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Marketing

Professor of Marketing

Portrait of Alexander Chernev, Faculty at the Kellogg School of Management

Alexander Chernev is a professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He holds a PhD in psychology from Sofia University and a PhD in business administration from Duke University.

Dr. Chernev's research applies theories and concepts related to consumer behavior and managerial decision making to develop successful marketing strategies. He is an area editor for the Journal of Retail and has served on the editorial boards of top research journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and International Journal of Research in Marketing.

Dr. Chernev's research has been published in the leading marketing journals and has been frequently quoted in the business and popular press, including Scientific American, Associated Press, Business Week, Forbes, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review. He has written numerous articles focused on marketing strategy, brand management, consumer behavior, and market planning.

Based on research impact, Dr. Chernev was ranked among the top ten most prolific scholars in the leading marketing journals by the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Business Research, and among the top five marketing faculty in the area of consumer behavior by a global survey of marketing faculty published by the Journal of Marketing Education. 

Dr. Chernev teaches marketing management, marketing strategy, product management, and behavioral decision theory in MBA, PhD, and executive education programs. He has received numerous teaching awards, including the Chairs Core Course Teaching Award, Kellogg Faculty Impact Award, and the Top Professor Award from the Kellogg Executive MBA Program, which he received fifteen times. In addition to research and teaching, he is an Academic Trustee of the Marketing Science Institute and serves as an expert in business strategy, brand management, consumer behavior, and intellectual property matters. He has advised Fortune 500 companies on ways to reinvent their business models, develop new products, and gain competitive advantage. He has helped multiple startups to uncover market opportunities, craft their business models, and implement their market strategy.

About Alexander
Research interests
  • Consumer decision making and choice
Teaching interests
  • Brand management
  • marketing strategy
  • consumer decision making and choice
  • PhD, 1997, Marketing, Duke University
  • Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2012-present
    Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001-2012
    Assistant Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1998-2001
    Visiting Assistant Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1997-1998
  • Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Kellogg Hong Kong University of Science and Techonology Executive MBA Program, 2023
    Top Cited Article, Journal of Consumer Psychology
    Top Cited Article, Journal of Consumer Psychology
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program Outstanding Teaching Awards, 2021
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program Outstanding Teaching Awards, 2020
    Academic Fellow, Marketing Science Institute (MSI)
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program Outstanding Teaching Awards, 2019
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2018
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2018
    Top Cited Article, Journal of Consumer Research
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2017
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2017
    Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Consumer Research, 2008
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2016
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2016
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2015
    Faculty, American Marketing Association Doctoral Consortium, 2014
    Academic Trustee, Marketing Science Institute, 2014-2017
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2014
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2014
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2013
    Executive MBA Top Professor Award, Executive MBA Program, Kellogg School of Management, 2013
    Faculty Impact Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2009
    Early Career Contribution Award, Society for Consumer Psychology/American Psychological Association, 2005
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Retailing, 2022
    Editorial Board, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2021
    Editor (Guest), Journal of Marketing, 2013
    Associate Editor, Journal of Marketing, 2011-2018
    Editorial Board, Marketing Letters, 2008-Present
    Editorial Board, Journal of Marketing, 2007-Present
    Editorial Board, Journal of Marketing Research, 2007-2019
    Editorial Board, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 2006-2010
    Editorial Board, Journal of Consumer Research, 2002-2021
    Editorial Board, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2001-2017
    Associate Editor (Guest), Marketing Science, 2013
    Editorial Board Member, Journal of Marketing Behavior, 2013-Present
    Editorial Board Member, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2010-Present

Developing Impactful Consumer Behavior Research (MKTG-531-3)

Taking a problem-solving approach, we examine how psychological insights inform and solve real-world consumption problems, and how real-world problems provide new psychological insights. Taking an empirical deep-dive, we also discuss published data, what we can/cannot infer, how to make objective conclusions, and to enhance their substantive impact (e.g., employing observational data, field studies, choice data, and/or programmatic experimental designs).

Theory Building in Consumer Behavior Research (MKTG-531-1)

The purpose of this course is to acquaint you with the principles of theory building in social science research, to help you distinguish between theory-building research and research with other aims, and to provide you with an opportunity to develop your ability to conceptualize and develop research that builds theory.