Faculty & Staff Directory

FACULTY PROFILE

"I joined Governors State University in fall of 2011 as a marketing faculty in the College of Business and Public administration. Prior to my transition into academia, I worked in marketing research at ACNielsen, India and in advertising at Lowe Lintas and Partners, India. It is really gratifying to have finally found the job I really like and can do for the rest of my working life. Academia affords us a platform where one can disseminate and exchange ideas, establish new ideas in the minds of people, and have the creative liberty to challenge and create new ideas through research."

Research

"One primary focus of marketing researchers is studying when and why consumers behave the way they do. Consumer behavior is influenced by how consumers think, feel, and process information in consumption environments. I am fascinated by how consumers learn, remember, process, and respond to new marketing information. In my dissertation work titled “Associative Versus Item Memory for Brands among Elderly Consumers,” I investigated ways by which marketers can improve brand memories in older consumers.

I found evidence to suggest that age and different types of schematic supports affect the two types of brand memories, i.e., associative and item memory differently. My current research further explores how other marketing variables may affect these two types of memories differently. Such finer-grained understanding of brand memories can equip marketers to craft more effective marketing strategies.

I have presented my research work at national-level, peer-reviewed conferences such as the Association for Consumer Research conference, Society for Consumer Psychology conference, American Marketing Association conference, and American Psychological Association conference. I am a member of the Association for Consumer Research. At the university, I am an active member of the Faculty and Student Development Committee and the Institutional Review Board (IRB)."

What is Marketing?

"When I ask my students, what is marketing, they often say marketing is about advertising and promotions. In another classic discussion on whether marketing creates needs or does it make us aware of our needs; a majority of the students say marketing creates needs. In general, I get an impression that people think marketing is about selling things to them that they do not need. I would argue that this may not be true. Marketing is a consumer-centric approach to doing business that ends up creating value for the consumers and profits for the business.

If we look at the products and services that surround us today and compare those with what we had say twenty years back, the benefits of this consumer-centric approach will become very apparent to us. However, the availability and deluge of these wonderful products and services can tempt us into a spending spiral that would need to be restrained. The power invariably lies in the hands of the consumer and we should not relinquish that."

Teaching

"I find teaching at Governors State University to be a rewarding experience. I love the discipline of marketing and would like my students to love it too. Hence, my approach has been to provide theoretical rigor while presenting the materials in an interesting manner through real life examples and classroom discussions. One can easily get lost in the overwhelming number of theories and concepts that the discipline has generated so far.

At the end of the day, I think it is important that students get the bigger picture of how marketing is applicable to achieving different company objectives such as successful new product introductions, brand repositioning, etc. To this end, I like to assign group projects and case studies in my courses that provide a more holistic view of the discipline. The group assignments are non-linear, ambiguous, complex, and even if a student cannot fathom all the pieces of the puzzle, it is the closest to what one might face at work."

Undergraduate
• MKTG 3200 Consumer Behavior
• MKTG 2100 Introduction to Marketing
• MKTG 4200 Promotional Strategies
• MKTG 4400 Marketing Channel Management

MBA
• MKTG 7100 Strategic Management (Online MBA class)

- Praggyan (Pam) Mohanty, Ph.D

LinkedIn | Curriculum Vitae

PUBLICATIONS: REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES  

Mohanty, Praggyan and S. Ratneshwar (2016), “Visual Metaphors in Ads: The Inverted-U Effects of Incongruity on Processing Pleasure and Ad Effectiveness,” Journal of Promotion Management, 22 (3), 443-460, doi: 10.1080/10496491.2016.1154924.

Mohanty, Praggyan, Moshe Naveh-Benjamin, and S. Ratneshwar (2016), “Beneficial Effects of Schematic Support on Older Adults' Memory: Differential Patterns of Support of Item and Associative Information,” Psychology and Aging, 31 (1), 25-36, doi: 10.1037/pag0000059.

• Psychology and Aging® is published by the American Psychological Association (APA). It publishes original articles on adult development and aging. Journal Quality Indicators - 2015 Impact Factor: 2.725; 5-Year Impact Factor: 3.618; Ranking: 6 of 32 in Gerontology  

Mohanty, Praggyan and S. Ratneshwar (2015), “Did You Get It? Factors Influencing Subjective Comprehension of Visual Metaphors in Advertising,” Journal of Advertising, 44 (3), 232-242, doi:10.1080/00913367.2014.967424.

• The Journal of Advertising (JA) is the premier academic publication covering significant intellectual development pertaining to advertising theories and their relationship with practice. Journal of Advertising is the Official Journal of the American Academy of Advertising. Journal Quality Indicators - 2015 Impact Factor: 2.288. Rankings: 6/79 in Communication; 31/120 in Business.

Chowdhury, Tilottama G., S. Ratneshwar, and Praggyan Mohanty (2009), “The Time-Harried Shopper: Exploring the Differences between Maximizers and Satisficers,” Marketing Letters, 20 (2), 155-167, doi: 10.1007/s11002-008-9063-0.

•  Marketing Letters: A Journal of Research in Marketing publishes high-quality, shorter papers on marketing, the emphasis being on immediacy and current interest. Journal Quality Indicators - 2015 Impact Factor: 1.508

PUBLICATIONS: CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Mohanty, Praggyan (2008), “The Use of Visual Metaphors in Ads: Incongruity, the Aha Effect and Affect,” AMA Winter Educators’ Conference: Marketing Theory and Applications, Austin, TX, 1-9
Mohanty, Praggyan (2007), “My Jaguar is a Dog: Role of Incongruity and ‘Aha’ Effect in Pleasure of the Text,” Sixteenth Annual Robert Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium Doctoral Research in Marketing, (5-7) April.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Mohanty, Praggyan, S. Ratneshwar, and Moshe Naveh-Benjamin (2012), Improving Associative and Item Memory for Brands Among Elderly Consumers, Association for Consumer Research Annual North American Conference, Vancouver, Canada (National, peer-reviewed conference)

Mohanty, Praggyan, S. Ratneshwar, and Moshe Naveh-Benjamin (2012), “Making Brand Associations and Brand Elements Memorable in Elderly Consumers,” Summer Marketing Educators Conference, American Marketing Association, Chicago IL (National, peer-reviewed conference)

Mohanty, Praggyan, S. Ratneshwar, and Moshe Naveh-Benjamin (2012), “Effect Of Age And Prior Knowledge On Associative And Item Memory For Brands,” Society for Consumer Psychology Annual 2012 Summer Conference, Orlando FL (National, peer-reviewed conference)

Symposium/ Special Session (2011), “Visual Advertising: Paths to Persuasion,” Society for Consumer Psychology Winter Conference, Atlanta, GA; Session Chair: Praggyan Mohanty, Discussion Leader: Laura A. Peracchio (National, peer-reviewed conference)

Mohanty, Praggyan (2008), “The Use of Visual Metaphors in Ads: Incongruity, the Aha Effect and Affect,” American Marketing Association Winter Educators’ Conference: Marketing Theory and Applications, Austin, TX, 1-9 (National, peer-reviewed conference)

Mohanty, Praggyan (2007), “The Use of Visual Metaphors in Ads: Incongruity, Aha Effect and Affect,” Poster Presentation at the Association for Consumer Research Annual North American Conference, Memphis, TN (National, peer-reviewed conference)

Mohanty, Praggyan (2007), “My Jaguar is a Dog: Role of Incongruity and ‘Aha’ Effect in Pleasure of the Text,” Sixteenth Annual Robert Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium Doctoral Research in Marketing, (5-7) April. (Regional, peer-reviewed conference)