Tarje Børsum Gaustad serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at BI Norwegian Business School since 1999, maintaining a parallel 20% Adjunct Associate Professor role at UiT The Arctic University of Norway since 2015. He founded Gaustad Consulting in 2017, demonstrating commitment to bridging academic research and industry practice. His educational foundation includes a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration (Cand. Merc.) from Norges Handelshøyskole (BI) and a PhD from BI Norwegian Business School completed in 2015. Professor Gaustad's research examines critical intersections of consumer psychology and modern marketing challenges. His work reveals how consumers form deep connections with brands through self-verification and self-enhancement mechanisms, develops frameworks for understanding AI skepticism using the '8 I's' psychological barriers typology, and challenges assumptions about sustainability perceptions through rigorous experimental evidence. Recent publications demonstrate exceptional productivity with 7 journal articles and 8 conference presentations between 2022-2025. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications shows dominant focus on artificial intelligence applications (33%), sustainability perceptions (27%), and brand-consumer identity dynamics (20%), with growing emphasis on experimental methodology across all streams. His work consistently appears in high-impact journals including Journal of Cleaner Production and Computers in Human Behavior. Through BI Business Review contributions, he actively translates research into actionable insights on topics ranging from A/B testing reliability to sustainable consumption barriers. His consulting practice extends this knowledge transfer to industry clients navigating contemporary marketing challenges. Professor Gaustad maintains active research supervision through his BI position, with recent publications indicating mentorship of graduate students. His international collaborations with scholars from KU Leuven, Duke University, and UiT demonstrate strong cross-institutional engagement.
