David Finken, MSc
Research Assistant & PhD Candidate
Lead Swiss Consumer Studies
Zoom-Link
david.finken @ unilu.ch
LinkedIn
OSF
Consultation-hour: by arrangement via e-mail
CV
David Finken is currently a SNF researcher and fourth year Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Marketing and Analytics at the Chair of Digital Marketing (Prof. Dr. Reto Hofstetter), and has been a visiting scholar at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (Prof. Dr. Aradhna Krishna).
Short summary
My research examines how emerging technologies (i.e., augmented reality [AR], virtuality reality [VR], non-fungible tokens [NFTs], artificial intelligence [AI]) impact decision-making. Theoretically, I borrow from accounts such as “psychological ownership,” “construal level / psychological distance,” the “Self,” “essentialism,” and social exchange theories to better understand how emerging technology impact decisions.
I have presented my projects at leading conferences (e.g., ACR, SCP, TPM, or EMAC), and I won an award for the best conference paper based on a doctoral thesis at the EMAC 2022 conference. In addition, the Doctoral Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association supported one of my research endeavors with the DocSIG research grant. I was also nominated for the 2023 AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium.
Overall, I hope that my research generates impactful insights and provides some food for thought in our ever-increasing digital world.
Detailed CV available upon request.
Selected awards
- 2023: Best Doctoral Presentation Award, Swiss Academy of Marketing Science
- 2023: Fellow of the Sheth Doctoral Consortium 2023, BI Oslo, Norway
- 2022: The European Marketing Academy Conference honored one of his projects with the Best Paper of Conference Award (EMAC-Website)
- 2021: The DOCSIG research grant of the American Marketing Association (Link)
- 2021: Research Grant from the Graduate Academy of the University of Lucerne (Mobility Grant) for a 12-months research stay at the Stephan M. Ross School of Business (University of Michigan)
- 2018: Visting Grant for MBA-expat stay in South Korea @Yonsei University
Involvement @University of Lucerne
- Leading the Swiss Consumer Studies (i.e., Insurance Monitor, Health Monitor, Mobility Monitor, Augmented Reality, etc.)
- Teaching at various study levels
- Conceptualized and founded the University Research Pool
- Co-Conceptualized (in cooperation with LINK) the Swiss Brand Observer
- Engage in practioneer workshops, talks, and academic consulting
Academic memberships
The Society of Consumer Psychology, The American Marketing Association, The Association of Consumer Research, The European Marketing Academy
Relevant Experiences
- Education: research-oriented Master's in Marketing & E-Business from the Georg-August University in Goettingen (with MBA in Seoul, Korea); an interdisciplinary Bachelor's in Sports, Business & Law from the University of Bayreuth (with stays in Canada & Slovenia)
- Stations abroad: United States Canada, Korea, Slovenia, and Switzerland
- Industry: several strategy and sales-related roles (e.g., adidas Group, BMW Motorrad, FC Bayern München AG, Simon-Kucher & Partners Consulting, and ON AG)
- Workshop Co-Initiator: troublemaker thinking
- Ongoing external consulting & training
Scientifc Contributions
Peer-reviewed conference presentations (selected)
Finken, D., Scheurer, T., Brandes L., Hofstetter, R., (2023). Buyer, beware: augmented reality product display increases consumer preferences for inferior but not for superior products. Swiss Academy of Marketing Science, Switzerland, forthcoming.
Finken, D., Hofstetter, R., Krishna, A., & v. Wangenheim, F. (2023). The mixed-reality effect: How consumer context influences preference for virtually displayed products.ACR Conference, Seattle, forthcoming.
Finken, D., Hofstetter, R., Krishna, A., & v. Wangenheim, F. (2023). The mixed-reality effect: How consumer context influences preference for virtually displayed products. ACR Special Conference on Metaverse, Paris, France, July 2023.
Finken, D., Hofstetter, R., Krishna, A., & v. Wangenheim, F. (2023). The mixed-reality effect: How consumer context influences preference for virtually displayed products.European Association for Consumer Research Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 2023.
Finken, D., Scheurer, T., Brandes L., Hofstetter, R., (2023). Better tech, worse decisions? How heightened ownership increases preferences for inferior products displayed in AR. European Association for Consumer Research Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 2023.
