His latest research focuses on managerial issues on technology and innovation in marketing, such as Robotic Technology, Blockchain, and Big Data. He collaborates with leading firms in robotics, AI, and Big Data analytics, including Softbank Robotics, Iris Robotics, Iris Ohyama, Daiei Inc., Happo-en, and Megaputer Intelligence. In 2024, he won the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Building the Bridge Grant Award. For his paper on consumer adoption of robotic technology, he received M. Wayne DeLozier Best Conference Paper Award at 2018 Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Most recently, collaborating with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, he further developed this research project into a new class Marketing Revolution with Machine Learning.
His article on Big Data consumer analytics was ranked as the eighth most cited article in marketing (Shugan's Top 20 Marketing Meta-Journal, the University of Florida). Building on this article and creating a strategic partnership with a leading company of Big Data analytics, he developed a new course Big Data Consumer Analytics. Furthermore, he has been invited as a guest speaker at a major analytics conference in the industry.
His research has been published in various journals, including Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Journal of Advertising. He has presented his research at various conferences, including the Society of Consumer Psychology, Academy of Marketing Science, and Advertising and Consumer Psychology. He has taught Marketing Revolution with Machine Learning, Big Data Consumer Analytics, Marketing Strategy, Consumer Behavior, and Principle of Marketing.
Selected News and Activities
⚡ Invited to Present at Academy Marketing Science Conference as AMS Bridge Grant Award Recipient, Montreal, Canada, May, 2025.⚡ Invited to Join Advisory Council, Marketing Accountability and Standards Board (MASB), April, 2025.
⚡ My paper "Managing Digital Transformation with Blockchain:Distributed Ledger Innovation Platforms", co-authored with Professor Greg Fisher has been published online, Journal of Product Innovation Management, April, 2025.
⚡ Invited to organize "Digital Innovation" Track for 2025 Journal of Product Innovation Management Research Forum, December, 2024.
⚡ Won the AMS Building the Bridge Grant Award for his commitment to practically relevant research, July, 2024.
⚡ Invited to present "Pepper, just show me the way!" at Waseda UniversityTokyo, Japan, July, 2024.
⚡ Invited to present "Enhancing Innovation via the Digital Twin" at APU (Ristumeikan Asia Pacific University), Beppu, Oita, Japan, June, 2024.
⚡ Invited to present at the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference, Coral Gables, Florida, May, 2024.
⚡ Selected as one of the three finalists for the AMS Building the Bridge Grant Competition, March, 2024.
⚡ Gave an invited talk "The Digital Twin Revolution: Enhancing Customer Experience with AI and ML" to marketing and finance executives at the Marketing Accountability Standards Board Winter Summit, March, 2024.
⚡ Invited as a panel member for "AI, Causal Analytics & Marketing Accountability" at the Marketing Accountability Standards Board Winter Summit, March, 2024.
⚡ Gave an invited talk "The Digital Twin and Society Well-being" at the Engineering Ethics Committee, Tokyo, Japan, March, 2024.
⚡ Gave an invited lecture "The Digital Twin Revolution" to over 200 practitioners in the Digital Transformation Guest Lecture Series, Tokyo Electron (the world leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer), January 10, 2024.
⚡ Interviewed by the University of Mississippi about my latest publication on consumer adoption of robots "Retail Robots should Bring Tidings of Comfort, not Discomfort", December 13, 2023.
⚡ My paper "Pepper, just show me the way! How robotic shopping assistants should look and act", co-authored with Professor Yu-Shan (Sandy) Huang, and Professor Barry J. Babin has been accepted for publication in Journal of Consumer Behavior, October 4, 2023.
💥 Inviting Dr. Hidenori Takahashi, CEO, Deep EyeVision Inc. as a guest speaker for my new class, Marketing Revolution with Machine Learning, "From an eye doctor's encounter with deep learning to the launch of a certified AI medical device program", February 23, 2023. (More information)
⚡ My paper "Robots in retail: Rolling out the Whiz", co-authored with Professor Aric Rindfleish, and Professor Naoto Onzo has been accepted for publication in AMS Review, September 30, 2022.
⚡ Invited to join the Editorial Review Board for Journal of Global Fashion Marketing May 31, 2022.
⚡ My paper "Driving Innovation via the Digital Twin", co-authored with Professor Aric Rindfleish, has been accepted for publication as Catalyst Article in Journal of Product Innovation Management, June 7, 2022.
⚡ Presented "Value Creation and Disruptive Innovation by Robots" at 2022 Academy of Marketing Science Conference, May 27, 2022.
⚡ Invited my former MBA student, Gowtham Kethineedi, CVS Health Analyst as a Guest Speaker for my new class, Marketing Revolution with Machine Learning, May 3, 2022
💥 Spring 2022: New Marketing Course MKT 5001: Marketing Revolution with Machine Learning
⚡ My paper "Dynamic Capability and Open-Source Strategy in the Age of Digital Transformation" has been published in Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Marketing, and Complexity, July 16, 2021.
⚡ Invited to give a graduate seminar course at the Graduate School of Business and Commerce, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, June 2021.
💥 Spring 2021: New Marketing Course MKT 5410: Big Data Consumer Analytics
⚡ Invited to give a graduate seminar course at the Graduate School of Business and Commerce, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, June 2020.
⚡ Organized a special session on AI and Robot at 2020 AMA Marketing & Public Policy Conference, May 28, 2020.
⚡ My paper "Big Data Consumer Analytics and the Transformation of Marketing" is ranked the eighth most cited article in marketing according to Shugan's Top 20 Marketing Meta-Journal at the University of Florida, February 29, 2020.
💥 Spring 2020: I am on sabbatical leave and visiting Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
⚡ My paper "Robots on Blockchain: Emergence of Robotic Service Organizations" has been published in Journal of Service Management Research, February 13, 2020.
💥 Fall 2019: I am on sabbatical leave and visiting Department of Business Administrtation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Photo with the host Dr. Aric Rindfleisch)
⚡ Invited to give a talk on "Consumer Big Data and Innovation in Marketing" at Research Institute of Business Administration, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, July 1, 2019.
⚡ Invited to give a graduate seminar course at the Graduate School of Business and Commerce, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, June 2019. (Photo)
⚡ Organized a panel discussion on "Implication of Robotic Shopping Assistant in Marketing" at the Annual Academy of Marketing Science Conference, Vancouver, Canada, May 2019. (Photo with panel members)
⚡ Organized a special session on "Robotic Shopping Assistants and Other Emerging Technologies for Automation in Frontline Encounters" at the Annual Academy of Marketing Science Conference, Vancouver, Canada, May 2019.
💥 My paper "Consumers' Willingness to Try a Robotic Shopping Assistant: The Role of Imagery" wins the M. Wayne DeLozier Best Conference Paper Award at Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 2018. (Photo with my co-author Dr. Yu-Shan Huang)
Selected Photos
(With Panel Members)
Organized Panel Discussion on Robotic Shopping Assistant
Academy of Marketing Science
Vancouver, Canada
May 2019
(With Prof. Hidesuke Takata and graduate students)
Invited as Distinguished Visiting Professor
Graduate Seminar on Big Data and Marketing
Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
June 2019
Guest lecture on Big Data and Innovation
Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
July 2018
(With my co-author, Yu-Shan (Sandy) Huang)
M. Wayne DeLozier Best Conference Paper Award
Academy of Marketing Science
New Orleans, Louisiana
May 2018
(With Sergei Ananyan, CEO of Megaputer Intelligence Inc.)
Invited talk at Megaputer Analytics Conference
Megaputer Intelligence Inc.
October 2017