The Harbert College is committed to producing research that advances the academy, extends business thought and shapes best practice.

Three Harbert College marketing professors’ research has been recognized on a national platform. 

Associate professors Dora Bock and Jeremy Wolter, and O.C. Ferrell, Eminent Scholar in Ethics and Director of the Center for Ethical Organizational Cultures at Auburn University, received the “Best Paper” award by the Journal of Services Marketing, a Category 1 journal, for their study, “Artificial Intelligence: Disrupting what we know about services.”

The paper, published in February 2020, examines artificial intelligence’s current and potential impact on prominent service theories as related to the service encounter within retail, or other business interactions that utilize the technology.

“Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the customer experience in the service encounter and these scholar’s research is at the forefront of advancing our understanding of its implementation and applications,” said Chris Hopkins, Chair of Harbert College’s Department of Marketing. 

“We are overwhelmed with pride at the accomplishments of Drs. Bock, Wolter and Ferrell. We consider it a great asset to have fine scholars whose cutting-edge work is being recognized as being the most impactful in the discipline. This accomplishment makes great strides in enhancing the equity and value of the Harbert College of Business and Marketing Department brands worldwide.” 

Bock, a Harbert College Dean’s Faculty Fellow, specializes in researching customer relationships, gratitude, and decision making. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in various journals including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Psychology & Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Marketing. 

In 2016, Bock received the Best Article of the Year Award from the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice for research on retirement decision-making and received the Best in Track Award presented by the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice for research on healthcare decision-making. 

Wolter, a Harbert College Dean’s Faculty Fellow, focuses his research on customer-centric marketing, complaint resolution, customer relationship management, and corporate reputation. His research has appeared in a number of journals, including the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and the Journal of Services Marketing.

In 2019, Wolter earned the Sharon Beatty Best Paper in Services Marketing Award by the Society for Marketing Advances for his co-authored paper, “The Influence of Other Customers in Online Service Recovery.

Ferrell’s research focuses on business ethics, social responsibility and sustainability. His current research is on the successful implementation of AI ethics. Ferrell has published over 100 articles in journals such as  Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, AMS Review, Journal of Business Research, as well as others.  

“We are extremely fortunate to have each of these outstanding scholars as part of Harbert College of Business and the Department of Marketing,” Hopkins added.