• Phone: 617-353-2773
  • E-Mail:  fournism@bu.edu
  • Office: 663A
    • Office Hours: By Appointment
  • Address: Boston University School of Management
    595 Commonwealth Avenue
    Boston, MA 02215

Profile Summary

Susan Fournier is Professor of Marketing and Dean's Research Fellow at Boston University. She is credited with founding the brand relationships sub-field in marketing and claims six best paper awards to her credit, including the Long-Term Contribution Award in Consumer Research. Susan maintains a portfolio of research that explores the creation and capture of value through branding and brand relationships. Current projects explore the links between brand strategy and shareholder value, brand co-creation and consumer-generated advertising, the management of person-brands, the power and process of brand parodies, metrics for brand strength and brand community health measurement, attachment style effects on brand relationships, relationship dissolution, and the lived experiences of brand flings, abusive marriages, and secret affairs. Susan is also the author of many best-selling Harvard case studies on branding. She is a long-standing member of the Editorial Boards of Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Marketing Theory, and more recently, Journal of Marketing. Susan consults with a range of companies to inform her teaching, case development, and research. Prior to joining BU, Susan served on the faculties of Harvard Business School and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She also held a VP/Director position at Young & Rubicam Advertising and served in market research roles at Polaroid Corporation and Yankelovich Clancy Shulman.

  • Education Open or Close

    Ph D, University of Florida, Marketing, 1994.

    MS, The Pennsylvania State University, Marketing, 1983.

    BS, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Marketing, 1980.

  • Current CoursesOpen or Close

    GSM MK915 A1 Consumer Behavior 2

  • PublicationsOpen or Close

    Journal Articles:

      Lawrence, B., Fournier, S., Brunel, F., (2013). When Companies Don't Make the Ad: A Multi-Method Inquiry into the Differential Effectiveness of Consumer-Generated Advertising. Journal of Advertising,

      Toder-Alon, A., Brunel, F., Fournier, S., (2013). Word-of-Mouth Rhetorics in Social Media Talk. Journal of Marketing Communications: Special Issue on Word-of-Mouth and Social Media,

    Book Chapters:

      Srinivasan, S., Fournier, S., Hsu, L., (2012). "Branding and Firm Value" The Handbook of Marketing and Finance. Northampton MA: Edward Elgar .


    Working Papers:

      Paulssen, M., Fournier, S., Brunel, F., (2011). Attachment Style and the Strength of Commercial Relationships: A Longitudinal Study. : Boston University School of Management Working Paper.


      Fournier, S., Hsu, L., Srinivasan, S., (2011). "How Brand Portfolio Strategy Affects Firm Value," Marketing Science Working Paper Series, Report No. 11-112. Boston MA: Marketing Science Institute .


    Other Publications:

      Brunel, F., Lawrence, B., Fournier, S., (2010). Towards a Contingency Theory of Consumers’ Engagement with CGAS. Duluth: Advances in Consumer Research, Margaret C. Campbell and Jeff Inman and Rik Pieters (Eds.).


      Fournier, S., Brunel, F., (2008). Todos Somos Publicistas (We are all publicists now).: Expansion.


  • General ServiceOpen or Close

    Service to the School:

      School of Management, Marketing Department, Prepare/Grade Certification Exams, Marketing Doctoral Program Qualifying Exams. (May 2009 - Present).

      School of Management, MBA Program, PDC Chair. (August 21, 2012 - Present).

      Boston University, Committee Member, Provost's Advisory Group. (September 2011 - Present).

      School of Management, Marketing Department, Third Year Reviewer, Remi Trudel, Marketing Department . (October 2012 - November 2012).

