JBIMS, Mumbai Hosts Mr. Harish Sujan, Professor, Tulane University, Louisiana

JBIMS, Mumbai Hosts Mr. Harish Sujan, Professor, Tulane University, Louisiana

The students of JBIMS were recently taken through the latest in academic research by an international academician. Prof. Harish Sujan is the professor of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing at Tulane University, Louisiana.

A B.tech from IIT Delhi and an alumnus of Jamnanlal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Prof. Sujan also received a Ph. D. at the University of California and Los Angeles (UCLA). His work has been published in several journals including the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. He has presented his research at a variety of conferences, including the Association for Consumer Research conferences, American Marketing Association conferences and Marketing Science conferences.The students were privy to some of the latest insights thrown up in the research conducted by the professor.

Prof. Harish Sujan Interacting with Students at Jamnanlal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai

Prof. Sujan started by walking the students through consumer behaviour in the context of the American market. He reviewed the various drivers that were pivotal in influencing purchase decisions. A sea change had come about in consumer expectation post the recession and salespeople needed to equip themselves to tackle the same during selling encounters. Hedonism had been replaced as the top driver by smart consumerism and thrift. He also foresaw an increase in buying to satisfy one's need to connect to the community. It was a free wheeling discussion with the students firing a volley of questions in their bid to understand the minds of the North American consumer. The correlation between per capita GDP and happiness, usually in the realm of sociologists, was also discussed as were the implications of a study on the same.

The second part of the lecture focused on an area of Prof. Sujan's current research - Practical Intelligence. Prof. Sujan started by questioning the efficacy of modern day competitive examinations in assessing the practical intelligence of candidates. He revealed some of the testing models based on situational analysis being evolved to test the same. The students enthusiastically participated in some of the tests that had been developed for Latin American students and were pleasantly surprised by the results. He also narrated instances thrown up by research where people without formal education had devised ingenious solutions to problems faced in the workplace. He then introduced into the discussion the importance of motivation to success in sales. The students debated the results of primary research done on the subject and numerous insights emerged. Prof. Sujan applauded the students for their keen interest and participation and the students enjoyed the interaction with a member of international academic community. Prof. Sujan concluded by exhorting the students to consider a career in academic research.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Dishant Shah & Sameer Dohadwala ,
The Corporate Relations Committee,
JBIMS, Mumbai.

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