Kurt Carlson

Fields Professor of Marketing

Dean's Research Fellow: 2019-2022
Area: Marketing
Phone: 757-221-1749
Email: [[m|kurt.carlson]]
Office: Miller Hall 3067E

Biography

Kurt Carlson is the Fields Professor of Marketing. He is the former director of the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research and the Co-Director of the McDonough School of Business Behavioral Research Lab. He has a MS in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in Management from Cornell University. From 2001 to 2009 he was on faculty at Duke University, and most recently has been on faculty at Georgetown University. Associate Dean Carlson's teaching and research examine the marketing management implications of consumer decision-making processes.

CV

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Ph.D., Johnson School of Management, Cornell University (2001)
M.Sc., Ag & Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin at Madison (1993)
B.Sc., Ag & Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin at Madison (1991)

William & Mary, Raymond A. Mason School of Business (2017-present)
Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business (2009-2017)
Duke University, Fuqua School of Business (2001-2009)

Personnel Committee, William & Mary (2022-present; Chair 2024)
Faculty Hearing Committee, William & Mary (2021-present; Chair 2023)
Associate Dean for Faculty & Academic Affairs, William & Mary (2017-2020)
Co-founder and Director, Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, Georgetown University (2013-2017)
Faculty Chair, MSB Undergraduate Program, Georgetown University (2016-2017)
Chair, Undergraduate Curriculum and Standards Committee, Georgetown University (2016-2017)
Co-Director, McDonough School of Business Behavioral Research Lab, Georgetown University (2010-2017)

Banerji, Dillon, Carlson (2025), An Exploration of How Motivations and Perceived Ability Influence an Advisor's Willingness to Give Advice, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.
Wilroy-Ross, Meloy, and Carlson (2020), Preference Refinement after a Budget Contraction, Journal of Consumer Research.
Hydock, Chen, and Carlson (2020), Why Unhappy Customers Are Unlikely to Share Their Opinions with Brands, Journal of Marketing.
Blanchard, Hada, and Carlson (2018), Specialist Competitor Referrals: Using Competitor Referrals for Nonfocal Products to Increase Focal Product Sales, Journal of Marketing.
Hatch, Carlson, and Droms (2018), Effects of Market Returns and Market Votality on Investor Risk Tolerance, Journal of Financial Services Marketing.
Dillon-Merrill and Carlson (2017), Seeking Advice from Experts: A Cautionary Tale, Aerospace Conference IEEE.
Blanchard, Carlson, Hyodo (2016), The Favor Request Effect: Requesting a Favor from Consumers to Seal the Deal. Journal of Consumer Research.
Carlson, Wolfe, Blanchard, Ariely, and Huber (2015), The Budget Contraction Effect: How Contracting Budgets Lead to Less Varied Choice, Journal of Marketing Research.
Carlson, Tanner, Meloy, and Russo (2014), Catching Goals in the Act of Decision Making, Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Shu and Carlson (2014), When Three Charms but Four Alarms: Identifying the Optimal Number of Claims in Persuasion Settings, Journal of Marketing.
Blanchard, Carlson, and Meloy (2014), Biased Predecisional Processing of Leading and Non-Leading Alternatives, Psychological Science.
Carlson, Meloy, and Gelfand-Miller (2013), Goal Reversion in Consumer Choice, Journal of Consumer Research.
Carlson and Guha (2011), Leader-focused Search: The Influence of an Emerging Preference on Information Selection, Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Carlson and Conrad (2011), Temporal Response to Opportunities: A Look at the Last Name Effect, Journal of Consumer Research.
Bond, Carlson, and Keeney (2010), Generating Better Sets of Decision Objectives, Decision Analysis (lead article), awarded Best Annual Publication by the Decision Analysis Society in 2012.
Carlson, Meloy, and Lieb (2009) Benefits Leader Reversion: How a Once Preferred Product Recaptures Its Standing, Journal of Marketing Research.
Tanner and Carlson (2009), Unrealistically Optimistic Consumers: A Selective Hypothesis Testing Account for Optimism in Predictions of Future Behavior, Journal of Consumer Research.
Russo, Carlson, Meloy, and Yong (2008), The Goal of Consistency as a Cause of Distortion, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Carlson et al. (2008), A Theoretical Framework for Goal-Based Choice and for Prescriptive Analysis, Marketing Letters.
Bond, Carlson, and Keeney (2008), Generating Objectives: Can Decision Makers Articulate What They Want? Management Science.
Carlson and Shu (2007), The Rule of Three: How the Third Event Signals the Emergence of a Streak, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Bond, Carlson, Meloy, Russo, and Tanner (2007), Information Distortion in the Evaluation of a Single Option, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Russo, Carlson, and Meloy (2006), Choosing an Inferior Alternative, Psychological Science.
Carlson, Meloy, and Russo (2006), Leader-Driven Primacy: How Attribute Order Can Affect Consumer Choice, Journal of Consumer Research.
Carlson and Bond (2006), Improving Preference Assessment through Pre-exposure to Attribute Levels, Management Science.
Carlson and Klein-Pearo (2004), Limiting Predecisional Distortion by Prior Valuation of Attribute Components, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Carlson and Russo (2001), Biased Interpretation of Evidence by Mock Jurors, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (lead article).
Gould and Carlson (1998), Strategic Management Objectives of Small Manufacturers: A Case Study of the Cheese Industry, Review of Agricultural Economics.
Carlson and Gould (1994), The Role of Health Knowledge in Determining Dietary Fat Intake, Review of Agricultural Economics.

