Cindy Chan

Cindy Chan is an Assistant Professor of Marketing, cross-appointed to the Marketing Area at Rotman from the Department of Management at the University of Toronto, Scarborough.

Her research examines the social lives of consumers. She is particularly interested in understanding (1) how consumers can spend their time and money to foster stronger social relationships, (2) how social groups influence consumer choice, emotions, and cognitions, and (3) how social and moral norm violations affect consumer behaviour. Across her research, she investigates how experiences, emotions, and gift giving can shape relationships and behaviour.

Her research is published in leading journals including the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Her papers have been awarded the Robert Ferber Award from the Journal of Consumer Research and C.W. Park Best Paper Award from the Journal of Consumer Psychology. Findings from her research have garnered global media coverage in outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and The Globe and Mail. She currently serves on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

Professor Chan teaches Principles of Marketing at UTSC. She has been voted Professor of the Year by the students and awarded a Dean's Merit Award for teaching excellence.

She earned her PhD in Marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to academia, she worked with JWT, developing advertising campaigns for global clients including Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, and Nestle.