Mrugank V. Thakor

Associate Professor, Department of Marketing

Dr. Thakor received his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India and his PhD in marketing at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. His research is focused mainly on consumer behaviour in retailing and service contexts, on brand and product perceptions, and on business ethics. For instance, he has studied the effects of the store environment on retail brand and merchandise quality perceptions and how the presence of other consumers affects the evaluation of retailers. He has also conducted research on the issues of how brand origin, and consumers' local attachment, affects attitudes to products and brands. He actively supervises graduate student research, and one of the MSc students supervised by him has won the Joe Kelly Graduate Thesis Award.

Dr. Thakor's research has been funded by FQRSC (with both individual and team grants), by the John Molson School of Business, by the Office of Research, and the Seagram Fund for Academic Innovation. Dr. Thakor has published in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Retailing, the Journal of Business Research, and in the Journal of Consumer Marketing, where his co-authored paper received an 'Outstanding Paper' award from the Editiorial Board. He has also published in practitioner publications such as Business Horizons.

Dr. Thakor has also presented his work at international conferences such as ACR, AMA, EMAC and Marketing Science. At AMA (the American Marketing Educators' Summer Conference), a paper co-authored by him received the 'Best Overall Conference Paper Award'. Dr. Thakor has taught successfully at both undergraduate and graduate levels, having taught in the MBA, MSc and PhD programs at Concordia. He has also taught as a Visiting Associate Professor of Marketing at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, and in the Joint PhD program in Bangkok, Thailand. Courses taught by him include Marketing Management, Marketing Research, Business Research Methods, Services Management, Retailing, Research Methodology, and Advanced Topics in Marketing.

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Selected Research

Refereed Journal Articles

Suri, Rajneesh, Jane Zhen Cai, Kent B. Monroe and Mrugank Thakor (in press), “Retailers’ Merchandise Organization and Price Perceptions”, Journal of Retailing.

Thakor, M. V. and Karine Goneau (2009), “Skepticism of Social Advertising Among Adolescents: An Investigation”, Journal of Business Research, 62 (December), 1342-1349.

Thakor M. V., R. Suri and K. Saleh. (2008), “The Effects of Service Context and Co-Consumer Age on Service-Related Attitudes”. Journal of Retailing, 84 (2), 137-149. Lead Article.

Lavack, Anne, M. V. Thakor and Ingrid Bottausci (2008), “Music-Brand Congruency in High and Low Cognition Radio Advertising”, International Journal of Advertising, 27 (4), 549-568.

Thakor M. V. and A. W. Joshi (2005). "Motivating Salesperson Customer Orientation: Insights from the Job Characteristics Model". Journal of Business Research, vol. 58, no.5 (May), 584-592.

Duguay Francois, Lea Katsanis, and M. V. Thakor (2004). "Identification of Factors Linked to the Potential Adoption of Transgenic Biopharmaceuticals: An Exploratory Study". Health Marketing Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 65-89.

Thakor M. V., Wendy Borsuk and Maria Kalamas (2004). "Hotlists and Web Browsing Behavior – An Empirical Investigation”. Journal of Business Research, vol. 57, no. 7 (July), 776-786.

Thakor, M. V. and Anne Lavack (2003), “Effect of Perceived Brand Origin Association on Consumer Perceptions of Quality”. Journal of Product and Brand Management, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 394-405.

Kohli, C., R. Suri, and M. V. Thakor (2002). “Creating Effective Logos: Insights from Theory and Practice”. Business Horizons, 45 (3), 58-64.

Thakor, M. V. and A. Kumar (2000). "What is a Professional Service? A Conceptual Review and Bi-National Investigation". Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 14, no. 1, March.

Hui, Michael K., Mrugank V. Thakor and Ravi Gill (1998). "The Effect of Delay Type and Distance to Goal on Consumers' Reactions to Waiting". Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 24, no. 4, 469-479.

