About the Authors

Dr. Eric Arnould is Professor of Marketing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln despite the fact that he holds a Ph.D. degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Arizona (1982). He has also taught at Odense University, Denmark, the University of South Florida, California State University Long Beach, and at the University of Colorado at Denver. From 1975 to 1990, he tried to do less harm than good working on economic development issues in more than a dozen West African nations for governmental and non-governmental organizations. Since 1990, he has been a full-time academic. Occasionally, he is let loose on a minor consulting assignment. His research investigates consumer ritual (Thanksgiving, New Year's, football bowl games, Halloween, inheritance), service relationships (including river rafting and commercial friendships), West African marketing channels, and the uses of qualitative data. To his enduring surprise, his work appears in the three major US marketing journals (Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research), as well as many other social science periodicals and edited books. Dr. Arnould is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. He speaks French and Hausa and enjoys running, do-it-yourself work on his old house, and being a parent.

Dr. Linda L. Price is E.J. Faulkner Professor of Agribusiness and Marketing at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She received her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas Austin in 1983. She has also been on the faculty at University of South Florida, University of Colorado, Boulder, University of California, Irvine, Odense University, Denmark and University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Price has published over 50 research papers in areas of marketing and consumer behavior. Many of these papers appear in leading consumer and marketing journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and Organization Science. Linda is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, universities and community forums. She has consulted for several large multi-nationals, but has also conducted research for many small enterprises, national and regional agencies, and not-for-profit organizations. Dr. Price's research focuses on consumers as emotional, imaginative and creative agents and on the relational dimensions of consumers' behaviors. Her major areas of teaching include consumer behavior, market research, and marketing theory.

Dr. George Zinkhan is the Coca-Cola Company Chair of Marketing at the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Michigan in 1981. Besides the University of Michigan, he has also taught at the University of Houston, University of Pittsburgh, and the Madrid School of Business. Dr. Zinkhan has published over 100 research papers in the areas of marketing, advertising, and electronic commerce. These papers appear in leading journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Decision Sciences, and the Journal of Advertising.Among his recent co-authored books are: Electronic Commerce: The Strategic Perspective (Harcourt, Inc., 2000) and Advertising Research: The Internet, Consumer Behavior, and Strategy (American Marketing Association, 2000). As indicated by the themes of these books, Dr. Zinkhan's research interests focus on: consumer behavior, communication, electronic commerce, and knowledge development.