Itamar Simonson

Professor Emeritus, Marketing
+1 (650) 725-8981

Itamar Simonson

The Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, Emeritus

Academic Area:

Research Statement

Itamar Simonson’s research includes decision making, buyer behavior, consumer evaluation of brands and promotional offers, marketing management, and survey methods. Some of Simonson’s studies demonstrate a variety of seemingly irrelevant and irrational influences on consumers' decisions. These studies introduce a new perspective on consumer behavior and suggest more effective approaches to the design of market research investigations and marketing strategies.

Bio

Itamar Simonson is the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, Emeritus at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Itamar has published numerous articles in leading marketing and decision making journals. His work has provided new insights into consumer choice, the factors that drive buyer decisions, the limits of customization, and other central marketing issues. He has won many awards for his research, including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the Society for Consumer Psychology, Elected Fellow of the Association for Consumer Research, the award for Best Article published in the Journal of Consumer Research, twice the Journal of Marketing Research O’Dell Award (for the JMR article that has had the greatest impact on the marketing field in the previous 5 years), the Best Article in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, the Association for Consumer Research Ferber Award, and the American Marketing Association award for the Best Article on services marketing. At Stanford Dr. Simonson has taught MBA courses on marketing management, critical analytical thinking, marketing to businesses, and technology marketing, and PhD courses on consumer behavior, consumer research methods, and decision making. Itamar serves on nine editorial boards of leading marketing and decision making journals.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Duke University, 1987
  • MBA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1978
  • BA, Hebrew University, 1976

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University since 1993
  • Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley, 1987–1993

Professional Experience

  • Product Marketing Manager for two-way communications products, International Division, Motorola Inc., 1978–1983

Awards and Honors

  • The Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Society for Consumer Psychology, 2007
  • Honorary Doctorate, University of Paris II (Sorbonne Universities), 2016
  • Best Article, Journal of Consumer Research, 1990
  • O'Dell Award for the article that has had the greatest impact on the marketing field in the previous five years, Journal of Marketing Research, 1997 and 2001
  • Award for the Best Article, The Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 1993–1995, 1995
  • Elected Fellow, Association for Consumer Research, 2013

Publications

Journal Articles

Ioannis Evangelidis, Jonathan Levav, Itamar Simonson
Journal of Consumer Research
October 2023 Vol. 50 Issue 3 Pages 492–509
Ioannis Evangelidis, Jonathan Levav, Itamar Simonson
Management Science
May 2023 Vol. 69 Issue 5 Pages 2547–3155
Franklin Shaddy, Ayelet Fishbach, Itamar Simonson
Annual Review of Psychology
January 2021 Vol. 72 Pages 181–206
Ioannis Evangelidis, Jonathan Levav, Itamar Simonson
Journal of Market Research
April 2018 Vol. 55 Issue 2 Pages 239-253
Leilei Gao, Itamar Simonson
Journal of Consumer Psychology
October 2016 Vol. 26 Issue 4 Pages 542-549
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Consumer Research
April 19, 2016 Vol. 42 Issue 6 Pages 840-845
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Marketing Behavior
2015 Vol. 1 Pages 9-35
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Marketing Behavior
2015 Vol. 1 Issue 1 Pages 59-73
Aner Sela, Itamar Simonson, Ran Kivetz
Journal of Marketing Research
December 2013 Vol. 50 Issue 6 Pages 691-705
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Consumer Psychology
July 2008 Vol. 18 Issue 3 Pages 155–169
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Consumer Psychology
2008 Vol. 18 Issue 3 Pages 191–196
Ran Kivetz, Itamar Simonson
Journal of Marketing Research
2003 Vol. 40 Issue 4 Pages 454-467
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Retailing
1999 Vol. 75 Issue 3 Pages 347–370
Itamar Simonson, Amos Tversky
Journal of Marketing Research
1992 Vol. 29 Issue 3 Pages 281-295
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Marketing Research
1990 Vol. 27 Issue 2 Pages 150-162
Itamar Simonson
Journal of Consumer Research
September 1989 Vol. 16 Issue 2 Pages 158-174

Books

Itamar Simonson, Emanuel Rosen
Harper Business
New York
2014

Working Papers

Itamar Simonson, Jonah Berger, Michaela Draganska 2006
Itamar Simonson, Raymond Fisman, Sheena Iyengar, Emir Kamenica 2005
Itamar Simonson, Raymond Fisman, Sheena Iyengar, Emir Kamenica 2004

Service to the Profession

Editorial Board

  • International Journal of Research in Marketing, 1992–present
  • Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 1995–present
  • Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1992–present
  • Journal of Consumer Research, 1992–present
  • Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1995–present
  • Journal of Marketing Research, 1992–present
  • Marketing Letters, 1992–present

Member

  • American Marketing Association, 1985–present
  • American Psychological Society, 1985–present
  • Society for Judgment and Decision Making, 1985–present

In the Media

Insights by Stanford Business

May 31, 2017
Reminding customers of their loyalty to your business makes them much more likely to refer friends.
November 09, 2016
A Stanford researcher disputes the theory of “choice overload.”
April 01, 2015
A marketing professor explores the world of collectibles and consumer motivation.
January 29, 2015
Researchers puzzle over how consumers make product choices in the digital marketplace.
February 13, 2014
New research says customized deals often backfire.
February 04, 2014
The authors of a new book on market research explain how a shift in consumer decision-making is fundamentally changing marketing.
November 01, 2010
A new study suggests that many consumer judgments may be determined by genetics.
April 01, 2007
Research shows that information gleaned from customer surveys can be misleading and even counterproductive.
May 01, 2006
Too many options can be a drag on buying behavior, but when consumers must buy, they perceive brands offering greater variety as better.
July 01, 2005
A professor of marketing says telling people to make comparisons, can "change the behavior of consumers in very fundamental ways."
July 01, 2005
Through the lens of dating, a marketing professor looks at how people make choices.
September 01, 2003
Offers that feel tailored to one's taste cause people to view the offer as more attractive, and work much harder for it.
June 01, 2001
How can firms understand and appreciate the cultural background of employees, partners, and customers without overemphasizing or stereotyping it?