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FACULTY

Learning from some of the best minds in education and in the industry
Prof. Hyokjin Kwak
Dean - Faculty of Communication B.M. Labroo Chair Professor of Marketing Professor - Marketing
Email: hkwak@flame.edu.in
PhD - Marketing, The University of Georgia; M.A. - Advertising, The University of Georgia
BIO

Dr. Kwak is the Dean of the School of Communication, B.M. Labroo Chair Professor of Marketing, and Professor of Marketing at FLAME University. Before joining FLAME, he served as the IIMA Chair Professor and Professor of Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA). He also held the position of Professor of Marketing (tenured) at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business for 20 years, where he was recognized as the Dean's Research Fellow, Distinguished Teaching Fellow, and Marketing Ph.D. Coordinator. Dr. Kwak holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from the Terry College of Business and an M.A. in Advertising from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, both at The University of Georgia. He is also an International Research Fellow at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, and has been a visiting faculty member at institutions such as the University of Amsterdam, KAIST Business School, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea among others.


Hyokjin’s primary research focuses on strategic branding, advertising effects, and artificial intelligence (including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing). His work has been published in leading marketing journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Media Psychology, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Advertising Research among others. He is a Senior Associate Editor for the International Journal of Advertising and serves on the editorial review boards of the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Advertising, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Previously, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science. Several of his Ph.D. students have received national recognition for their dissertations, including awards such as the Mary Kay Dissertation Competition by the Academy of Marketing Science in the US. 



RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Journal Publications



  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Marina Puzakova, Ann L. McGill, and Junhee Kim (2026), “When Previous Relationships Limit the New: The Interplay between Product Anthropomorphism and Used Products,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, forthcoming.

  • Zhang, Yuli, Hyokjin Kwak, Marina Puzakova, and Charles R. Taylor (2025), “Turning Right: The Impact of Text Rotation (Left vs. Right) on Consumer Product Preferences,” Journal of Advertising, forthcoming.

  • Banerjee, Somak, Sujay Dutta, Abhijit Biswas, and Hyokjin Kwak (2024), “The Impact of Consumer Expectations and Familiarity on Deceptive Pricing in Advertising: A View from Drip Pricing Practice,” International Journal of Advertising, 43 (2), 254-285.

  • Puzakova, Marina and Hyokjin Kwak (2023), “Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd: The Interplay between Collective versus Solo Anthropomorphic Brand Appeals and Gender,” Journal of Advertising, 52 (1), 94-114.

  • Banerjee, Somak, Joseph Rocereto, Hyokjin Kwak, and Arpita Pandey (2023), “Debunking Fake Ad Claims: The Moderating Role of Gender,” International Journal of Advertising, 42 (8), 1352-1376.

  • Zhang, Yuli, Hyokjin Kwak, Marina Puzakova, and Charles R. Taylor (2021), “Space between Products on Display: The Impact of Interspace on Consumer Estimation of Product Size,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49 (6), 1109-1131.

  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Marina Puzakova, Joseph F. Rocereto, and Takeshi Moriguchi (2020), “When the Unknown Destination Comes Alive: The Detrimental Effects of Destination Anthropomorphism in Tourism,” Journal of Advertising, 49 (5), 508-524.

  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Yuli Zhang, Puzakova Marina, and Takeshi Moriguchi (2020), “Going It Alone or Together: The Role of Space between Products on Consumer Perceptions of Price Promotions,” International Journal of Advertising, 39 (7), 1086-1114.

  • Zhang, Yuli, Hyokjin Kwak, Puzakova Marina, and Charles R. Taylor (2020), “When Distraction May Be a Good Thing: The Role of Distraction in Low-Fit Brand Extension Evaluations,” Psychology & Marketing, 37 (4), 604-621.

  • Zhang, Yuli, Hyokjin Kwak, Haeyoung Jeong, and Marina Puzakova (2019), “Facing the “Right” Side? The Effect of Product Facing Direction,” Journal of Advertising, 48 (2), 153-166.

  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Rolph E. Anderson, Thomas W. Leigh, and Scott D. Bonifield (2019), “Impact of Salesperson Macro-Adaptive Selling Strategy on Job Performance and Satisfaction,” Journal of Business Research, 94, 42-55.

  • Reavey, Brooke, Marina Puzakova, Trina Larsen Andras, and Hyokjin Kwak (2018), “The Multidimensionality of Anthropomorphism in Advertising: The Moderating Roles of Cognitive Busyness and Assertive Language,” International Journal of Advertising, 37 (3), 440-462.

  • Puzakova, Marina and Hyokjin Kwak (2017), “Should Anthropomorphized Brands Engage Customers? The Impact of Social Crowding on Brand Preferences,” Journal of Marketing, 81 (6), 99-115.

  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Marina Puzakova, and Joseph F. Rocereto (2017), “When Brand Anthropomorphism Alters Perceptions of Justice: The Moderating Role of Self-Construal,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 34 (4), 851-871.

  • Puzakova, Marina, Hyokjin Kwak, Suresh Ramanathan, and Joseph F. Rocereto (2016), “Painting Your Point: The Role of Color in Firms’ Strategic Responses to Product Failures via Advertising and Marketing Communications,” Journal of Advertising, 45 (4), 365-376.

  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Marina Puzakova, and Joseph F. Rocereto (2015), “Better Not Smile at the Price: The Differential Role of Brand Anthropomorphization on Price Fairness,” Journal of Marketing, 79 (4), 56-76.

  • Puzakova, Marina, Hyokjin Kwak, and Monique Bell (2015), “Beyond Seeing McDonald’s Fiesta Menu: The Role of Accent in Brand Sincerity of Ethnic Products and Brands,” Journal of Advertising, 44 (3), 219-231.

  • Chang, Hua, Hyokjin Kwak, Marina Puzakova, Jisoo Park, and Edith G. Smit (2015), “It’s No Longer Mine: The Role of Brand Ownership and Consumer-Country Disidentification after Brand Acquisition,” International Journal of Advertising, 34 (4), 593-620.

  • Puzakova, Marina, Joseph F. Rocereto, and Hyokjin Kwak (2013), “Ads Are Watching Me: A View from the Interplay between Anthropomorphism and Customization,” International Journal of Advertising, 32 (4), 513-538.

  • Kwak, Hyokjin, Anupam Jaju, Marina Puzakova, and Joseph F. Rocereto (2013), “The Connubial Relationship between Market Orientation and Entrepreneurial Orientation,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 21 (2), 145-166.

  • Puzakova, Marina, Hyokjin Kwak, and Joseph F. Rocereto (2013), “When Humanizing Brands Goes Wrong: The Detrimental Effect of Brand Anthropomorphization amidst Product Wrongdoings,” Journal of Marketing, 77 (3), 81-100.

  • Puzakova, Marina, Hyokjin Kwak, and Charles R. Taylor (2013), "The Role of Geography of Self in “Filling In” Brand Personality Characteristics: Consumer Inference of Claim-Irrelevant Attributes," Journal of Advertising, 42 (1), 16-29

  • Kwak, Hyokjin (2012), “Self Disclosure in Online Media: An Active Audience Perspective,” International Journal of Advertising, 31 (3), 485-510.

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