Using WOM to Overcome Consumer Aversion for Returned Products, R&R invited (with Banerji and Gretz)
That Money Feels Like Mine: How a Consumer-Funded Fran Increases Incentive Effectiveness, R&R invited (with Lu and Tanner)
Inflation's Effect on Preference Stability, working paper (with Ross & Meloy)
Assessing Investor Biases Emerging from the Reading of Financial-Analyst Reports: Distortion of Information to Support Directional and Volatility-based Leanings (with Blanchard)

Distortion as a Driver of the Continuing Information Effect (with Russo and Sophie-Chaxel)
How Recasting Acquisition Costs as Goal Investments Supports Consumer Welfare (with Soster)
In Search of Hidden Preferences (with Guha)

Textbook: Johansson and Carlson (2014), Contemporary Brand Management, Sage.
Chapter: Russo and Carlson (2002), Individual Decision Making, Handbook of Marketing.
Blanchard, Carlson, and Hyodo (2015), Making a Discount Feel Like a Favor: How Pairing an Offer With a Favor Request Helps Seal the Deal, Advances in Consumer Research, 43, Pages: 467-469.
Hydock, Wilson, and Carlson (2015), Cognitive Dissonance Drives Politically Motivated Consumption As Evidenced Through Asymmetric Willingness to Sacrifice Utility, Advances in Consumer Research, 43, Page: 569.
2014 Thanksgiving Black Friday Survey Report, Published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013 (with GICR Research staff).
Q4 2014 Consumer Problem Survey Report, Published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Hydock).
Q3 2014 Consumer Problem Survey Report, Published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Hydock).
Q2 2014 Consumer Problem Survey Report, Published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Hydock).
Finding the Fiercely Loyal Among the Frequent Buyers, Viewpoint for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Banerji).
2014 Tax Refund Spending Survey Report (with Skowronek and Banerji)
Understanding the Difference between Frequent Buyers and Fiercely Loyal Consumers, Research Brief for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Banerji).
Q1 2014 Consumer Problem Survey Report, published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Hydock).
2014 Valentine's Day Survey Report, published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2014 (with Banerji and Skowronek).
Q4 2013 Consumer Problem Survey Report, Published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013 (with Hydock).
Finding the Right Person for the Right Job: Exploring the Links between Personality and Sales, Research Brief for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013 (with Banerji).
2013 Thanksgiving Black Friday Survey Report, Published by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013 (with Banerji).
Get the Segmentation Basis Right and Consumers will Divulge, Research Brief for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013 (with Banerji).
The Need Realization Model, Viewpoint for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013.
Seeking Hidden Preferences, Research Brief for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013.
The Budget Contraction Effect, Research Brief for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013.
Discount Distortion: The Influence of a Leading Option on the Interpretation of Price, Research Brief for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, 2013.
Carlson, "Imperfect Competition Models and Commodity Promotion Evaluation: The Case of U.S. Generic Dairy Advertising (Review)," in New Methodologies for Commodity Promotion Economics, National Institute of Commodity Promotions Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Marketing Strategy, Executive MBA, William & Mary. Spring 2025 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = tbd; EdValue of Course = tbd
Marketing Career Acceleration Module, MBA, William & Mary. Spring 2025 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.67; EdValue of Course = 4.67
Principles of Marketing, Summer Business Minor, William & Mary. Summer 2025 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 5.0; EdValue of Course = 5.0
Marketing Management, Executive MBA, William & Mary. Spring 2025 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.80; EdValue of Course = 4.10
Corporate Field Consultancy, MBA Fall 2024, William & Mary (5 students)
Principles of Marketing, UG, William & Mary (2 sections - weighted averages). 2024 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.96 (med=5); EdValue of Course = 4.40 (med=4.5)
Marketing Management, MBA, William & Mary (2 sections - weighted averages). 2024 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.4 (med=5); EdValue of Course = 4.2 (med=4.5)
Marketing Management, MBA, William & Mary (2 sections - weighted averages). 2023 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.7; EdValue of Course = 4.3
Marketing Management, MBA, William & Mary (2 sections - weighted averages). 2022 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.6; EdValue of Course = 4.2
Marketing Management, MBA, William & Mary (2 sections - weighted averages). 2021 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.5; EdValue of Course = 4.4
Marketing Analytics, Residential FT&PTMBA, William & Mary. 2023 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.5; EdValue of Course = 4.1
Marketing Analytics, Residential FT&PTMBA, William & Mary. 2022 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.3; EdValue of Course = 3.7
Introduction to Business RPA, William & Mary UG. 2019 Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.6; EdValue of Course = 4.6
Analytical Problem Solving, Georgetown FT & EP MBA Programs (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Co-taught with Babich, Dillon-Merrill, and Kaku
Buyer Behavior, Georgetown Undergraduate (spring 2010, 2011, 2012). Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.7; Course = 4.5. Weighted average of 8 sections with a total of 328 students (41 students per section)
Core Marketing (Marketing Management), Georgetown Evening MBA Program (2009). Ratings (out of 5): Instructor = 4.8; Course = 4.7. Weighted average of 2 sections with 123 students (62 students per section). Voted Professor of the Module for this course (Fall 2009)
Core Marketing (Marketing Management), Duke Weekend Executive MBA (2003-2009). Ratings (out of 7): Instructor = 6.5; Course = 6.3
Market Intelligence Elective, Duke Daytime MBA and Global Executive MBA. Ratings (out of 7): Instructor = 6.1; Course = 5.8
McDonough School of Business Global Business of Sports, Executive Education at Georgetown University
Brand Advantage Open Enrollment (Academic Director), Executive Education at Georgetown University
Customized program for Panasonic, Executive Education at Georgetown University
Customized program for Young Presidents' Organization, Executive Education at Georgetown University
Introduction to Marketing Custom program for Alion, Executive Education at Georgetown University
Go to Market Strategy for Abengoa, Executive Education at Georgetown University