Thakor, M. V. and L. P. Katsanis (1997). "Managing Product Quality Levels and Country Image: Implications for Developing Countries". Journal of International Consumer Marketing, vol. 9, no. 3, 79-100.

Kohli, C. and Thakor, M. V. (1997). "Branding Consumer Goods: Insights from Theory and Practice". Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 14, no. 3, 206-217.

Thakor, M. V. and B. Pacheco (1997). "Foreign Branding and its Effects on Product Perceptions and Attitudes: A Replication and Extension in a Multicultural Setting". Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 5, no. 1, 15-29.

Thakor, M. V. and C. Kohli (1996). "Brand Origin: Conceptualization and Review". Journal of Consumer Marketing, v. 13 (3), 27-40. Winner of ‘Outstanding Paper’ award based on selection by the Editorial Board of the Journal of Consumer Marketing.

Katsanis, L. P. and M. V. Thakor (1996). "Pharmaceutical Marketing Research: A Blueprint for the Future". Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management, 10 (4), 251-267.

Refereed Conference Presentations

Thakor, M. V. (2007), “Managing the Customer Experience for Customers of Different Ages”, Bell University Laboratories Annual Conference. June 7, Toronto, Canada.

Thakor, M. V. and K. Goneau (2005), “Toward a Measure of Social Advertising Skepticism”. Presented at the Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference, May 25-28, Tampa Bay, Florida.

Katsanis, Lea, M. V. Thakor and Sharmin Ahmed (2004), “Pharmaceutical Company Gift-Giving to Physicians: Some Effects On Perceived Information Value, Prescribing, and Acceptance of Representative Visits”. Presented at the Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference, May 26-29, Vancouver B.C.

Lavack, Anne, M. V. Thakor and Ingrid Bottausci (2001). “Music-Brand Congruency in Radio Advertising”. Presented at the American Marketing Association Summer Educators Marketing Conference, August 11-14, Washington D.C. Winner of the Best Overall Conference Paper Award.

Thakor, M. V. and K. Saleh (2000). “The Effect of Co-Consumer Age and Service Context On Service-Related Attitudes”. Presented at the 2000 Association for Consumer Research Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 19-22, with abstract published in Advances in Consumer Research Vol. XXVIII.

Thakor, M.V. (2000). "Regional Cues and Brand Preferences - Some Determinants". Presented at the 5th International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 22-23 May.

Thakor, M. V. (1997). "Brand Origin Perceptions and Their Effects: Some Research Propositions and Preliminary Results". Presented at the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Marketing Science in May, 1997.

Thakor, M. V. (1997). "Product Quality, Services Quality, and Overall Quality: A Review". Presented at the Second University of West Indies/Concordia University Symposium, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Thakor, M. V. and A. Kumar (1996). "Perceived Service Professionalism and its Correlates: A Bi-national Investigation". Presented at the 5th Annual AMA Frontiers in Services Marketing Conference at Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN. Abstract of paper published in conference proceedings.

Thakor, M. V. (1996). "The Nature of Professional Services: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective". Abstract of paper published in the Northeast Review of International Business Research, eds. C. P. Rao, J. Ford and others, p. 157. Presented at the Academy of International Business U.S. Northeast Regional Conference, Virginia Beach, Va.

Thakor, M. V. (1995). "Strategic Use of the Country of Origin Cue: Managing Quality Levels and Country Equity in a Post-GATT World". Presented at the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, Windsor.

Thakor, M. V., (1994). "Country-of-Origin Effects And Models Of Consumer Choice: Some Marketing Implications for Developing Countries". Presented at the Concordia University/University of West Indies Symposium, Port of Spain Trinidad.

Thakor, M. V. and Fetter R. E., (1990). "An Approach to Structural Equation Modeling with LISCOMP," presented at the Marketing Science Conference, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.

Suri, R., J. Z. Cai and Mrugank Thakor (2007), “Information Sort and Consumers’ Evaluation of Prices”. Poster presentation at 2008 Association for Consumer Research Conference in Memphis, October 25-28, with abstract published in Proceedings.