UNI MBA Program Faculty

K.N. (RAJ) RAJENDRAN
Associate Professor of Marketing

Education
Ph.D., University of Iowa; Master of Business Management, BHU, India; B.Sc. Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, India.

Teaching Interests
New Product Management, Pricing, Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Principles of Marketing, Marketing Management (MBA). He has also taught Consumer Behavior and International Marketing.

Research Interests
Exploring the structure and meaning of reference price, and its role in brand choice. Understanding consumer price and value perceptions. International dimensions of perceived quality and ad use. Consumer behavior and social media. Learning assurance in education and its uses using the Kano Model to classify attributes.

Professional Accomplishments
Dr. Rajendran's papers have been published in the Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of Education for Business, Journal of Marketing Management, Innovative Marketing, International Journal of Business Information Systems, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the Elgar Companion to Consumer Research and Economic Psychology. His 1993 paper “Consumer Profiles and Perceptions: Country-of-origin Effects” (co-authored with Paul Chao) received the Literati Award for Excellence. The authors were invited to London, UK and received the award in person in a special ceremony from the UK Permanent Secretary for Education in November, 1993. Another paper in 1996 “The Influence of Worldmindedness and Nationalism on Consumer Evaluation of Domestic and Foreign Products” (co-authored with Mohammed Rawwas and Gerhard Wuehrer) received a Citation for Excellence from Anbar (Emerald) Management Review, (an electronic library/database of management journals world-wide).

Raj has presented papers at annual INFORMS Marketing Science Conferences over the years hosted by leading business schools in the US (Arizona, Florida, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Maryland, Illinois-Champaign, Washington, Washington University in St. Louis, Delaware, Rice, and Boston), Australia (AGSM, Sydney), France (INSEAD, Fountainbleu), Germany (Mainz, held in Weisbaden), Netherlands (Erasmus, Rotterdam), and Turkey (Ozyegin, Instanbul). He has also presented papers at the Academy of Marketing Science Conference in Phoenix, Arizona and at the “One World One Market – Vision 2020” International Conference in New Delhi, India co-sponsored by the Academy. Raj has presented at the Western Decision Science Institute and at the annual Marketing Educators' Association Conference as well.

In addition to developing and delivering the New Product Management and Pricing courses for the undergraduates (1993 onwards), Raj developed and delivered modules for MBA students in Hong Kong (“Creating Profitable Market Offerings,” 2002), and on-campus (“Doing Business in China,” 2005/2007). He also co-developed and administered (with Kay Palan at ISU), a joint course “Beyond Business Classrooms” (1998) involving twelve senior business majors from each institution. These students were grouped into six multi-functional teams and successfully completed consulting projects with businesses in the Iowa Falls area. He taught the MBA Marketing Management course for eight years, occasionally offers a module or two for the course, and continues to serve as mentor for MBA capstone consulting projects. Over the past ten years, Raj has been teaching the Marketing Strategy course, which serves as the capstone for undergrad marketing majors.

Raj has developed an extensive service portfolio at UNI over the years. He was recognized twice for his efforts with a CBA Faculty Service Award in 2000 and again in 2015. Most notably he has served the Marketing department for over 20 years as Chair of the Learning Assurance Committee, and serves on the Collegiate Core Curriculum Committee as well. He served six-year terms as member of the Educational Policies Commission, the Graduate Council, and as Chair of the MBA Policy Committee. He has also, in two spells, served as Advisor to the UNI American Marketing Association student organization for several years.

Raj is a Professional Member of the American Marketing Association, an Associate of the Marketing Chapter of INFORMS, and a Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science. He is a member of the India Association of Northeast Iowa and has served a five-year term as a Director.

Raj had a rich background of experience prior to his doctoral studies. Before embarking on his doctoral degree, he worked for nearly nine years in different managerial capacities for State Bank of India, six of them in the Bank's Consultancy Cell. His experience includes industrial engineering/management consulting for a wide range of industries, training Bank officials and entrepreneurs through a variety of programs, and participating in / coordinating World Bank sponsored MSI development projects for Bank officers from Nepal and Sri Lanka.