My Research
My research examines human judgment and decision making, using the tools of experimental psychology and behavioural economics to better understand the choices that people make.
My work has been published in leading journals in marketing, management information systems and organizational behavior, including the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, MIS Quarterly, MIT Sloan Management Review and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
I have also written two books, a series of newspaper and magazine columns, as well as several articles for trade publications.
My work has been recognized with a variety of awards including a McCalla Professorship, Killam Professorship, Petro-Canada Young Innovators Award and the Mackenzie Teaching Award of Excellence.
Books
The Retail Value Proposition (Canadian & US Editions)
This best selling book examines how leading retailers craft unique experiences at compelling prices and introduces the ESE approach to managing those experiences. Demonstrating how the shopping Environment, product Selection, and customer Engagement (ESE) separate successful retailers from those that fail and are forgotten.
The ESE framework is derived from the academic literature on retail management and consumer marketing, and supplemented by hundreds of hours of interviews with executives and marketers from Canada's leading companies, including Loblaw, Indigo Books and Music, and Lululemon.
CB Consumer Behaviour (1st & 2nd Canadian Editions)
A popular Canadian text book on Consumer Behaviour. Created through a student-tested, faculty-approved review process, CB is an engaging and accessible solution to accommodate the diverse lifestyles of today's learners.
CB offers comprehensive coverage of contemporary consumer behaviour topics in an engaging text and online solution. The second Canadian edition has been thoroughly updated to offer students a unique perspective on marketing in the Canadian context.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Murray, K. B., & Shen, S. S. (2020). Workplace habits and how to change them. In Soman, D. & Yeung, C. (Ed), Behaviorally Informed Organizations. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Rotman Press, forthcoming.
Noseworthy, T., Murray, K. B., & Di Muro, F. (2018). When two wrongs make a right: Using conjunctive enablers to enhance evaluations for extremely incongruent new products. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(6), 1379-1396. full paper
Bellman, S. & Murray, K. B. (2018). Feedback, task performance, and interface preferences, European Journal of Information Systems, 27(6), 654-669. full paper
Thomas, D., Olsen, D., & Murray, K. B. (2018). Evaluations of a Sequence of Affective Events Presented Simultaneously: An Investigation of the Peak-End Rule. European Journal of Marketing, 52(3/4), 866-881. full paper
Trudel, R., Murray, K. B., Kim, S., & Chen, S. (2015). The impact of traffic light color-coding on food health perceptions and choice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 21(3), 255-275. full paper
Noseworthy, T., Di Muro, F. & Murray, K.B. (2014). The role of arousal in congruity-based evaluation. Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (4), 1108-1126. full paper
Trudel, R. & Murray, K. B. (2013). Self-regulatory strength amplification through selective information processing. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 23 (1), 61-73. full paper
Di Muro, F. & Murray, K. B. (2012). An arousal regulation explanation of mood effects on consumer choice. Journal of Consumer Research, 39 (3), 574-584. full paper
Godek, J. & Murray, K. B. (2012). The effect of spikes in the price of gasoline on behavioral intentions: A mental accounting explanation. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 25 (3), 295–302. full paper
Trudel, R., Murray, K. B. & Cotte, J. (2012). Beyond expectations: The effect of regulatory focus on consumer satisfaction. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29 (1), 93-97. full paper
Murray, K. B. & Häubl, G. (2012). Why dominant companies are vulnerable. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53 (2), 12-14. full paper
Murray, K. B. & Häubl, G. (2011). Freedom of choice, ease of use, and the formation of interface preferences. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 955-976. full paper
Trudel, R. & Murray, K. B. (2011). Why didn’t I think of that? Self-regulation through selective information processing. Journal of Marketing Research, 48 (4), 701-712. full paper
Fisher, R. J., Gregoire, Y. & Murray, K. B. (2011). The limited effects of power on satisfaction with joint consumption decisions. Journal of Consumer Psychology, (21), 277-289. full paper
Murray, K. B. & Bellman, S. (2011). Productive play time: How consumers optimize hedonic experiences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39 (3), 376-391. full paper
