Inman says.

Cait Lamberton, whose research findings have revealed how people’s confidence in their own decisions is influenced by their perceptions of others’ decisions, is a Ben R. Fryrear Faculty Fellow and associate professor of business administration. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, self-regulation, and sharing behaviors. 

Lamberton’s articles include a study showing that a company’s decision to hide or reveal the demographic characteristics of a brand’s online supporters can influence a target customer’s brand evaluations and purchase intentions. That research, “Beyond the ‘Like’ Button: The Impact of Mere Virtual Presence on Brand Evaluations and Purchase Intentions in Social Media Settings,” was published in the Journal of Marketing in 2012. 

“Pitt is a great environment for professors who are invested in research,” says Lamberton, who was selected as a 2013 Young Scholar by the Marketing Science Institute. “We get to really study our areas of interest and find out what drives consumers and use that research to pass along to our students and to the public.”

Andrew T. Stephen, who studies how people use Facebook and Twitter, is a Katz Fellow in Marketing and assistant professor of business administration. He focuses his research on understanding the causes, types, and consequences of complex social interactions in marketplaces. 

His 2013 paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research, “Are Close Friends the Enemy? Online Social Networks, Self-Esteem, and Self-Control,” found that some Facebook users tend to experience an increase in self-esteem while browsing their news feed and afterward display less self-control. Another of Stephen’s studies, published in Marketing Science in 2013, found Twitter may eventually resemble a broadcast medium like television or radio, with users reading messages written by celebrities or companies rather than composing their own “tweets” of up to 140 characters.  

Stephen noted his research has allowed him to keep current with trends in consumerism and the marketing industry. “This brings a lot of relevance to our work and keeps us at the top of our game,” he says.