Pierre-Yann Dolbec
Associate professor, Marketing
Concordia University Research Chair in Complexity and Markets

Office: |
S-MB 13.227 John Molson Building, 1450 Guy |
Phone: | (514) 848-2424 ext. 5967 |
Email: | pierre-yann.dolbec@concordia.ca |
Website(s): |
http://www.pydolbec.com |

April 2022: I am open to take on thesis supervision for MSc students whose project align with my research, methodological, and/or contextual expertise. For research interests, this includes research on markets, digital marketing and digitalization, and/or influencers/creators. For methodologies, this includes qualitative methods (e.g., ethnography, netnography, interviews, archival data and historical research).
We face complexity when there is no clear guideline for action. Today’s world is characterized by complexity. Diverging political interests, technological disruptions, and societal upheavals have created competing and divisive expectations about what we should be doing in our personal lives and in society.
In my work, I tackle big questions to understand the complexity of markets and how people and organizations manage it.
For example, I answer questions such as how are public organizations responding to market pressures, how can organizations contribute to society while satisfying shareholder interests, and how are consumers reshaping markets.
My current research projects examine markets for coffee, tattoos, sneakers, fashion, music, transportation, microdosing, and education, as well as social projects in Africa, South America, and South East Asia. Based on my students' theses, I also am looking at digital influence and online influencers, and the acculturation of wealthy consumers.
My research has been published at the Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Marketing, where it has received distinctions such as most cited and most downloaded papers. I have presented at the Association for Consumer Research, the European Association for Consumer Research, the Consumer Culture Theory, and the American Marketing Association conferences, where I have been awarded prizes for best special session and best paper. My research has been featured in media such as the National Post, Channel News Asia, CTV News, Global TV, Radio-Canada, Journal de Montreal, Les Affaires, and Le Devoir.
I have received more than 700 000$ in funding from varied funding sources, such as the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Fonds Société et Culture. I am on the editorial review board of Journal of Consumer Research and Recherche Appliquée en Marketing (RAM). I am also a mentor at academic conferences, a supervisor and committee member for master and doctoral students, and an instructor at JMSB where I am coordinator for the digital marketing undergraduate course.
Teaching activities
At the undergraduate level, I am the coordinator for MARK452 'Digital Marketing,' where I concentrate on teaching digital strategy, as well as how-to plan and enact conversion-based approaches. I recently finished an open source textbook to support the course.
At the master's level, I am the instructor for MSCA668 'Innovation and Marketing.'
Teaching material published
Dolbec, Pierre-Yann (2021). Digital Marketing Strategy, open source textbook, Concordia University.
Chattopadhyay, Amitava, Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Rajesh Nanarpuzha, and Jean Wee (2020). "The AAK Kolo Nafaso Programme: Securing an Alternative Shea Supply Chain," INSEAD Case Studies.
Research activities
Research funding
Thesis supervision
Stjin Kruidenier, MSc, John Molson School of Business – Concordia University, 2019
Publications
Refereed journal articles
Dolbec, Pierre-Yann, Rodrigo Castilhos, Marcelo J. Fonseca, Guilherme Trez (2022), ".How Established Organizations Combine Logics to Reconfigure Resources and Adapt to Marketization: A Case Study on Brazilian Religious Schools," Journal of Marketing Research, 59 (1), 118-135.
Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Eileen Fischer, and Robin Canniford (2021). "Something Old, Something New: Enabled Theory Building in Qualitative Marketing Research," Marketing Theory, 21 (4), 443-461
Castilhos, Rodrigo and Pierre-Yann Dolbec (2018). "Conceptualizing Spatial Types: Characteristics, Transitions, and Research Avenues," Marketing Theory, 18 (2), 154-168.
- One of six "Highly cited" articles at the Journal of Consumer Research for 2016
- As of 2020, second most cited paper at the Journal of Consumer Research for research published in 2015
- Featured in JCR Research Curation "The Psychology of Innovation", July 2016
- As of 2020, third most cited paper at the Journal of Retailing for research published in 2013
Book chapters
Kozinets, Robert V., Pierre-Yann Dolbec and Amanda Earley (2014), “Netnographic Analysis: Capturing and Interpreting Culture through Websites, Blogs, Tweets, Facebook Posts, Virtual Worlds and Other Social Media Data,” in Uwe Fleck, Ed., The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis. Sage: London.
Participation activities
Refereed conference proceedings
Nguyen, Thanh, and Pierre-Yann Dolbec (2020). “Influencers’ Struggles,” Association for Consumer Research Conference, October 1 to 4.
Dolbec, Pierre-Yann and Marie-Agnes Parmentier (2020), “Entrepreneurial Consumption and the Hype Economy, ” American Marketing Association Conference Winter, February 16th. Presented by Marie-Agnes Parmenter.
Kruidener, Stijn, Alex Bitektine, and Pierre-Yann Dolbec (2019), “Temporary Institutions: The Evolution of Beer Regulations in Brazil Before, During, and After the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” European Interntional Business Academy Conference, December 14th. Presented by Alex Bitektine.
Dolbec, Pierre-Yann (2018), “Objects and the Diffusion of Innovation,” presented at the American Marketing Association, San Diego, February 25th.