The Consumer Insight Technology Enhanced Competence Centre & Lab aims at an indepth analysis of the two main challenges western economies and their underlying industrial systems are facing:

• outward: the radical renewal of their positioning within the new world economy and the global wealth;
• inward: the rise of consumer-side economics, with political, economic and social implications.

The Centre targets the inward challenge, with a clear Vision:

A growing body of knowledge on consumer behaviors and consumer choices is needed, both by companies and governments (e.g. Cass Sunstein role in the Obama administration and Richard Thaler role in the Cameron administration – i.e. consumer = citizen).

Moreover, research on Consumer Behavior (CB) and Consumer Choice (CC) are evolving into a complex field of study because of continuous innovation in ontology (phenomena and their essence), theories and methodologies. Moreover, a new stream of innovation, both in behaviors and choices and in research, is expected to flourish in the near future because of the strong impact that new technologies have on phenomena, theories and methodologies.

The Mission is related to knowledge development and diffusion on three consumer research tiers:

• Phenomenological – new and emerging behaviors can be observed at individual, social and market (institutional) level, and consequently the process by which they occur has to be explored.
• Epistemological– new perspectives (e.g. postmodern, experiential consumption, consumer culture, eclectic, etc.) and new theories, most of them cross-fields, are re-shaping consumer research even if the relation between putative cause and observed effects has to be tested for mediation, moderation and boundary conditions.
• Methodological – new technology is enabling new insightful and promising research methodologies, mainly if integrated by more conventional ones (eg. Neuroimaging within the neuroscience frameworks; semantic web analysis and ethnography; experimental setting supported by eye tracking systems; etc.)

The positioning of the Consumer Insight Technology Enhanced Competence Centre & Lab will be targeted on a hybrid core: consumer research and new technology. The research will strongly leverage on technology scouting and experimental/innovative application in consumer analysis. We will invest in a multi-platform/multi-technology consumer lab that will create a network with innovative start-ups and/or innovative business units and/or incumbent companies’ business development units or R&D department. Furthermore, we will test innovative technologies enabling their validation and try out testing new technology application to enhance knowledge on consumer behaviours and choices.

Thanks to the strong technology enabled approaches to consumer analysis, we will attempt to develop a unique combination of competences on consumer psychology / technology platform and tools for consumer analysis.

Scientific Coordinator

• Michele Costabile

Faculty Member

• Simona Romani*
• Matteo De Angelis

Team

• Vito Tassiello

Affiliate Faculty Member*

• Gianluca Marzocchi
• Maria Antonietta Raimondo
• Nino Miceli
• Francesco Massara
• Venkatesh Shankar
• Gregory Carpenter
• Lakshman Krishnamurthi
• Aaron Ahuvia
• Rajeev Batra
• Irene Scopelliti
• Simona Botti
• David Dubois
• Andrea Bonezzi
• Rick Bagozzi

*TBC