Sheth selected as distinguished faculty lecturer

Dr. Jagdish Sheth, the Charles H. Kellstadt professor of marketing at Goizueta, is a recognized business consultant and scholar who has authored more than 200 articles and research papers. Sheth also has published 12 books that cover topics on business strategy, consumer psychology, demographics, global competitive strategy, marketing theory, and relationship marketing.

As a result of exceptional contributions to business research and his exemplification of Emory’s vision, Sheth was named The Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for 2006-2007 by Emory University’s Faculty Council. According to Thomas Frank, University Senate president and Faculty Council chair, Sheth’s letter of nomination for the lectureship, which was signed by 20 of his colleagues, was a “remarkable show of acclamation for his place in his field.”

Established in 1996, The Distinguished Faculty Lecture is an annual forum that recognizes outstanding achievement and instruction of Emory faculty. The lecture also provides the Emory community with the opportunity to gain fresh insight from the University's prominent scholars.

During his lecture titled Climate, Culture, and Consumption: Connecting the Dots, Sheth shared his views on climate versus ethnicity as a driver in consumer behavior. Speaking to a diverse audience comprised of faculty, staff, and students, Sheth’s lecture linked climate to cultural differences in time, space, technology preference, friendships and even business agreements. "It is my view that most of these consumption differences are not as much cultural as climatic differences, because cultural differences themselves are ultimately climatic differences," Sheth said.

According to Sheth, the type of food consumed, clothes purchased, and even they type of materials used to build homes are the result of climatic differences that force consumers to align their purchasing habits with their climate. In desert and tropical climates for example, the environment is more relaxed so arriving late to a meeting is an acceptable norm. Desert and tropical climate residents also tend to be more social both in space and friendships.

“In these climates, institutions (family, government, religion, a company) are more important than individuals,” explains Sheth, adding that business interactions also take on a more relaxed familial attitude. Thus, contracts are based on verbal agreements and enforced by tight social norms and integrity. “These behaviors differ from the timeliness, formalities, and individualism prevalent in consumers who live in artic and temperate climates,” observes Sheth.

In order to benefit from globalization, Sheth’s theory requires chief marketing officers to segment their markets by climate, change products to meet climate concentration, and focus mass customization sales and marketing efforts towards strategies that are global yet local in scope.—Isha Edwards