Murray, K. B., Di Muro, F., Finn, A., & Popkowski Leszczyc, P. (2010). The effect of weather on consumer spending. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 17(6), 512-520. full paper
Murray, K. B., Liang, J., & Häubl, G. (2010). ACT 2.0: The next generation of assistive consumer technology research. Internet Research, 20(3), 232-254. full paper
Murray, K. B. & Brown, N. R. (2009). A feature-based inference model of numerical estimation: The split seed effect. Acta Psychologica, 131, 221-234. full paper
Murray, K. B., & Häubl, G. (2009). Personalization without interrogation: Towards more effective interactions between consumers and feature-based recommendation agents. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23 (2), 138-146. full paper
Godek, J. & Murray, K. B. (2008). Willingness to pay for advice: The role of rational and experiential processing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 106 (1), 77-87. full paper
Murray, K. B., & Häubl, G. (2008). Interactive consumer decision aids. In B. Wierenga (Ed.), Handbook of Marketing Decision Models (pp. 55-77). New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media. full chapter
Murray, K. B., & Häubl, G. (2007). Explaining cognitive lock-in: The role of skill-based habits of use in consumer choice. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(1), 77-88. full paper
Murray, K. B., & Habulin, C. M. (2007). A community facilitation model for e-government: A case study in monitoring water quality. In Hakim, L. (Ed.), Global e-government: Theory, applications and benchmarking (pp. 114-126). Hersey, PA: Idea Group. full chapter
Häubl, G., & Murray, K. B. (2006). Double agents: Assessing the role of electronic product recommendation systems. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(3), 8-12 . full paper
Murray, K. B., & Häubl, G. (2005). Processes of preference construction in agent-assisted online shopping. In C. Haugtvedt, K. Machleit, & R. Yalch (Eds.), Online consumer psychology: Understanding and influencing behavior in the virtual world (pp. 265-286). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. full chapter
Murray, K. B. (2005). Experiencing quality: The impact of practice on customers’ preference for and perceptions of electronic interfaces. In S. Krishnamurthy (Ed.), Contemporary Research in E-Marketing Volume 1 (pp. 130 - 148). Hersey, PA: Idea Group. full chapter
Häubl, G., Dellaert, B. G. C., Murray, K. B., & Trifts, V. (2004). Buyer behavior in personalized shopping environments: Insights from the Institute for Online Consumer Studies. In C. Karat, J. Karat, & J. Blom (Eds.), Designing Personalized User Experiences in E-Commerce (pp. 207-230). New York, NY: Kluwer. full chapter
Häubl, G., Murray, K. B., & Trifts, V. (2003). Personalized product presentation: The influence of electronic recommendation agents on consumer choice. In A. Rangaswamy, & N. Pal (Eds.), The power of one – Leverage value from personalization technologies (pp. 144-163). Victoria, BC: Trafford. full chapter
Häubl, G., & Murray, K. B. (2003). Preference construction and persistence in digital marketplaces: The role of electronic recommendation agents. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13(1), 75-91. full paper
Murray, K. B., & Häubl, G. (2003). A human capital perspective of skill acquisition and interface loyalty. Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery, 46(12), 272-278. full paper
Teaching Cases
Murray, K. B., Goode, M. and Di Muro, F. (2010). Strategic planning at Apple Inc. Ivey Business School Case and Teaching Note. link Also available through Harvard Business Publishing and iTunes. link
Murray, K. B. and Chan, J. (2008). Customization at BMW. Ivey Business School Case. link Also available through Harvard Business Publishing. link
Murray, K. B. & Chandrasekhar, R. (2008). Personal Shoppers at Sears: The Elf Initiative. Ivey Business School Case and Teaching Note. link Also available through Harvard Business Publishing. link
Murray, K. B. & Moffat, M. (2008). Conroy's Acura: Lifetime Customer Value and Return on Marketing. Ivey Business School Case, Excel Spreadsheet and Teaching Note. link Also available through Harvard Business Publishing and iTunes. link
Murray, K. B. & Mark, K. (2007). Indigo Books & Music Inc.: Optimizing its Loyalty Program. Ivey Business School Case, DVD, and Excel Spreadsheet. link Also available through Harvard Business Publishing. link
Murray, K. B. & Mark, K. (2007). Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy. Ivey Business School Case, DVD and Teaching Note. link
Murray, K. B. & Liang, J. (2007). SMART Co-operative Marketing. Ivey Business School Case and Teaching Note.
Murray, K. B. & Girard, P. (2007). Merchandising at the Forzani Group Ltd. Ivey Business School Case.
