Claire I. Tsai
Bio
Claire Tsai is Professor of Marketing, Director of Faculty Recruiting, and a co-founder of the Behavioral Economics in Action Research Cluster at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. She has an MBA degree with an economics major and a PhD degree in Marketing and Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago. She adopts a behavioral economics approach in studying decision-making in areas including marketing, competition, financial decisions, food consumption, subjective well-being, risk, uncertainty, and overconfidence bias. Her work appears in leading marketing and psychology journals, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Organizational Behavior ad Human Decision Making, and Psychological Science and often receives featured coverage in popular media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Time.com, Globe and Mail, ABC News, CBC News, and Harvard Business Review. To strengthen the training for doctoral students at Rotman, Claire founded the CREATe lab that explores inter-disciplinary research in marketing, psychology, economics, and management. She has worked in management consulting in Toronto and financial services in New York, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Her clients include national and regional governments, NGOs, and corporations in industries including telecom, health care, finance, CPG, and manufacturing.
Academic Positions
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2021-present
Professor of Marketing, University of Toronto
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2013 - 2021
Associate Professor of Marketing (with tenure), University of Toronto
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2014 (winter)
Visiting Scholar (Sabbatical), UCLA
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2013 (fall)
Visiting Scholar (Sabbatical), Columbia University
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2007 - 2013
Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Toronto
Selected Publications - Papers
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Chung, Jaeyeon, Donald Lehman, Leonard Lee, and Claire I. Tsai. (in alphabetical order)
Journal of Consumer Research
Issue:49(6)
2023
Pages: 1118-1139
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Claire I. Tsai., Zhao, Min, & Soman, Dilip.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
2022
Pages: 366-387
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Tsai, Claire I. and Ying Zeng (equal contribution)
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
Issue: Special issue: Risk Perception, Communication, and Decision Making in the Time of COVID-19.
2021
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Robitaille, Nicole, Nina Mazar, and Claire I. Tsai, Avery M. Haviv, and Elizabeth Hardy
Journal of Marketing
Issue:Special Issue: Better Marketing for a Better World
2021
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Scharfenberger, Philipp, Jan R. Landwehr, Claire I. Tsai, Andreas Herrmann, Ann L. McGill, and Jenny Zimmermann
Journal of Marketing Behavior
Issue:4(2)
2021
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with Leonard Lee et al.
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
2018
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Tsai, Claire I. and Jia Lin Xie
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making
Issue:30
2017
Pages: 1168-1181
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Castelo, Noah, Elizabeth Hardy, Julian House, Nina Mazar, Claire I. Tsai, Min Zhao
Journal of Behavioral Science and Policy
Issue:1(2)
2016
Pages: 57-68
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Claire I. Tsai and Leonard Lee
Editorial Report Series; AIMIA Institute
2015
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Lee, Leonard and Claire I. Tsai (equal contribution)
Journal of Consumer Research
Issue:40(5)
2014
Pages: 943-959
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Shen, Luxi, Christopher K. Hsee, Qingsheng Wu, and Claire I. Tsai
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making
Issue:25
2012
Pages: 512-521
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Thomas, Manoj and Claire I. Tsai (equal contribution)
Journal of Consumer Research
Issue:39(2)
2012
Pages: 341-359
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Tsai, Claire I., and Ann L. McGill
Journal of Consumer Research
Issue:37(5)
2011
Pages: 807-821
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Tsai, Claire I., and Min Zhao
Journal of Consumer Research
Issue:38(3)
2011
Pages: 459-473
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Zhao, Min, and Claire I. Tsai (equal contribution)
Journal of Consumer Research
Issue:38(3)
2011
Pages: 525-534
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Tsai, Claire I., and Manoj Thomas
Psychological Science
Issue:22(3)
2011
Pages: 348-354
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Tsai, Claire I. and Christopher K. Hsee
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making
Issue:22(2)
2009
Pages: 138-152
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Tsai, Claire I., Joshua Klayman, and Reid Hastie
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Issue:107(2)
2008
Pages: 97-105
Selected Publications - Books and Chapters
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Tsai, Claire I. and Ying Zeng
Rotman Magazine
2023
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Tsai, Claire I. and Kyle Christian
Sage Publications
Issue:In Press
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Tsai, Claire and Kyle Christian
Sage Publications
Issue:In press
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Tsai, Claire
University of Toronto Press
2012
Pages: 108-131
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Hsee, Christopher K. and Claire I. Tsai
Handbook of Consumer Psychology, C. P. Haugtvedt, P. M. Herr, and F. R. Kardes (eds.), Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
2008
Pages: 639-658.