      School of Management, Working Group/Task Force Participation, Committee Member, Part-Time MBA Program Re-Design Committee. (October 2012 - December 2012).
      Secondary research, focus group moderation and analysis, report writing


      School of Management, Strategy & Innovation Department, Third Year Reviewer, Review for Stine Grodal, S&I. (April 2010 - July 2010).
      Stine Grodal, Strategy & Innovation


      School of Management, Public & Nonprofit Program, Other Role, PNP Rebranding Initiative. (January 2009 - July 2009).
      Supervise research into the equity of the PNP brand and consult on branding implications


      School of Management, DBA Program, Committee Member, Doctoral Program Development Committee. (January 2006 - August 2009).
      Doctoral program strategy and execution; Marketing department student/program liason


      School of Management, Working Group/Task Force Participation, Committee Member, Ad-hoc Committee on Non-Tenure Track Promotion Criteria. (June 2007 - June 2008).
      Develop promotion standards for non-tenure track faculty at the University.


      School of Management, Marketing Department, Committee Chair, Marketing Department Strategy Committee. (2006 - 2006).

    Service to the Profession:

      Professional, Tenure Reviewer for Another Institution, Tenure Letter Writer for Various Institutions including Columbia, SUNY, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, Arkansas. (2000 - Present).

      Professional, Committee Member, Research and Innovation Advisory Panel, Frito-Lay . (2010 - Present).

      Professional, Committee Member, Marketing Science Institute, Grant Proposal Reviewer. (2006 - Present).

      Professional, Committee Member, Association for Consumer Research Program Committee. (1998 - 2012).
      Responsibilities for the years 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2001, 1999, 1998


      Professional, Other Role, Association for Consumer Research, Reviewer for Nicosia Award. (October 2011 - December 2011).

      Professional, Track Organizer, Association for Consumer Research, Consumer-Brand Behavior Track. (February 2010 - October 2010).

      Professional, Member, Association for Consumer Research Doctoral Symposium Faculty. ( - 2010).
      For the years 2000 (as Founder and Chair), 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011


      Professional, Other Role, Association of Consumer Research, Review Committee for Ferber Award. ( - October 2006).

      Professional, Board of Advisors of a Company, Association for Consumer Research. (2003 - 2005).
      Special research-based assignments in support of President's mission and strategic plans.


      Professional, Committee Member, American Marketing Association Doctoral Consortium Faculty. (1998 - 2004).
      For the years 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1998


  • Conference ActivitiesOpen or Close

      Consumer-Brand Relationships 2013, Simmons College, Conference Co-Chair, (September 2012 - May 2013).

      Consumer Brand Relationships 2012, Simmons College, Conference Co-Chair, (September 2011 - May 2012).

      Branding: A Research Symposium, I.A.E. and Cerag, Conference Co-Chair, (May 2012 - June 22, 2012).

      2nd International Colloquium on Consumer-Brand Relationships, Rollins College, Conference Co-Chair, (September 2010 - March 21, 2011).

      Association for Consumer Research Program Committee, Association for Consumer Research, Committee Member. (1998 - 2011).

      ACR Consumer-Brand Behavior Track, Association for Consumer Research, Track Chair, (May 2010 - October 2010).

      AMA Summer Educator's Conference, Branding and Brand Measurement, American Marketing Association, Track Chair, (September 2009 - August 2010).

      Capturing and Creating Value through Marketing, BU SMG Feld Career Center, Conference Founder and Chair, (February 2010 - April 2010).

      ACR Doctoral Symposium Faculty, Association for Consumer Research, (2000 - 2010).

      ACR Branding Area Editor, Association for Consumer Research Annual Conference, (March 2007 - October 2007).

      Engaging Communities for the Company and the Brand, BU/Marketing Science Institute, Conference Chair, (August 25, 2007 - December 7, 2007).

      AMA Doctoral Consortium Faculty, American Marketing Association, Committee Member. (May 1998 - May 2004).

      ACR Doctoral Symposium, Association for Consumer Research, Conference Chair, (May 21, 2000 - October 21, 2000).

  • Editorial And Review ActivitiesOpen or Close

    Tenure Letter Writer, Various Universities, Invited Manuscript Reviewer, Academic. (January 21, 2008 - Present).