Vaidyanathan, LSBE Marketing professor and department head, has been named a Faculty Research Fellow at the University of Toronto's Behavioral Economics in Action Centre, which is housed in the university’s Rotman School of Management.
BEAR (Behavioral Economics in Action at Rotman), a global behavioral economics academic research center, strives to help businesses better understand how people act, thereby helping the businesses design better products, services, and programs for the people.
Dr. Vaidyanathan’s background in consumer behavior and active involvement in the behavioral science community has impacted his teaching, research, and service. His classes in consumer behavior have attracted some high-profile behavioral science leaders to be guest speakers, including Nobel winner Behavioral Economist Dr. Richard Thaler. Other leaders in the field, such as Dr. Katy Milkman of the Wharton School, Dr. Ayelet Fishbach at the University of Chicago, and Cornell University’s Dr. Vaness Bohns, have shared their expertise with the students in Vaidyanathan’s classes.
“BEAR has a mission of taking research in behavioral science and ensuring it is applied to practical business issues,” said Vaidyanathan. “I have always been interested in using theory to address practical business issues.
“Also, I have been very actively involved in the creation of a new Applied Behavioral Science Association that will be focused on bringing together leaders in business, academia, and public policy.
“Being a faculty research fellow at BEAR is quite an honor,” added Vaidyanathan, who is currently working on an initiative in LSBE to use a behavioral science lens to increase the school’s BIPOC student population. “I am also expecting to continue working in applied behavioral science during my sabbatical next year.”