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I am a marketing researcher who is interested in using data to analyze marketing problems that also have strong relevance in other areas including organizational behavior and human resources, operations management, economics, and strategy, and that can have a practical impact on multiple functions of companies. While multidisciplinary research has been gaining increasing recognition and emphasis, truly interdisciplinary studies remain rare.

Specifically, I have sought to bridge disciplines through three research pillars: (1) social and peer influence in marketing, (2) new marketing channels, and (3) the application of machine learning and big data in business. As an empirical modeler, I have applied econometric techniques, structural modeling, and machine learning methods on large-scale company internal data to answer my research questions. I have also conducted field experiments in real firms.

My research outcomes have been published in not only a best marketing journal (Marketing Science and Journal of Marketing) but also the top general management journal (Management Science), the flagship journal in operations management (Production and Operations Management), and a leading journal in industrial organization (International journal of Industrial Organization). My work has been cited by researchers in many disciplines, such as Science, Management Science, Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Strategic Management Journal, and Academy of Management Journal. I have been invited to present my research in many preeminent business schools all over the world such as University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Peking University Guanghua School of Management, Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, and University of Sydney Business School.

Marketing Analytics, Digital and Social Media Marketing, Marketing

  • Ph D, Washington University in St. Louis- 2010

Research Interests

  • Substance: Retailing, E-commerce, Sales Management, Branding and Consumer Behavior, Social and Peer Influence in Marketing, Sustainable and Green Marketing, Societal Impact of Marketing Practices

    Methodology: Quantitative Marketing, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Marketing,
    Designing and Conducting Field Experiments

Teaching Interests

  • Marketing Analytics, Digital and Social Media Marketing, Marketing Management, Marketing Research

  • Zhang, W., Li, J.,  Balachander, S. (Forthcoming). Group or Individual Sales Incentives? What Is Best for Brand-Managed Retail Sales Operations? Journal of Marketing.
  • Lu, S. Q., Vassallo, J. P., Choi, A.,  Li, J. (2024). The Role of Political Ideology on Variety-Seeking Behavior During Crisis-Induced Threats: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Retailing, 100 (2),  166-185.
  • Liu, W., Li, J.,  Dalton, C. M. (2023). Disruptions to In-person Medical Visits Across the U.S. During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evolving Disparities by Medical Specialty and Socioeconomic Status. Public Health, 221 (August 2023),  116-123.
  • Jia, J., Li, J.,  Liu, W. (2023). Expectation-Based Consumer Purchase Decisions: Behavioral Modeling and Observations. Marketing Letters, 34,  397-413.
  • Liu, W., Li, J., Huang, S.,  Wang, Y. (2023). Potential Value of Air: Effect of Air Pollution on Retail Store Performance and Customer Behavior. Naval Research Logistics, 70 (6),  601-616.
  • Li, J.,  McCrary, R. (2022). Consumer Communications and Current Events: A Cross-Cultural Study of the Change in Consumer Response to Company Social Media Post Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 10 (4),  173-183.
  • Li, J.,  Fisher, P. (2022). Consumers' Curbside Pickup and Home Delivery Shopping Behavior in the Post-Pandemic Era.  ISBN: 978-1-80356-183-7 (Ed.), : Intechopen.
  • Li, J.,  Kim, S. (2022). Manufacturers' Product Returns: An Empirical Study. Journal of Marketing Channels, 28 (1-2),  50-63.
  • Qi, J., Zhou, Y.,  Li, J. (2022). Measuring Customer Lifetime Value in a Semi-Contractual Transaction Setting. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 21 (2),  103-123.
  • Li, J., Lim, N.,  Chen, H. (2020). Examining Salesperson Effort Allocation in Teams: A Randomized Field Experiment. Marketing Science, 39 (6),  1122-1141.
  • Li, J., Moul, C.,  Zhang, W. (2017). Hoping Grey Goes Green: Air Pollution's Impact on Consumer Automobile Choices. Marketing Letters, 28 (2),  267-279.
  • Li, J., Chan, T.,  Lewis, M. (2016). What Happens When Manufacturers Perform the Retailing Functions. Production and Operations Management, 25 (8),  1391-1403.
  • Li, J.,  Moul, C. (2015). Vertical Contracts, Customer Service, and Social Welfare in a Chinese Mobile Phone Market. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 39 (3),  29-43.
  • Chan, T., Li, J.,  Pierce, L. (2014). Compensation and Peer Effects in Competing Sales Teams. Management Science, 60 (8),  1965-1984.
  • Chan, T., Li, J.,  Pierce, L. (2014). Learning from Peers. Marketing Science, 33 (4),  463-484.

  • 2024 - Robinson-Lightcap Faculty Fellow, Wake Forest University, School of Business
  • 2017 - Coca-Cola Rising Faculty Fellowship, Wake Forest University, School of Business

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