Faculty Profile

Nirmalya KUMAR's photo

Nirmalya KUMAR

(On Leave)
Full-time Faculty
Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
LKCSB

Education

1991

Ph.D. in Marketing
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

1986

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois

1983

Master of Commerce
Shivaji University, India

1980

Bachelor of Commerce
Calcutta University, India

Current Position(s) Held

2017- Now

Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing
Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University

2021- 2022 Area Coordinator of Marketing
Singapore Management University
 

2017- 2017

Professor of Marketing
Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University

2015-2017

Distinguished Fellow
INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute

2003-2017

Visiting Professor of Marketing (2014-217)
Professor of Marketing (2003-2014)
Director, Aditya Birla India Centre (2003-13)
Director, Centre for Marketing (2003-2009)
Faculty Director, Executive Education (2007-09)
London Business School

2001

Visiting Professor of Marketing (July – December)
Harvard Business School

1995-2003

Professor of Marketing 
IMD-International Institute for Management Development

1994-1995

Visiting Assistant Professor of Marketing
J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management
Northwestern University

1991-1994

Assistant Professor of Marketing
Smeal College of Business Administration
The Pennsylvania State University

Awards, Recognition and Honors

  • AMA Marketing Strategy SIG winner of Mahajan award for lifetime contributions to marketing strategy research in 2021

  • Ranked 30th (2019/20); 23rd (2018/19); 33rd (2017/18); 34th (2016/17); and 27th (2015/16) in the Case Centre list of best-selling
    case authors in 2020

  • LinkedIn All Star & Spotlight LinkedIn Indonesia and Singapore in 2019

  • Inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame November 2017 (with other 2017 inductees David Goleman, John Kotter, Jeff Pfeffer, Doug Ready, Fons Trompenaars, and Dave Ulrich)

  • Ranked 27th in the Case Centre list of best selling case authors 2015/16 in 2016

  • Ranked 40th in the Thinkers50 biannual list of management thinkers in 2015

  • Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method Award by the Case Centre (previously ECCH) in 2014

  • Three cases listed in the ECCH (Case Centre) list of 40 best-selling cases (#1 – EasyJet; #27-Medi-Cult; #34 Red Bull) in  2013

  • Ranked 20th in the Thinkers50 biannual list of management thinkers in 2013

  • Included in list of 50 most influential business school professors by mbarankings.com in 2013

  • Awarded Honorary Fellowship, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in recognition for the support and patronage of South Asian arts in 2012

  • Light of India Award, given to Indians abroad in recognition of Excellence in Education and Academics; on List of Global Gurus by Times of India; top 10 Global Indian Thought Leaders by Economic Times; 50 Best B-School Professors by Poets&Quants in 2012

  • Winner of Global Village Award by Thinkers50 to recognize the management thinker who has contributed most to understanding the implications of globalization and rise of emerging markets in 2011

  • Ranked 26th in the Thinkers50 biannual list of management thinkers in  2011

 

  • Winner of Excellence in Teaching Award to recognize outstanding teaching by London Business School in 2011

 

  • Red Bull: The Anti-Brand Brand, Overall Winner of the 2010 European Case Awards, granted by ECCH for the case with the highest number of adoptions in 2010

 

  • Winner of the article with the greatest long-term impact published between 1995 and 2000 in the International Journal of Research in Marketing in 2010

 

  • Ranked 6th in Economic Times list of Global Indian Thought Leaders; voted as one of top 5 marketing speakers in the world by speaking.com; mentioned as “rising superstar” by The Economist in their cover story on “New Masters of Management” in 2010

 

  • One of four finalists for the article with the greatest long-term impact published between 1994 and 1999 in the International Journal of Research in Marketing in 2009

  • Zara: Responsive, High Speed, Affordable Fashion, Winner of the Strategy and General Management Category 2009 European Case Awards, granted by ECCH for the strategy case with the highest number of adoptions in 2009

 

  • Red Bull: The Anti-Brand Brand, Winner of the Marketing Category 2009 European Case Awards, granted by ECCH for the marketing case with the highest number of adoptions in 2009

  • Outstanding Contribution to Education Award by Asia Brand Congress, representing 60 countries in 2008

  • Medi-Cult: Pricing a Radical Innovation, Winner of the Marketing Category 2005 European Case Awards, granted by ECCH in association with Business Week, for the marketing case with the highest number of adoptions in 2005

