Wisdom Page Information About Wisdom Researchers

 

David Mick

 

Introduction:     David Mick is the Robert Hill Carter Professor of Marketing at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce, where he teaches courses in market research and consumer behavior. He is the author of over 60 articles, conference papers, and chapters on marketing and consumer behavior, and the editor of four related books. Among these outlets, his research has appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Marketing, Harvard Business Review, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Macromarketing, and Semiotica. David's research has won national awards, and he has been invited to conduct seminars at universities worldwide, including Oxford, Erasmus (Netherlands), Trinity (Ireland), the Stockholm School of Economics, Harvard, Duke, Notre Dame, and Stanford, among others.

David is a Fellow in the Society for Consumer Psychology, former Editor of the Journal of Consumer Research (1999-2003), and past President of the Association for Consumer Research (2005). In this latter role, he has spearheaded a movement called Transformative Consumer Research, which encourages and facilitates scholarly inquiry to improve quality of life for all beings influenced by worldwide consumption activities and trends (see the Transformative Consumer Research navigation link on the ACR homepage: www.acrwebsite.org).

Broadly speaking, David's research has centered on the nature and role of meaning in consumer behavior, particularly in the domains of consumer motivations, advertising, gift giving, materialism, quality of life, and the ownership and use of technological products. Over the last several years his research has also focused on wisdom in executive leadership and consumer behavior.

In his wisdom research David has recruited well-regarded executives and investigated how they perceive wisdom and its components and processes in their decision making; these existential-phenomenological insights are used to bridge micro-marketing strategies to social and ethical macro-marketing issues. The findings are also compared to social science research on practical wisdom, to suggest how that literature can be evaluated and advanced with first-hand accounts of everyday behavioral wisdom. His present research also looks at practical wisdom (or lack thereof) among consumers in their daily acquiring, consuming, and disposing behaviors. For example, the role of conscious intentions, the linking of personal values to goals and behaviors, and the adoption of a wide perspective (considering many factors) all contribute to a sense of higher wisdom in buying behaviors. Marketing promotions, however, are seen by many consumers as triggers of unwise behaviors (e.g., buy-one-get-the-second-at-half-price), as these often encourage purchases beyond one's needs and preferences. David's research also explores how wisdom and free will interact to produce more positive consumer behaviors.

Email:     dmick@virginia.edu

Personal Web Site:    www.commerce.virginia.edu/dgm9t

CV-related Links:     Teaching      Honors & Distinctions      Business Experience      Academic Service

Complete Works Accessible On Line:    http://gates.comm.virginia.edu/dgm9t/research.html