Business School professor shares award for article on social justice in the global marketplace

Jerome Williams, a distinguished professor of marketing at Rutgers Business School, was one of the lead authors of a paper selected to receive the notable Thomas C. Kinnear Award.

The article "Beyond Poverty: Social Justice in a Global Marketplace" appeared in the spring 2011 issue of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

Williams shares the award with lead author Linda Scott of Oxford University and seven other contributing authors, including Geraldine Henderson, a former Rutgers Business School marketing professor who now teachers at Loyola University’s Quinlan School of Business.

"Within the domain of consumer research, I’ve seen the pendulum more recently swing back toward research that’s classified as transformative consumer research, or TCR, which focuses on transforming lives and making the world a better place," Williams said. "It’s good to know that one can be recognized for producing research that makes a significant, high-quality, and rigorous contribution to the understanding of marketing and public policy, and at the same time be recognized for changing people’s lives for the better."

In the paper, the authors examine social justice in a global marketplace.

Williams, who holds the Prudential Chair in Business, adds unique expertise to Rutgers Business School’s marketing department. He is an expert in marketplace discrimination, retail redlining, and consumer behavior of multicultural market segments.

In a letter to the authors in early April, David Stewart, editor of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and president’s professor of marketing at Loyola Marymount University, explained that 71 papers were nominated. Of the seven finalists, Stewart said "Beyond Poverty: Social Justice in a Global Marketplace” received the highest number of votes.

"This is a high honor and reflects the esteem with which your colleagues regard your work," Stewart said in the letter.

The Kinnear Award, which is administered by the American Marketing Association, recognizes articles published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing that have made a significant contribution to the understanding of marketing and public policy issues.

Williams said he was particularly gratified because the award is associated with research coming out of Rutgers University-Newark. "This supports our strategic initiative to serve as an anchor institution that has a positive social impact on the community, both locally and globally," he said.

This year, in order to be eligible, articles had to be published between 2011 and 2013. The marketing community was asked to nominate articles for the award. Associate editors and members of the editorial review board at the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing then voted on the nominated articles.

The award will be formally announced at the annual marketing and public policy conference scheduled to be held in early June in Washington, D.C.