Research Profile | Dr. Ritu Chhikara

Fabricating Sustainable Consumer Behaviours through myriad ways

Surely, we have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy and habitable by all species.

– David Attenborough

Ritu’s research is focussed on consumer behaviour, sustainable consumer behaviour and sustainable marketing practices. After a brief yet successful stint with Microsoft, she joined academia and has been continuously conducting industry-focussed research since the last 7 years. Her philosophy of melding academic rigor with real-world business practice has led her to be involved in a number of consulting projects coming from MNCs and government organizations.

She has worked with Niti Aayog (Govt. of India) on a project titled ‘Enhancing the effectiveness of PM Jan Aushadhi Yojna’. Here, she and her team conducted research to identify factors and formulate strategies that government bodies would adopt to enhance consumer awareness & acceptability and the overall success of this scheme in the country.

Her other consulting projects include one with Lakshya Foods Private Ltd., a large dairy brand in Haryana, India, wherein positional or perceptual mapping was conducted for competitive analysis of the dairy market in the state. The outcomes of this research helped the company understand the changing consumer behaviour, which led to customer profiling and brand repositioning. The suggestions have been duly incorporated and appreciated by the client. This project was converted into a case study titled ‘Lakshya: Finding the right position in the dairy market’ and published by the Asian Journal of Management Cases.

Her other funded research projects involve a big state government university in Haryana, Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), and others.

Her latest research is an attempt to understand stakeholders’ acceptance and behaviour towards adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India, which is a transformative and revolutionary change that the country is currently witnessing. The study incorporates qualitative methodology and covers a wide range of stakeholders, including EV manufacturers, suppliers, current & prospective customers, and government officials, making it comprehensive and impactful. This research is at the final stages of acceptance in Transportation Research—Part D.

Another research that appeared in Construction Innovation revolved around understanding factors that acted as adopters, barriers, and support mechanisms for the implementation of sustainable building materials in the Indian construction Industry.

Her research articles and business cases have been published in journals such as The Marketing Review, Strategic Change, South Asian Journal of Management,Sage Business Cases, Asian Journal of Management Cases, Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning,and Small Enterprise Research, among others. Her co-authored edited book titled Enhancing Consumer Appeal through the Use of Emotional Branding is published by IGI Global Publisher, USA.

As a management educator and researcher, Ritu combines both her concern for sustainable consumption and her passion for solving complex consumer behaviour related issues by developing & applying theoretical frameworks and tools.

Dr Ritu Chhikara is working as Assistant professor of Marketing at BML Munjal University. She earned her PhD from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University in the area of Retailing in Emerging Economies. Her research interests are in the realms of Brand Management and Consumer Behaviour, Sustainable Development and Sensory Marketing.

She did her full-time MBA from FMS, DU and majored in Marketing and IT (Information Technology). She worked with Microsoft Corporation India in their public sector business development division post her MBA. Dr Ritu has also completed her engineering in electronics and communication, post which she worked with Birlasoft as Software Engineer.

In her current role as faculty with BML University, she is responsible for facilitating students in Brand Management, Retail and Omni Channel Marketing, and Consumer Behaviour for PG and UG students. She teaches Innovative Teaching Pedagogies to PhD candidates and Brand Management to Executive MBA students while continuing her research work.