‘Truly Gratifying’: Dhruv Grewal Reflects on Impact and Recognitions of His Prolific Research

For Dhruv Grewal, his research starts with addressing a problem. The depth of his research leads to real-world understanding, such as technology’s impact on the global food chain and artificial intelligence’s impact on the future of marketing. 

His prolific research influences classroom insights and discussions, often spurring additional research ideas and opportunities. 

For decades, Grewal, the Toyota Professor of Commerce and Electronic Business and a professor of marketing at Babson College, has been regularly recognized as one of the most published and most highly cited researchers, has consistently made the Top 2% Scientist list (2020–2024), and has ranked among the Best Business and Management Scientists. 

Grewal again recently was honored as the most-cited author in marketing by the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University (SMU) for articles published in select marketing journals in 2023. The award will be presented at the Global Retail Brand Management Conference in June 2025 at SMU. 

This year, Grewal also has received major awards for his career accomplishments and contributions to marketing research, as well as his long-term impact in the field. 

Most notably, Grewal received the 2024 AMA HigherEd SIG Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Marketing Association’s Marketing for Higher Education Special Interest Group (AMA HigherEd SIG).  

The award honors marketing scholars who have demonstrated distinct accomplishments and dedication to the area of higher education in the marketing discipline. Babson Marketing Professor Victoria Crittenden, the Peter M. Black Endowed Faculty Scholar, received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. 

Earlier this year, Grewal also received the Christopher Lovelock Career Contributions to the Services Discipline Award from SERVSIG, which honors an individual whose teaching, research, and service have had the greatest long-term impact on the development of the services discipline.  

And, Grewal, along with four co-authors, was named a winner of the 2024 Weitz-Winer-O’Dell Award from the AMA for their article, “Service Robots Rising: How Humanoid Robots Influence Service Experiences and Elicit Compensatory Consumer Responses,” published in the Journal of Marketing Research (JMR). The award honors JMR articles published five years earlier that have made the most significant, long-term contribution to marketing theory, methodology, and/or practice. 

Grewal recently reflected on the Lifetime Achievement Award and his research: 

What does receiving the AMA Lifetime Achievement Award in Higher Education mean to you? 

“Although in my career, I have taken on various roles, all those efforts have resonated with my sense of being an educator, first and foremost. I have strived hard to develop my class preparations and pedagogical material, to ensure that I create engaging, inclusive, interactive learning environments. I deeply enjoy my interactions with my students (current and former) at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, executive); they also enrich my own teaching and research. In turn, I have coauthored numerous marketing, retailing, and marketing research textbooks and case studies, while also taking on administrative roles, including department head, and serving on boards, such as Babson Global and Marketing Edge. Receiving this Lifetime Achievement Award is truly gratifying, as a recognition of my diverse contributions in critical higher education domains.” 

“The broader marketing and business education fields clearly recognize the impactful, innovative, and meaningful scholarship that gets generated at Babson College.”
Grewal, the Toyota Chair in Commerce and Electronic Business

You have long been recognized as one of the most prolific researchers in your field, as evidenced by your latest awards and honors. What motivates you to produce so much impactful research? And, how does that work impact your teaching and students? 

“It is certainly gratifying to know that the scholarly work I have published—with coauthors from both Babson College and around the world—is being widely read and cited. But such recognition is not the initial source of my devoted efforts. Rather, my research starts with my realization that some pressing, key problem needs to be addressed. For example, I am currently focusing on understanding how technology and AI is changing the future of marketing, including their profound effects on individuals, firms, society, and the planet. I want to draw attention to both positive and negative effects. In a recent project, I therefore considered how technology might influence the global food chain—all the way from production to food waste and food insecurity. Addressing relevant problems like these, while working with a diverse set of scholars and exercising my substantive, theoretical, and methodological skills, powerfully motivates me to continue my own learning and educational journey. I also bring the lessons and insights gleaned from my ongoing research and publications into my textbooks and my classes, to enrich my contributions to readers and students. In turn, I learn a host of new marketing topics from my interactions with my students, many of which motivate additional research.” 

What does it mean for Babson’s leadership in marketing and business education to have such esteemed professors honored by the AMA? 

“It is such an honor to receive this award and join my colleague Professor Crittenden in representing Babson as a top-notch source of marketing and marketing education insights. It reflects how the combined efforts of all of Babson’s faculty make a difference. The broader marketing and business education fields clearly recognize the impactful, innovative, and meaningful scholarship that gets generated at Babson College. We are truly leading in this arena, and recognition of that status by the AMA affirms that our hard work continues to pay off, for our students, the College, and our marketing and business disciplines.” 

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Tagged Faculty, Research, Artificial Intelligence

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