Murray, K. B. & Chandrasekhar, R. (2006). Home Depot Canada: Renovating Strategy. Ivey Business School Case and Teaching Note. link
Murray, K. B. & Chandrasekhar, R. (2006). Home Depot Canada: EcoOptions. Ivey Business School Case and Teaching Note. link
Murray, K. B., Mark, K. and Sherritt, M. (2006). OQOQO: Socially Conscious Fashions. Ivey Business School Case, DVD and Teaching Note link
Murray, K. B. & Mark, K. (2006). Jill’s Table: Set to Serve. Ivey Business School Case, DVD and Teaching Note. link Also available through Harvard Business Publishing. link
Pearce, M.P., Murray, K. B. & Morrison, K. (2006). Note on the Retail Value Proposition. Ivey Business School Technical Note. link
Pearce, M.P., Murray, K. B. & Morrison, K. (2006). Note on Retail Formats. Ivey Business School Technical Note. link
Newspaper, Magazine and Trade Publications
Murray, K. B. & Thomas, D. (2018). Managing the highs and lows of data overload, TheConversation.com, June. full article
Murray, K. B. (2017). Enabling innovation: Lessons from Crystal Pepsi, TheConversation.com, October. full article and in Folio.ca full article
Murray, K. B. (2017). Social media marketing fails, Alberta Venture, March.
Murray, K. B. (2017). Retail therapy is a real thing, Alberta Venture, February.
Murray, K. B. (2017). The power of Trump’s personal brand, Alberta Venture, January.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Christmas shopping actually can be good for you, Alberta Venture, December.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Habit and familiarity drive the retail-consumer relationship, Alberta Venture, November.
Murray, K. B. (2016). How small retailers can succeed in today’s competitive market, Alberta Venture, October.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Calgary and Edmonton are creating a powerful lifestyle brand, Alberta Venture, September.
Murray, K. B. (2016). The three keys to an undeniable marketing strategy, Alberta Venture, August.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Why you should be building your brand with job seekers, Alberta Venture, July.
Murray, K. B. (2016). How governments use behavioural science to influence your choices, Alberta Venture, June.
Murray, K. B. (2016). The similarities between VR and early-1990s e-commerce are striking, Alberta Venture, May.
Murray, K. B. (2016). The value of customer loyalty programs isn’t customer loyalty, Alberta Venture, April.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Marketers need to turn implied consent into express consent – and they should want to, as well, Alberta Venture, March.
Murray, K. B. (2016). We love to give – Here’s why marketers bank on it. Alberta Venture, February.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Some of your customers hate you – deal with it. Alberta Venture, January.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Connecting students to the retail industry. Canadian Retailer, Fall.
Murray, K. B. (2016). Building a brand to recruit on campus. Canadian Retailer, Spring.
Murray, K. B. (2012). Trends in North American Retail. The Edition, Dublin Institute of Technology, November 10th.
Murray, K. B. (2012). Selling to the senses: Changing your customers' sensory experience can boost sales. Profitguide.com, October 15th.
Murray, K. B. & Buczek, J. (2011). The myth that more is better: How too much choice is hurting consumer satisfaction and corporate profitability. Leger Marketing White Paper, Montreal, QC. full article
Murray, K. B. and Vandenbosch, M. (2011). Relevant by Design. Enterprise Loyalty in Practice, Spring. full article
Murray, K. B. and Sullivan, J. (2010). What about the shareholders? Enterprise Loyalty in Practice, Fall. full article
Murray, K. B. (2010). Letting go: If you love your customers, set them free. Colloquy, April 30th. full article
Murray, K. B. (2009). Automakers aren't playing games. National Post, FP Executive, January 27. full article
Murray, K. B. (2008). Old habits die easy. National Post, FP Executive, November 25. full article
Murray, K. B. (2008). Small equals big potential: The value of personal service. National Post, FP Executive, October 28. full article
Murray, K. B. (2006). Free stuff and loyal dogs. National Post, Weekend Post, November 11. full article
Murray, K. B. (2006). Neuro-Marketing: A peek inside your mind. National Post, Marketing Section, August 18. full article
Murray, K. B. (2003). Why online buyers don’t shop around. National Post, Business Edge, Advanced Reading Section, July 28. full article
Murray, K. B. (2003). A match made in cyberspace. National Post, Business Edge, Advanced Reading Section, June 23. full article
Murray, K. B. (2003). Pricing outside the box. National Post, Business Edge, Advanced Reading Section, May 20. full article