
Ravi Dhar is the George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing and Director of the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management. He also has an affiliated appointment as Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology, Yale University.
He is an expert in consumer behavior and branding, marketing management, and marketing strategy and a leader in bringing psychological insights to the study of consumer decision-making. His research focuses on using psychological principles, such as limited self-control and cognitive limitations in processing information, to investigate fundamental aspects about the formation of consumer preferences and goals in order to understand consumer behavior in the marketplace.
Over the years, he has addressed questions such as the following: How do consumers make a choice as the number of options multiply? How do people make tradeoffs between what’s fun and what’s practical? Can engaging in a selfless act lead to more selfish choices? Does making an initial purchase have an impact on their willingness to spend on additional purchase? His other research focuses on understanding consumer motivation to pursue their goals in various situations as well managing the simultaneous pursuit of multiple goals. In real-life situations, people hold several different, even conflicting goals that they intend to accomplish and his research explores the regulation of multiple goals in multiple goal systems. His work has been mentioned in Business Week, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, USA Today, and other popular media.
He has been a visiting professor at HEC Graduate School of Management in Paris, at Erasmus University in the Netherlands, and at the Business Schools at Stanford and New York University. In addition, he has consulted to companies in a wide variety of industries, including health care, financial services, high tech, CPG and luxury goods.
He has published more than 70 articles and has received several awards for his research. He also serves or has served on the editorial boards of leading marketing journals, such as Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Marketing Science. He has led seminars on various marketing topics for senior executives in Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
Expertise
Education
- PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 1992
- MS, University of California, Berkeley, 1990
- MBA, Indian Institute of Management, 1987
- BTech, Indian Institute of Technology, 1986
Courses
- Customer Insights and Applications MGT 650
- Strategic Marketing Leadership: The Role of a Chief Marketing Officer MGT 859
Selected Articles
When does Altruism Trump Self-Interest? The Moderating Role of Affect in Extrinsic Incentives
The Uncertain Self: How Self-Concept Structure Affects Subscription Choice
Apples, Oranges and Erasers: The Effect of Considering Similar versus Dissimilar Alternatives on Purchase Decisions
Seeing Stars: How the Binary Bias Distorts the Interpretation of Customer Ratings
Effect of Intelligence on Consumers’ Responsiveness to a Pro-Environmental Tax: Evidence from Large-Scale Data on Car Acquisitions of Male Consumers
Selected Books
Working Papers
A New Framework for Behavioral Change
Authenticity is Contagious: Magical Thinking and Preference for the Original Source of Production
It’s the Thought that Counts: Causality and Compensatory Reasoning in Consumer Choice
When More Is Less: Construal Level and the Effects of Secondary Benefits on Pro-social Motivations
Achievements
- Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Society of Consumer Psychology, 2012
- Yale SOM Alumni Association Teaching Award, Yale School of Management Alumni Association, 2012
- Finalist, William O'Dell Award, 2012, 2008, 2004
- Winner, William O'Dell Award, 2005
- Finalist, Paul Green Award, 2004
- INFORMS Consortium Faculty Fellow
- AMA Consortium Faculty Fellow
- John A. Howard AMA Doctoral Dissertation Award, 1992-1993 (Honorable Mention)
- AMA Doctoral Consortium Fellow, 1991
Consultancies
- IBM
- AT&T
- United Healthcare
- Pepsico
- Praxair
- Procter & Gamble
- Visa
- General Mills
- Expert witness and consultant in legal cases
Editorships
- Journal of Consumer Psychology Editorial Board
- Journal of Marketing Editorial Board
- Journal of Marketing Research Associate Editor
- Marketing Letters Editorial Board
- Marketing Science Past Associate Editor
- Journal of Consumer Research Past Associate Editor
Managerial Summary of Recent Research
"Making the Price of Indulgence Right" (with U. Khan), Sloan Management Review, March 30, 2011
"Column: The Persuasive Power of Opportunity Costs" by Shane Frederick, Harvard Business Review, January - February, 2011
"The Power of Customers’ Mindset" (with K. Goldsmith and J. Xu), Sloan Management Review, October 1, 2010
"Giving Consumers License to Enjoy Luxury" (with U. Khan and S. Schmidt), Sloan Management Review, April 1, 2010
"A Mind for Brand Extensions" by By Larry Yu, Sloan Management Review, July 1, 2008