Jens Nordfält

Feature article written by Carol Jones – Updated (08/16/2022) -.

Dr. Jens Nordfält, Professor in the School of Management at the University of Bath, held the position of VP of Sponsorship and Practice until 2022.

Jens was first drawn to marketing due to his interest in people’s behaviour and thinking. He noticed that almost everything that is important to people he meets can somehow be related back to marketing. He prefers to understand people through their psychological processes and how that can be used to make improvements in their everyday life. His research insights are utilized to make his own and his family’s life better. True to the SIG’s name, Jens studies retail the most, along with technology. While he was working for a retailer while taking social psychology and experimental methods, he found that retail was a good setting for real life experiments and quick responses. The rest just fell into place. He has almost always had a position with a retail company. Currently, he is part owner of a grocery store (I bet that comes in handy for getting field experiment data- smart move, Jens!).

“I think it is also important that you have fun as a scholar. As a researcher, you have to give it all and give it all you have to enjoy what you are doing.” -Jens

Jens wants to see retail research offer even more practical solutions to better help society. He views products, supply chains, retailing, and marketing as tools to improve our lives. Jens has an impressive list of top publications and is proud to see his findings are being used and contributing to practice. He mentions being happy to have his network of talented co-authors and being grateful for the opportunity to work with the companies he has collaborated with.

He also desires to see a more efficient knowledge supply chain, as the answer to many companies’ problems is already in existing research. As such, with a lot of help and support, he has built a research foundation on retailing research, of which he was CEO for multiple years. Jens also started a retailing school in Sweden to better connect practice and academia and held the dean position for 8 years. Not surprisingly, Jens was recognized for his contributions and received the “Entrepreneur of the year 2016” from a Swedish foundation and “Influencer of the year 2017” from the Association of Swedish Market Research Organisations. While Jens obviously has passion for his work, he also enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports (football/soccer), listening to music, and motorcycles. He says he often forgets to celebrate a job well done, but throw yourself a party, Jens; you’ve earned it!

What advice does Jens have for current PhD students or young scholars?

“Be humble in the sense that you are open to other peoples’ ideas, suggestions, and knowledge. At the same time, be aware that it is you, and nobody else, that is responsible for your learning and progression. Try to balance the fact that you are in the driver’s seat with being humble.”