Ozan Ozdemir

Ozan Ozdemir serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Management and Marketing at the College of Business, North Dakota State University, with his office located in Barry Hall 312. Previously, he held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Marketing at the University of Alberta. He is contactable via Ozan.Ozdemir@ndsu.edu or (701) 231-5858.

His academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Business Administration (Major: Operations and Information Systems, Minor: Marketing) from the University of Alberta (2024)
• M.S. in Business Administration from the University of Rochester (2013)
• B.S. in Business Administration with Honors from TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Turkey (2010)

Dr. Ozdemir's research critically examines consumer responses to virtual entities through the lens of digital marketing and human-technology interaction. His work investigates how form realism, behavioral realism, and linguistic style in AI agents and virtual influencers shape consumer trust, brand attitudes, and purchase decisions. Utilizing behavioral experiments and secondary data analysis, he identifies conditions where nonhuman agents outperform human counterparts in marketing contexts.

His recent publications in top-tier journals reveal key trends: virtual influencers' effectiveness varies significantly by product domain and realism levels, with linguistic authenticity emerging as a critical trust driver. These findings highlight evolving consumer-brand dynamics in digital ecosystems where parasocial relationships with virtual entities redefine marketing strategies.