  • Runner up, Senior Faculty Teaching Award, London Business School in 2005

  • EasyJet: The Web’s Favorite Airline, Overall Winner of the 2002 European Case Awards, granted by ECCH in association with Business Week, for the case with the highest number of adoptions. On the list of all time top 10 best selling cases for ECCH in 2002

  • EasyJet: The Web’s Favorite Airline, Winner of the 2001 European Case Awards, granted by ECCH in association with Business Week, for the case with the highest number of adoptions in the Policy and General Management category in 2001

  • Recipient of IMD Faculty Research grants in excess of $ 250,000 in 1996-2002

  • Faculty Honor Roll for excellence in MBA teaching, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University in 1995

  • Received highest 4 star rating for teaching excellence at Penn State in Business Week's guide to MBA programs, The Best Business Schools, 4th Edition in 1995

  • Recipient $15,000 Marketing Science Institute research grant for  "Learning, Performance, and Stability in US-Japanese Strategic Alliances" with E.J. Zajac in 1994-95

  • Best Paper Award, Channels of Distribution Track, AMA Summer Educators' Conference in 1994

  • Recipient $10,000 Goodyear Tire Company research grant for "The Nature and Consequences of Reseller Commitment" with J.D. Hibbard and L.W. Stern in 1993-94

  • Recipient $10,000 Marketing Science Institute research grant for "The Consequences of Continuance Versus Affective Commitment in Marketing Channels" with J.D. Hibbard and L.W. Stern in 1993-94

  • Honorable Mention, MSI Competition on Learning in Organizations in 1993

  • Mentioned as one of the outstanding faculty at Penn State in the Business Week's guide to MBA programs, The Best Business Schools, 3rd Edition in 1993

  • MBA Excellence in Teaching Award, Penn State University in 1992

  • Recipient $7,450 Pennsylvania State University Research Initiation Grant for "The Nature of Reseller Commitment: Its Antecedents and Consequences" in 1991-92

  • Recipient $10,000 Marketing Science Institute research grant for "Assessing Reseller Performance" with L.W. Stern and R.S. Achrol in 1989-90

  • Best doctoral dissertation proposal Alden G. Clayton Award, sponsored by the Marketing Science Institute in 1989

  • Who's Who Among Students at American Universities and Colleges in 1985

  • Ranked first among 5251 students in Calcutta University's Bachelor of Commerce Examination in 1980

Research Interests

  • Emerging markets

  • Corporate governance

 
  • Marketing strategy

 
  • Branding

  • Inter-organizational relationships

Selected Journal Articles (Refereed)

  • Kumar, N (2021), Countercyclical Marketing during Recessions, Management and Business Review, forthcoming September.

  • P. Sen, P. Deb and N. Kumar (2021), “The Challenges of Work From Home for Organizational Design,” California Management Review, digital article, 31 July.

  • Kumar, N. and M. Pillutla (2021), “Pay for Performance: When does it Fail?,” Management and Business Review, Winter, 1, 1, 45-52.

  • Kumar, N. and K. Pauwels (2020), “Don’t Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession,” Harvard Business Review, digital article, 14 August, 2020.

  • Kumar, N. and J-B. E.M Steenkamp (2013), "Diaspora Marketing," Harvard Business Review, 91 (October), 127-131.

  • Kumar, N. and P. Puranam (2011), "Have You Restructured for Global Success?" Harvard Business Review, 89 (October), 123-128.

  • Bertini, M. and N. Kumar (2010), "The Upstart’s Assault," Harvard Business Review, 88 (July-August), 159-163.

  • Steenkamp, J-B. E.M. and N. Kumar (2009), "Don’t Be Undersold!" Harvard Business Review, 87 (December), 90-95.

  • Kumar, N. (2009), “How Emerging Giants are Rewriting the Rules of M&A,” Harvard Business Review, 87 (May), 115-21. 

  • Kumar, N. (2006), “Strategies to Fight Low-Cost Rivals,” Harvard Business Review, 84 (December), 104-12. 

  • Geyskens, I., J-B. E.M. Steenkamp, and N. Kumar (2006), "Make, Buy or Ally: A Meta-Analysis of Transaction Cost Theory," Academy of Management Journal, 49 (June), 519-43.

  • Corsten, D. and N. Kumar (2005), “Do Suppliers Benefit from Collaborative Relationships with Large Retailers?: An Empirical Investigation of ECR Adoption,” Journal of Marketing, 69 (July), 80-94. 

