Steven Sweldens

Prof. Dr. Steven Sweldens is a Professor of Consumer Behavior and Marketing at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds a PhD in Marketing from Erasmus University (2009) and has held academic roles at INSEAD and RSM. His research focuses on psychological mechanisms underlying advertising, brand attitudes, and decision-making. Notable contributions include pioneering work on evaluative conditioning and its applications in marketing. He has been awarded the EMAC McKinsey Award, runner-up AMA John A. Howard Award, and multiple teaching accolades including the RSM Dean’s Innovative Teaching Award (2018). His case studies on Renova Paper and TomTom have gained international recognition, earning top awards.

• Education: PhD in Marketing, Erasmus University (2009)
• Affiliations: Fellow of Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Faculty Member
• Teaching: MBA/EMBA marketing core courses at RSM; MBA/social psychology courses at INSEAD

Research Interests: Explores unconscious processes driving consumer behavior, including evaluative conditioning, brand attitude formation, and self-control dynamics. His work bridges marketing, psychology, and organizational behavior, with publications in top-tier journals like Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Grants & Awards: Multiple teaching awards (INSEAD/RSM), case study honors (Case Center, 2012/2021), and recognition for doctoral research (EMAC McKinsey Award). Active in doctoral supervision across marketing science, consumer behavior, and neuroscience.

• Labs/Teams: Leads research groups in consumer behavior, with a focus on unconscious processes and decision-making
• Future Work: Expanding studies on numerical cognition's role in consumer ambiguity aversion and cross-domain self-control