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Sarah Wilner is the Laurier Brand Chair. She holds a PhD in Marketing (minor in Product Design) from York University, an MBA in Marketing from the State University of New York-Buffalo, a post-baccalaureate in communication studies from Bentley University and an undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University (minors in Sociolinguistics and Women's Studies).
Wilner is also a seasoned manager, having managed marketing and communications in a number of public sector organizations, as well as leading several as executive director.
My research interests are located at the intersection of marketing management and consumer behaviour. They cover three interrelated topics as well as a methodological specialization:
Marketing and Brand Management- marketing practice and consumer response
- 'design thinking'; the role of design in brand meaning and positioning
- experiential marketing for brands
- innovation and its microfoundations
- design as a mechanism for legitimacy during market creation
- consumers' experience of brands, products and services
Qualitative research methods.
Current projects include:
Beverland, Michael, Cankurtaran, Pinar, Micheli, Pietro and Sarah JS Wilner, “No Sugar for You! Consumer Sensemaking in the New Urban Economy,” under first round review at Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Studies in development include:
Marketing Communications Now: authoring innovative “living” textbook for undergraduate and graduate students in business administration and/or communications studies. Featuring dynamic content provided by the author and top subject experts; learning forums for communications of practice and experiential exercises. Publisher: Top Hat
“What Lies Underneath: How Marketing Capabilities and Their Microfoundations Shape Innovation Success” with Nicole Coviello, Anne Domurath and Maria Rouziou.
“To Be or Not to Be: Understanding Motivations to Certify in the B Corp Community,” two-paper dissertation thesis by PhD student Ms. Asfiya Taji.
“Nomological Networks as Knowledge Management,” preliminary study and model development for a three-paper dissertation thesis by PhD student Mohammad Simjour.
Dr. Wilner's 2019 Journal of Product Innovation Management paper, “Doing Design Thinking: Conceptual Review, Synthesis and Research Agenda” with Pietro Micheli, Sabeen Bhatti, Matteo Mura and Michael Beverland (March 36(2), pp.124-148. DOI: 10.1111/jpim.12466) was named winner of the 2019 Tom Hustad Outstanding Paper Award for having made the greatest contribution to innovation theory during the year.
In 2017, Dr. Wilner was named the Laurier Brand Chair. She is the recipient of the Innovation Award at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics (2016) and an Insight Development Grant from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2016-2018).
Wilner is also a three-time recipient of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and was awarded a Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2009.
She was named the Canadian Federation of University Women's Beverley Jackson Fellow in 2010-2011 and an M&T Bank Fellow from 2000-2002.
In addition, she has received merit-based awards from York University, State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Management and Brandeis University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1988.
I welcome supervisory inquiries from graduate students interested in my areas of expertise. Please note that I will only supervise research employing qualitative research methods (although I sit on multiple doctoral committees which employ mixed methods and/or are concerned with topics related to my research).
Huff, Aimee Dinnin, Humphreys, Ashlee, and Sarah JS Wilner, “The Politicization of Objects: Meaning and Materiality in the U.S. Cannabis Market.” Journal of Consumer Research, 48(1). DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucaa061
Micheli, Pietro; Sarah JS Wilner; Sabeen Bhatti; Matteo Mura and Michael Beverland, “Doing Design Thinking: Conceptual Review, Synthesis and Research Agenda.” Journal of Product Innovation Management, March 36(2), pp.124-148. DOI: 10.1111/jpim.12466
Wilner, Sarah JS and Aysar Ghassan (2017), “Tales of Seduction and Intrigue: Design as Narrative Agent of Brand Revitalization.” Journal of Marketing Management. Special Issue: Design, Consumption and Marketing. Forthcoming: DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2016.1271346.
Wilner, Sarah JS and Aimee Dinnin Huff (2017), “Objects of Desire: The Role of Product Design in Revising Contested Cultural Meanings.” Journal of Marketing Management. Special issue: Design, Consumption and Marketing. Forthcoming. DOI:10.1080/0267257X.2016.1240099
Beverland, Michael, Sarah JS Wilner and Pietro Micheli (2015), “Resolving the Tension Between Consistency and Relevance: Design Thinking as a Mechanism for Achieving Brand Ambidexterity,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(5): 589-609. Special Issue: Brand and Innovation Interdependency. DOI: 10.1007/s11747-015-0443-8
Kozinets, Robert, DeValk, Kristine, Wojnicki, Andrea and Sarah JS Wilner (2010), “Networked Narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Online Communities,” Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 71-89.
Wilner, Sarah JS, “Developing Design Thinking: GE Healthcare’s Menlo Innovation Program,” in Design and Design Thinking: Essentials in the PDMA’s New Product Development Series, Michael I. Luchs, K. Scott Swan, and Abbie Griffin, eds. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 157-172. (2015)
Wilner, Sarah JS, “A Crisis of Representation? Anthropology in Popular Business Media,” Chapter 25 in Sourcebook of Anthropology in Business, Rita Denny and Patti Sunderland, eds., New York: Routledge. (2014)
Dr. Wilner's research papers have been presented at Association for Consumer Research Conferences, the American Marketing Association Winter Educator's Conference, European Association of Consumer Research Conferences, the Product Development Management Association's Research Forum; the International Society for Product Innovation Management; Consumer Culture Theory Conferences and Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference meetings, among other scholarly venues.
Professor Wilner has taught a wide range of graduate and undergraduate courses. Her curriculum development and teaching experience includes:
PhD Courses
- Qualitative Methods (BU818) and Individual Research (BU802) (PhD program at Wilfrid Laurier University)
MBA Courses
- Strategic Brand Management (BU732)
- Consumer Behaviour (BU652)
- Marketing Principles (BU602)
- New Product Development (MKTG 6440, York University)
MSc Courses
- Commercialization and Marketing of Technological Innovations (TM702)
Undergraduate Courses
- Brand Management (BU470)
- Integrated Marketing Communications (BU472)
- Consumer Behaviour (BU432)
Other
- Custom-designed courses in product design and brand management for KEDGE Business School (France) and Aarhus University (Denmark)
Contact Info:
F: 519.884.0201
Office location: LH4005
Office hours: By appointment.
Languages spoken: English
Personal Website