La Salle University
Meghan Pierce, Ph.D.
Dr. Meghan Pierce joined the La Salle University Marketing Department in 2014. Dr. Pierce received her B.S. in Marketing, B.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures, M.S. in Marketing Research, and Ph.D. in Marketing from Virginia Tech, with several years spent working with the Health Communication Lab and Center for Organizational Research at the University of Lugano, in Switzerland. Prior to La Salle, she was an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Catholic University of Chile. She teaches Consumer Behavior, Principles of Marketing, and Marketing Research. Her research is focused in two areas: how people understand and interpret social information and international social development. Her work has been published in Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, Social Marketing Quarterly, and the International Marketing Review and presented at international conferences such as the Association for Consumer Research, Society for Consumer Psychology, and Public Policy and Marketing. While pursuing her Ph.D., she consulted in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on participatory action research, behavior change strategies, and measuring impact.
Why La Salle?
The Lasallian tradition is an excellent fit with the way that I approach research and teaching.
In research, I am interested in how we can apply marketing principles for sustainable social change. For example, in one project, we developed and implemented a positive youth development program focusing on HIV prevention, alcohol abuse prevention, conflict resolution skills, and managing peer pressure in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We conducted a field experiment using a post-test-only control group design to evaluate the impact of a classroom intervention on adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes related to the topics covered. The new, theatre-based curriculum was more effective than the standard, government endorsed curriculum in increasing knowledge and changing attitudes towards behavior and conflict resolution.
In the classroom, I strive for student engagement through active learning, clear and relevant examples, and multimedia. Personally, I find the classroom to be both a challenging and an invigorating environment. I find it challenging to find new ways to push students beyond memorization, to develop their creative and analytical marketing skills, to get them excited about course material, and for them to believe that marketing is a way of thinking rather than simply a business function. Through these challenges, I am rewarded when students are eager and curious about marketing, when they finally grasp course concepts, are energized with research questions, and engage in lively discussion.
Areas of Expertise
My research is focused in two areas:
- How people understand and interpret social information, and
- International social development
Teaching
Undergraduate Courses:
Principles of Marketing
Marketing Research
Consumer Behavior
Marketing, Society, and the Public Interest
Marketing Field Practicum
Graduate and Post-Graduate Courses:
Consumer Behavior
Marketing Research
Marketing and Society
Education
Doctorate of Philosophy, Marketing
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Dissertation: Facial Expression Intelligence Scale (FEIS): Recognizing and Interpreting Facial Expressions and Implications for Consumer Behavior
Master of Science, Marketing Research, Minor: Statistics
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Bachelor of Science, Marketing Management
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Bachelor of Arts, Foreign Languages and Literatures/Spanish
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Publications
Emery, C., Calvard, T., Pierce, M. (2013). Leadership as an Emergent Group Process: A Social Network Study of Personality, Leadership, and Followership. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 16(1), 28-45.
Hamby, A., Pierce, M., Brinberg, D. (2010). A Conceptual Framework to Structure Research in Strategic and Social Entrepreneurship. Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 11(3), 166-178.
Hamby, A., Pierce, M., Daniloski, K., Brinberg, D. (2011). The Use of Participatory Action Research to Create a Positive Youth Development Program. Social Marketing Quarterly, 17, 2-17.
Presentations
Pierce, M., Brinberg, B., Bagchi, R. (October 2013). Facial Expression Intelligence Scale (FEIS): Recognizing and Interpreting Facial Expressions and Implications for Consumer Behavior. Paper conditionally accepted to be presented at the Association for Consumer Research Conference in Chicago, IL.
Pierce, M., Scaraboto, D. (August 2013). Value-creating networks. Workshop presented at the Collaborative Innovation Networks Conference in Santiago, Chile.
Pierce, M., Brinberg, B., Bagchi, R. (March 2013). Facial Expression Intelligence Scale (FEIS): Recognizing and Interpreting Facial Expressions and Implications for Consumer Behavior. Invited presentation, Empirical Workshop in Management Science and Applied Economics, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Pierce, M., Weaver, K., Daniloski, K., Schwarz, N. (2012, October). Marketplace Metacognition in Consumer-to-Consumer Inferences: I Buy for Quality, You Buy for Status. Association for Consumer Research, Vancouver, Canada.
Hamby, A., Pierce, M., Daniloski, K. (2012, October). Putting Myself in your Shoes: The Role of Identification in Persuasion. Association for Consumer Research, Vancouver, Canada.
Emery, C., Calvard, T., Pierce, M. (2012, October). Leadership as an emergent group process: A social network study of personality, leadership, and followership. INSEAD Conference on Network Evolution 3.0, Fontainebleau, France.
Emery, C., Calvard, T., Pierce, M. (2011, July). Leadership as an emergent group process: A social network study of personality and leadership. 7thUK Social Networks Conference, London, England.
Daniloski, K., Pierce, M., Hamby, A. (2010, May). The impact of subjective and objective knowledge on eco-friendly behaviors. Marketing and Public Policy, Denver, Colorado.
Hamby, A., Daniloski, K., Pierce, M., Brinberg, D. (2010, May). The role of participatory action research in designing successful youth risk behavior interventions. Marketing and Public Policy, Denver, Colorado.
Pierce, M., Weaver, K., Daniloski, K., Schwarz, N. (2010, February). I buy for quality, you buy for status: Marketplace metacognition in consumer-to-consumer inferences. Society for Consumer Psychology, St. Pete’s Beach, Florida.
Brinberg, D., Pierce, M., Daniloski, K., Stauffer, J. (2009, May). A framework for social change: Integrating marketing and public policy. Marketing and Public Policy, Washington D.C.
Emery, C., Daniloski, K., Pierce, M., Brinberg, D. (2008, July). Emotional Intelligence in Social Networks. 4thUK Social Networks Conference, London, England.
Pierce, M., Stauffer, J., Brinberg, D., Daniloski, K. (2008, May). Creating sustainable change: Leveraging peer influence to increase leadership skills, reduce risk behaviors, and improve social and health knowledge. Marketing and Public Policy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.