Expert Profile
Eric Spangenberg

Professor of Marketing and Psychological Science; Academic director for the Center for Global Leadership
Eric Spangenberg is an expert in consumer behavior, psychology, leadership and statistics.
Areas of Expertise
- Environmental Psychology
- Question-Behavior Effects
- Consumer Behavior
- Marketing
- Psychometrics
Biography
With a 30-year career dedicated to excellence in scholarship and business education, Eric R. Spangenberg has served The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, as dean since June 2014.
Dr. Spangenberg earned his PhD from the University of Washington in 1990 and joined the faculty at the Carson College of Business at Washington State University (WSU) where he was named the Maughmer Freedom Philosophy Chair and Professor of Marketing in 2003. He also served as dean of the Carson College from 2005 to 2014. International appointments include a Fulbright International Education Administrator position in France and Germany in 2014 and a Permanent Visiting Faculty position in the Center for Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland since 2010.
Spangenberg is an active volunteer for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the largest and most prestigious international accrediting body for business schools. He has served as an accreditation mentor and reviewer to numerous schools around the world, and was elected to the AACSB Board of Directors in 2017.
At UC Irvine, Spangenberg has led several initiatives, including engaging and strengthening ties with the external business community both locally and abroad. He has motivated strategic curricular updates to the MBA as well as development of a hybridized (partially online), part-time MBA program, one-year specialized masters programs in finance, data analytics and entrepreneurship, and a completely online minor in undergraduate business to help meet the University's demand for business programs. International expansion initiatives include an international residential for undergraduates and several additional residentials for MBAs including unique programs in Cuba and Israel. Executive Education programs have doubled since 2014 through partnerships with local Orange County businesses as well as with Swiss, Korean, and Chinese universities. He oversaw the Merage School strategic planning process articulating a clear vision and reward structure; led development of a differentiation strategy for the School; successfully navigated a (once a decade) UC Senate school review; and established an AACSB plan and process ensuring successful maintenance of accreditation. He has also prioritized the recruitment of faculty and students across several disciplines and programs thereby enriching diversity of the Merage School community.
Media



Media Appearances
An Artist Asks, What Is Luxury Without the Logos?
The New York Times, 5/25/2022
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
Wallet Hub, 1/28/2021
UCI business dean: ‘Going out to shop is just not going to be as enjoyable’
Orange County Register, 6/8/2020
In-person 'retail therapy' may be gone for good
Futurity, 6/4/2020
What’s next: The future of retail
UCI News, 6/3/2020
New UCI Biz School Dean Brings International Experience
Orange County Business Journal, 5/20/2020
Job-searching during a pandemic: local career advisors are guiding their graduates
Daily Pilot, 5/14/2020
Articles
Consumer preference for national vs. private brands: The influence of brand engagement and self-concept threat
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
Engaging with Brands: The Influence of Dispositional and Situational Brand Engagement on Customer Advocacy
Customer Engagement Marketing
A meta-analytic synthesis of the question–behavior effect
Journal of Consumer Psychology
Consumer Attitudes and Intentions Regarding Environmental Behaviors: Effects of Firm-Stated Motives
Marketing in Transition: Scarcity, Globalism, & Sustainability
Consumer Well-Being: Effects of Subgoal Failures and Goal Importance
Journal of Marketing
Education
University of Washington
PhD, Marketing, 1990
Portland State University
MBA, 1986
Washington State University
BA, Business Administration, 1982
Accomplishments
- AcademicKeys Who’s Who in Business Education
Affiliations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Association for Consumer Research
- American Psychological Association
- Society for Consumer Psychology