Minu Kumar

Minu Kumar is a Professor of Marketing at San Francisco State University (SFSU) within the Lam Family College of Business. He is the Founder-Director of the Responsible Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI&E) Research Initiative and serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM), a top-tier A* journal. His research focuses on innovation, new product design and development, and entrepreneurship, with a growing emphasis on responsible innovation and sustainability.

• Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy
• Masters in Business Administration (Pharmaceutical Marketing, 2002)
• Ph.D. in Marketing

His research interests center on how consumers respond to product design, the value of aesthetics in innovation, and the integration of ethical and sustainable practices in new product development. He explores how visual harmony, gender-based design, and emotional responses influence consumer choices and brand relationships. His work bridges academic theory with real-world applications, informed by consulting projects with firms such as SAP, Novo Nordisk, Medtronic, and GlaxoSmithKline.

His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on design-driven innovation, consumer psychology, and responsible development. Trends include interdisciplinary collaboration, editorial leadership in special issues on responsible innovation, and translating research into policy and practice. His articles frequently appear in journals like Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Journal of Business Ethics, demonstrating both breadth and depth in innovation and marketing science.

Minu Kumar has received numerous accolades, including:

• Overall Best Paper at the 2010 Summer AMA Conference
• SFSU President’s Award for Research
• Lam Family College of Business Exemplary Research Awards (2016, 2020)
• Best Paper at the 2016 PDMA Conference

He has secured significant funding for innovation programs, including a $25 million initiative and multiple grants from MUFG, Barilla, and the Marketing Science Institute. He advises PhD students such as Kristina Nickel and Ian Sinapuelas, whose dissertation work has led to co-authored publications. He actively mentors early-career researchers through the JPIM Reviewer Development Program and has led the PDMA Doctoral Consortium.

Minu Kumar leads the RI&E Research Initiative at SFSU, which fosters interdisciplinary collaboration on responsible innovation. He co-organized the inaugural RI&E Research Conference in 2023 and the JPIM Paper Development Workshop, bringing together scholars and practitioners from institutions worldwide. His lab and team include collaborators from Aarhus University, Babson College, and Meta, reflecting a global network focused on ethical innovation and design thinking.