Aner Tal, College of Law and Business in Ramat-Gan (Marketing, Fuqua, 2009)
Robin Tanner, University of Wisconsin Madison (Marketing, Fuqua, Committee Chair, 2008)
Samuel Bond, Georgia Tech (Marketing, Fuqua, 2007)

Best Paper: Using WOM to Overcome Consumer Aversion for Returned Products, AMA (2022)
Dean's Research Fellow, Raymond A. Mason School of Business (2020-2023)
NSF grant, Advisor Creep, ($389,000), with Dillon-Merrill (2013-2016)
MSI grant, Engagement by Anthropomorphizing Brands, with Hydock & Wilson (2014)
Best Annual Publication from Decision Analysis Society, with Bond & Keeney (2012)
Dean's Teaching Award, McDonough School of Business (2009-2011)
Distinguished Faculty Research Award, McDonough School of Business (2010)
Professor of the Module, Georgetown MBA Evening Program (2009)
NSF SGER Grant to study nonconscious goals, with Russo & Meloy, (2006-2008)
AMA Doctoral Consortium Fellow (2000)
Microeconomics Qualifier passed, Economics Department, Cornell University (1996)
Outstanding Teaching Assistant, Cornell University (1996)
Outstanding Master's Thesis, Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW-Madison (1994)

With the Right Motivation that Home Gym Makes Sense, New York Times, January, 2009
The Soft Tyranny of Alphabetical Order, The Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2011
Last Names and Buying Habits: How These Researchers Explain the Connection, LA Times, 1/21/11
Zyzmor's Revenge? New York Times, 1/22/11
How your Name May Cost You at the Mall, Time Magazine, 1/28/11
The Power of Three: Three Is the Right Number for Persuasion, a Study Says, New York Times, 1/3/14
Black Friday Shopping May Show Improving Economy, US News & World Report, 11/27/14
Survey Says Black Friday is One Chaotic Day, USA Today, 11/26/14
Targeting Advertising to Shoppers Can Backfire, Chicago Tribune, 9/25/14
Always Have Three Beverages, The Atlantic, 8/19
A Bot for Every Student, UiPath Forward 10/19

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