Dr. Lena Cavusoglu of the College of Business was awarded the Best Consumer Culture Theory Competitive Paper Runner-Up Award at the 2024 ACR Asia-Pacific Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Her paper, co-authored with Professor Russell Belk, titled "Reclaiming Identity in the Face of Stigma," explores how individuals with facial differences reclaim their identities by rejecting cosmetics, surgeries, and prosthetics. This research significantly contributes to Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) and highlights COB's role in global academic excellence.
Lena Cavusoglu, PhD
Dr. Lena Cavusoglu is an Assistant Professor of Marketing. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students a spectrum of marketing courses. These encompass foundational subjects like Principles of Marketing and Marketing Research alongside specialized areas such as Social Media Marketing, Digital Marketing and Sports Marketing.
A significant portion of her research is on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in marketing, specifically in creative industries such as media (advertising, movie, and social and digital media), entertainment, and fashion. Through her work, she aims to reveal the obstacles faced by underrepresented, marginalized, and disadvantaged communities and usher in a new era of DEI in marketing. She envisions that the improved marketing practices will enable a more egalitarian world by bringing diverse voices into production.
Her scholarly contributions have been published in pioneering peer-reviewed journals, including but not limited to the European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Qualitative Market Research, Journal of Consumer Marketing, and the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.
Dr. Cavusoglu's commitment to research is evident through her active involvement in leading academic events. Her research has garnered recognition at esteemed conferences, which encompass, among others, the Advances in Consumer Research (ACR) conference, the Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) conference, the European Marketing Academy conference (EMAC), International Netnography Conference (NETNOCON), the International Center for Anti-Consumption Research conference (ICAR), the Digital Marketing and eCommerce (DMEC) conference, as well as the Recent Advances in Retailing and Consumer Science conference (RARCS).
Continuing her academic endeavors, Dr. Cavusoglu has shared her expertise as a visiting professor at diverse international institutions. Her commitment to teaching and research has taken her to various locations, including institutions in the United States, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Education
Ph.D. in Business Administration, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey
MBA with a concentration in International Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Masters in Strategic Design, Design of the Value Offering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
BA in Public Relations and Advertising, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey
Research Interests
- Transformative Consumer Research; consumption experiences minority, racially and ethnically diverse, disabled, LGBTQ+ and low-income consumers
- Consumer Culture Theory; experiential, sociological and cultural aspects of consumption
- Critical Marketing; psycho-social influence of digital marketing practices such as AI and social media on consumer behavior; the interplay of markets, globalization, and digitalization
- Methodological Orientation; qualitative research methods mainly in-depth interviews, netnography and ethnography
Selected Publications
- Cavusoglu, L., and Belk, R. (2024) “How to Make a Collaborative Video Using Phygital Affordances to Study Sensitive Topics”, Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 27 No. 3, 413-432.
- Cavusoglu, L. and Atik, D. (2022), “Extending the Diversity Conversation: Fashion Consumption Experiences of Underrepresented and Underserved Women,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 1-31.
- Atik, D., Cavusoglu, L., Ozdamar-Ertekin, Z. and A. Firat, F. (2022) “Fashion, Consumer Markets, and Democratization,” Journal of Consumer Behavior, 21(5), 1135-1148.
- Cavusoglu, L. and Atik, D. (2021), “Accumulating Capital through Social Media: Transformative Power of Underrepresented Fashion Consumers”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 38 (5), 514-524
- Cavusoglu, L. and Atik, D. (2021), “Social Credibility: Trust Formation in Social Commerce”, Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 6(4), 474-490.
- Cavusoglu, L. and Demirbag-Kaplan, M. (2017), “Health Commodified, Health Communified: Navigating Digital Consumptionscapes of Well-Being,” European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 5, 11/12, pp. 2054-2079.
Grants and Awards
-
Best Consumer Culture Theory Competitive Paper Runners-Up Award | Association for Consumer Research Asia-Pacific Conference | 2024
For the project “Reclaiming Identity in the Face of Stigma” -
Story-Dondero Politics and the Economy Grant | 2024 | Pacific University | $2,000
For the project “Diving into Consumer Reviews: Mobile Ethnography” -
Kate Garrison “Overcoming the Odds” Award, Pacific University | 2024
This research award recognizes a faculty who has shown pioneering spirit, trailblazing efforts, or innovation in advancing justice and equity, particularly for individuals from underrepresented racial and/or ethnic backgrounds. -
Faculty Development Grant Pacific University | 2024 | Pacific University | $3,000
For the project “Diving into Consumer Reviews: Mobile Ethnography” -
“Best Film” Award, Association for Consumer Research Conference | 2023
For the project “Face Value”
Professional Memberships
Association of Consumer Research (ACR)
Consumer Culture Theory Consortium (CCTC)
American Marketing Association (AMA)
American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI)
Association for Netnographic Research
Professional Society Positions:
Co-chair of the The Global Netnography Conference (Netnocon) conference program | 2024-present
Other ways to connect:
Linkedin
Personal Website
Headlines
Lena Cavusoglu and Hossein Rikhtehgar Berenji are thrilled to be featured together in the May issue of Oregon Business magazine, recognized for their innovative teaching methods at the College of Business at Pacific University.
A personal experience for Pacific University College of Business Professor Lena Cavusoglu leads to the production of Face Value, an award-winning documentary about the experiences of those with facial differences in society.
Dr. Lena Cavusoglu, College of Business faculty member, delivered a thought-provoking keynote at the International Center for Anti-Consumption Research 2023 Conference, focusing on marketplace stigma and anti-consumption.
Lena Cavusoglu, assistant professor of Marketing, triumphs with her short film "Face Value." The film explores the challenges of facially different consumers, advocating for societal recognition and sparking transformative consumer research.