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Tsai, Claire and Christopher Hsee
Rotman Magazine
Issue:Spring
2008
Pages: 44-49
Recent Presentations
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Broadband Market Study. A randomized control trial on bundling and consumer demand for broadband services
Competition Bureau
2019
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Behavioral Economics
Canadian Bar Association
2018
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Surprise Rewards
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Issue:March
2018
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Straight Talk on Data Science 2.0: How to Apply Behavioral Economics to Make Better Decisions Now
President of Enterprising Organizations
Issue:November
2017
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Straight Talk on Data Science 2.0: How to Apply Behavioral Economics to Make Better Decisions Now
The Financial Advisors Association of Canada
Issue:November
2017
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Consumption Experience Over Time
University of Guelph
2016
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Consumption Experience Over Time
National Taiwan University
2016
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Consumption Experience Over Time
Chinese University of Hong Kong
2016
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Illusory Control Mitigates Processing Fluency Effects
University of Southern California, Dornsife Mind & Society Center
2016
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Behavioral Economics and Financial Decision Making
CPA Ontario's Conference for Women
2015
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Behavioral Economics and Financial Decision Making
University of Chicago Alumni Club (Asia Pacific)
2014
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How Price Promotions Influence Postpurchase Consumption Experience over Time
USC
2014
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The Facebook Effect: Are Judgments Influenced by the Knowledge that Others Are Also Evaluating
UCLA
2014
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Behavioral Economics and Financial Decision Making
Ontario Securities Commission
2013
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Behavioral Economics, Nudge, and Financial Decisions
IV Latin American Financial Education Congress, organized by Asobancaria, the Latin-American Banking Federation (Felaban) and Child and Youth Finance International
2013
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How Psychological Distance Influences Metacognitive Experiences: The Interpretation, Weighting, and Value
NYU
2013
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Magnitude and Hedonic Consumption Experiences Over Time
Columbia University
2013
Selected Publications - Case
Research and Teaching Interests
Research: (Mis)prediction, Nudge, Decision under Risk, Uncertainty, Overconfidence, Time, Happiness, Pricing and Promotions
PhD courses taught: Marketing Theory I - Consumer Behavior (Rotman), Behavioral Economics - Foundation of Judgment and Decision Making (@NTU), Judgment and Decision Making (UCLA, Columbia University)
MBA courses taught: Managing Customer Value (MBA core), Marketing Research
Undergraduate courses taught: Principle of Marketing (undergraduate core), Marketing Management, Strategic Marketing Communications, Branding Strategy, Marketing Research
Honors and Awards
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2022
Academic Research with Real-world Impact Award, Financial Times
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2016, 2020, 2021, 2022
SIG, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
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2017
Insight Grand, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
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2020
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Consumer Research
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2017-18
Rotman Commerce Education Enhancement Fund, Rotman School of Management
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2014
Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, Rotman School of Management
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2013
New Paths to Purpose Research Grant (with Dilip Soman), John Templeton Foundation
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2010
Standard Research Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
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2009, 2012, 2013, 2018
Yearly Excellence in Teaching Awards, Rotman School of Management
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2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
Semiannual Top 20 Best Selling Rotman Magazine articles through Harvard Business Review, Tsai, Claire and Christopher Hsee; Hedonomics in Consumer Behaviour
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2008
Integrative Thinking Research Network Seed Grant, Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking
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2007
Connaught Start-up Grant, University of Toronto
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2002-2006
Research Fellowship, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
Professional Affiliations/Memberships
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Association for Consumer Research (ACR)
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Society of Consumer Psychology (SCP)
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Society for Judgment and Decision Making (SJDM)
Academic / Professional Service
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2018-Present
ERB, The Journal of Consumer Research