  • Kumar, N. (2003), “Kill a Brand, Keep a Customer,” Harvard Business Review, 81 (December), 86-95. 

  • Scheer, L. K., N. Kumar, and J-B. E.M. Steenkamp (2003), “Reactions to Perceived Inequity in U.S. and Dutch Interorganizational Relationships,” Academy of Management Journal, 46 (June), 303-17. 

  • Corsten, D. and N. Kumar (2003), “Profits in the Pie of the Beholder,” Harvard Business Review, 81 (May), 22-23.

  • Hibbard, J.D., N. Kumar, and L.W. Stern (2001), "Examining the Impact of Destructive Acts in Marketing Channel Relationships," Journal of Marketing Research, 38 (February), 45-61. 

  • Geyskens, I., J-B. E.M. Steenkamp, and N. Kumar (1999), "A Meta-Analysis of Satisfaction in Marketing Channel Relationships," Journal of Marketing Research, 36 (May), 223-238. 

  • Geyskens, I., J-B. E.M. Steenkamp, and N. Kumar (1998), "Generalizations About Trust in Marketing Channel Relationships Using Meta-Analysis," International Journal of Research in Marketing, 15 (July), 223-48.

  • Kumar, N., L. K. Scheer, and J-B. E.M. Steenkamp (1998), "Interdependence,Punitive Capability, and the Reciprocation of Punitive Actions in Channel Relationships," Journal of Marketing Research, 35 (May), 225-35.

  • Geyskens, I., J-B. E.M. Steenkamp, L. K. Scheer, and N. Kumar (1996),"The Effects of Trust and Interdependence on Relationship Commitment: A Trans-Atlantic Study," International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13 (October), 303-17. 

  • Kumar, N. (1996), "The Power of Trust in Manufacturer-Retailer Relationships," Harvard Business Review, 74 (November-December), 92-106. 

  • Kumar, N., L. K. Scheer, and J-B. E.M. Steenkamp (1995), "The Effects of Perceived Interdependence on Dealer Attitudes," Journal of Marketing Research, 32 (August), 348-56. 

  • Kumar, N., L. K. Scheer, and J-B. E.M. Steenkamp (1995), "The Effects of Supplier Fairness on Vulnerable Resellers," Journal of Marketing Research, 32 (February), 54-65.

  • Sujan, H., B. A. Weitz, and N. Kumar (1994), "Learning Orientation, Working Smart, and Effective Selling," Journal of Marketing, 58 (July), 39-52. 

  • Kumar, N., L. W. Stern, and J. C. Anderson (1993), "Conducting Interorganizational Research Using Key Informants," Academy of Management Journal, 36 (December), 1633-51.

  • Kumar, N., L. W. Stern, and R. S. Achrol (1992), "Assessing Reseller Performance from the Perspective of the Supplier," Journal of Marketing Research, 29 (May), 238-53.

Books 

  • Kumar, N. (2018), Thinking Smart: How to Master Work, Life and Everything In-Between (Harper Collins India).

  • Kumar, N. and J-B. E.M. Steenkamp (2013), Brand Breakout: How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global (Palgrave/Macmillan). Translation rights for Simple Chinese Dutch, and Turkish.

  • Kumar, N. and P. Puranam (2011), India Inside: The Emerging Innovation Challenge to the West (Harvard Business Review Press). Translated into Simple Chinese.

  • Kumar, N. with P. Mohapatra and S. Chandrasekhar (2009), India’s Global Powerhouses: How They Are Taking on the World, (Harvard Business Press). Translation rights for Simple Chinese and an audio book in English.

  • Anderson, J.C., N. Kumar, and J.A. Narus (2007), Value Merchants: Demonstrating and Documenting Customer Value in Business Markets (Harvard Business School Press). Translation rights for Simple Chinese, Polish, Russian and Spanish.

  • Kumar, N. and J-B. E.M. Steenkamp (2007), Private Label Strategy: How to Meet the Store Brand Challenge (Harvard Business School Press). Translation rights for Complex Chinese, Simple Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

  • Kumar, N. (2006), Global Marketing (BusinessWorld). Published 1 October 2006.

  • Kumar, N. (2004), Marketing as Strategy: Understanding the CEO’s Agenda for Driving Growth and Innovation (Harvard Business School Press). Translated into Simple Chinese, Complex Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Czech, and Spanish as well as an Indian edition by Penguin.