Pankaj Aggarwal

Pankaj Aggarwal is a Professor of Marketing in the Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), with a cross-appointment to the Rotman School of Management. He holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of Chicago and has held academic leadership roles, including former Associate Chair of the UTSC Department of Management. His research focuses on consumer-brand relationships, anthropomorphism, and judgment/decision-making, with publications in top journals like the Journal of Consumer Research and Psychological Science. He is recognized as a leading scholar in consumer behavior, ranked 1st in Canada and top 25 globally. Aggarwal teaches courses ranging from undergraduate marketing principles to PhD-level consumer psychology seminars and serves on editorial boards for major marketing journals.

Education: PhD in Marketing (University of Chicago), MBA from the University of Chicago and IIM Ahmedabad, and a B.A. in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Research Interests: Consumer-brand relationships, brand anthropomorphism, judgment and decision-making, advertising, and social psychology. His work explores how brands are perceived as human-like entities and how this influences consumer behavior, including service evaluations, product preferences, and ethical decisions.

Grants & Leadership: Aggarwal has secured multiple grants from SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) and other institutions, focusing on topics like anthropomorphism, brand relationships, and decision-making norms. He has held editorial roles at the Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Brand and Brand Relationships.

Teaching & Mentorship: Teaches courses such as Principles of Marketing, Advertising Management, and PhD-level consumer psychology seminars. Supervises graduate students and mentors researchers in consumer behavior and marketing strategy.