About the Author
Barry J. Babin has authored more than 100 research publications in some of today's most prestigious peer-reviewed research periodicals, such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the International Journal of Wine Business Research. Dr. Babin is currently Morris Lewis Professor of Marketing and chair of marketing in the Ole Miss Business School. He has won numerous honors for his research, including the Louis K. Brandt Faculty Research Award from the University of Southern Mississippi, Outstanding Researcher in the COB at Louisiana Tech University, the 1996 Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) Steven J. Shaw Award, the 1997 Omerre Deserres Award for Outstanding Contributions to Retail and Service Environment Research and the Academy of Marketing Science�s prestigious Harold W. Berkman Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Babin is a past president of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Society for Marketing Advances and has been recognized as a distinguished fellow of both organizations. His research focuses on the effect of the service environment in creating value for employees and customers and on the impact of big data on consumer liberty. He offers expertise in building and understanding value that leads to long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with employees and customers. His teaching specialties involve advanced methods of marketing and consumer research and creative problem solving. A frequent international lecturer, he has presented in Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Peru, Israel and the United Kingdom.
William G. Zikmund, Ph.D., was a professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University until his death in 2002. He received his bachelor of science degree in marketing from the University of Colorado, a master of science degree from Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Colorado. Professor Zikmund worked in marketing research for Conway/Millikin Company and Remington Arms Company before beginning his academic career, and he had extensive consulting experience with business and not-for-profit organizations. Professor Zikmund published dozens of articles and papers in a diverse group of scholarly journals, including the JOURNAL OF MARKETING, ACCOUNTING REVIEW, and the JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY. He was the author of the successful textbooks EXPLORING MARKETING RESEARCH, BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS, MARKETING, and EFFECTIVE MARKETING, as well as a work of fiction: A CORPORATE BESTIARY. Professor Zikmund was a member of several professional organizations, including the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Marketing Science, the Association for Consumer Research, the Society for Marketing Advances, the Marketing Educators� Association, and the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators. He served on the editorial review boards of the JOURNAL OF MARKETING EDUCATION, MARKETING EDUCATION REVIEW, JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE, and JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH. Professor Zikmund was an accomplished educator who strived to be creative and innovate in the classroom, and his books have been used in universities in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America, reaching more than a half million students worldwide.