Finken, D., Scheurer, T., Brandes L., Hofstetter, R., (2023). Better tech, worse decisions? How heightened ownership increases preferences for inferior products displayed in AR. Ownership Workshop, Vienna, July 2023.
Finken, D., &, Doering, T. (2023). Brushstrokes on blockchains: permanence threats increase valuation of Non-fungible Token (NFT) art. In special session on the psychology of NFTs, Marketing Science Conference, Miami, United States, June 2023, Special Session organizer.
Finken, D.,&, Doering, T. (2023). Brushstrokes on blockchains: permanence threats increase valuation of Non-fungible Token (NFT) art. European Marketing Academy Conference, Odense, Denmark, May 2023, Special Session organizers.
Finken, D., Nann, L., Doering, T., & Hofstetter, R. (2023). Should you actually combine luxury and virtuality? A brand essence perspective. IUM Symposium on Luxury, Monaco, April 2023.
Finken, D., Scheurer, T., Brandes L., Hofstetter, R., (2023). Deceptive looks: Adverse effects of augmented reality on persuasion. Ph.D. Research Seminar under supervision of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult Christian Homburg, Lucerne, Switzerland, November 2023.
Finken, D., Scheurer, T., Brandes L., Hofstetter, R., (2023). What you perceive is (not) what you get: Adverse effects of augmented reality on persuasion. Society of Consumer Psychology Conference, San Juan, United States, March 2023.
Research Reports (selected)
Finken, D., Imboden, N., Hofstetter, R., Schneider, S., Schulz, M., Hütte, I. (2023). Swiss Insurance Monitor 2022. University of Lucerne. (https://www.swissinsurancemonitor.ch/)
Schakols, F., Hofstetter, R., Greifenstein, M., Finken, D., Herger, P., Zazo, A., Heim, N., Herrmann, A. (2023). Swiss Mobility Monitor 2023, University of Lucerne. (https://www.swissmobilitymonitor.ch/)
Lingens, B., Ottiger, Y., Jenni, P., Funk, G., Imboden, N., & Finken, D. (2022). Swiss Health Monitor 2022, University of Lucerne. 1-47 (https://www.swisshealthmonitor.ch/)
Finken, D., Gorny, M., Hofstetter, R., Fankhauser, L., Waibel, R., & Schrötter, S. (2021). Swiss Augmented Reality Barometer 2021. University of Lucerne. 1–72. (https://ar-barometer.ch/)
Popular Press (selected)
Versicherungen: Online-Interaktionen gewinnen & KI-Skepsis bei Kunden (2023), Handelszeitung
(https://www.handelszeitung.ch/insurance/versicherungen-online-interaktionen-gewinnen-ki-skepsis-bei-kunden-640162)
Studie der Universität Luzern legt offen: Bei Transparenz und Nachhaltigkeit haben Versicherer Nachholbedarf (2022), Luzerner Zeitung (https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/wirtschaft/zentralschweiz/versicherungen-studie-der-universitaet-luzern-legt-offen-bei-transparenz-und-nachhaltigkeit-haben-versicherer-nachholbedarf-ld.2321072?reduced=true)
Augmented reality is becoming more and more popular in Switzerland(2021). TechNewsInc.com (https://technewsinc.com/augmented-reality-is-becoming-more-and-more-popular-in-switzerland/)
Sonnenbrillen anprobieren und Berggipfel finden: Augmented Reality findet in der Schweiz zunehmend Anklang (2021), Luzerner Zeitung (https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/zentralschweiz/luzern/unversitaet-luzern-augmented-reality-findet-in-der-schweiz-zunehmend-anklang-ld.2157592)
Teaching
Teaching assistant for
Prof. Dr. Reto Hofstetter and external guest lectures (e.g., Prof. Dr. John Zhang) on Bachelors' and Masters' levels
- Marketing Management
- Price Management
- Pricing Strategies
- Marketing Field Trip
- Decision Analytics and Support Systems
Supervises/Co-supervises theses at all levels
- Consumer behavior in and with mixed realities (AR, VR, and Metaverse)
- Management & societal implications of AR, VR, and Metaverse
- Preference measurement and willingness to pay methods
- Own research questions on consumer behavior and technology
- Theses in collaboration with practioneers (upon consultation)
For an overview of theses at the Chair of digital Marketing view the following LINK.