University of Pittsburgh

Faculty

Vanitha Swaminathan

Associate Professor of Business Administration

Office: 344 Mervis Hall
Phone: 412 648-1579
E-mail: vanitha@katz.pitt.edu

Degrees

BA, Economics University of Madras, 1988
MBA XLRI, Jamshedpur, India, 1990
PhD, University of Georgia, 1998

Courses Recently Taught

Marketing Management, Brand Management

Interest Group

Marketing

Profile

Vanitha Swaminathan joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002. She teaches Brand Management and Marketing Management.

Her first stream of research is in branding strategy. Her research examines how firms can strengthen relationships with customers. She also examines how firms can successfully design brand strategies (e.g., co-branding and brand extensions) to build brand equity. A second stream of research focuses on how marketing contributes to firm value. In this context, her research examines how marketing resources exchanged in mergers and acquisitions and strategic alliances can strengthen firm value creation.

Recent Publications

Swaminathan Vanitha, Karen Stilley and Rohini Ahluwalia (2008) "When Brand Personality Matters: The Moderating Role of Attachment Styles ," forthcoming, Journal of Consumer Research.

Shah, Reshma and Vanitha Swaminathan (2008), "A Contingency Framework of Factors Influencing Partner Selection in Strategic Alliances: Exploring The Moderating Role of Alliance Context," Strategic Management Journal, 29 (5), 471-494.

Swaminathan, Vanitha, Feisal Murshed and John Hulland (2008) "Value Creation Following Merger and Acquisition Announcements: The Role of Strategic Emphasis Alignment," Journal of Marketing Research, 45(1), 33-47.

Swaminathan, Vanitha, Karen Page and Zeynep Gurhan-Canli (2007), "My Brand or Our Brand: Individual-and Group-Based Brand Relationships and Self-Construal Effects on Brand Evaluations," Journal of Consumer Research, 34(2), 248-259.

Leigh, James, George Zinkhan and Vanitha Swaminathan (2006), "Dimensional Relationships Of Recall And Recognition Measures With Selected Cognitive And Affective Aspects Of Print Ads.," Journal of Advertising, 35(1), 105-122.
*Received the Best Paper of the Year Award, 2006 from the American Academy of Advertising

Swaminathan, Vanitha, Richard J. Fox and Srinivas K. Reddy (2001) "The Impact of Brand Extension Introduction on Choice," with Richard J. Fox and Srinivas K. Reddy, Journal of Marketing, 65 (4), 1-15 (Lead Article).
Winner the 2002 Lehmann Award for the Best Dissertation-Based Article published in the Journal of Marketing or Journal of Marketing Research in the years 2000 and 2001.

Reddy, Srinivas K., Vanitha Swaminathan and Carol M. Motley "Exploring the Determinants of Broadway Show Success (1998)," Journal of Marketing Research, 35 (3), 370-383.

Working Papers

"Customer Satisfaction following Mergers," with Vikas Mittal and Christopher Groening

"A Dynamic Structural Model of the Impact of Loyalty Programs on Customer Behavior" with Praveen Kopalle, Scott A. Neslin, Baohong Sun and Yacheng Sun

"When Do Strategic Alliance Announcements Create Firm Value? An Empirical Investigation in the High-Tech Context", with Christine Moorman.

Awards and Honors

2006 Best Paper of the Year Award, Journal of Advertising.

2003 Marketing Science Institute, Young Scholar Program Participant.

2002 Lehmann Award for the Best Dissertation Article in Journal of Marketing or Journal of Marketing Research in 2000 and 2001.

Best Special Session Award, 2002 Winter Educators' Conference (Session Chair and Organizer).

Recipient of the 1997-98 dissertation award from Procter & Gamble's Innovation Research Fund.