Hean Tat Keh

Hean Tat Keh (郭贤达) is a Professor of Marketing at Monash University, Australia. He is a firm believer in balancing research and teaching excellence. His current research examines consumer psychology in the contexts of services marketing, sustainable marketing, and healthcare marketing, with a secondary interest in doing business in China. He has published in leading journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Retailing, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of Business Venturing. A passionate and highly-awarded educator, Professor Keh has previously taught at the University of Queensland, Peking University, and the National University of Singapore. He obtained his PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle, and his MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 

     Related links: 

• Google Scholar Publications and Citations
• Research Gate Research Profile
• ORCID Research Profile
• CMO Council Academic Advisory Board

     Media and Impact:

• My research findings on the effects of high service attentiveness published in Journal of International Marketing (2019) have been written-up in the Harvard Business Review ("The Downside of Attentive Service", March-April 2019).
• My research findings on consumers' susceptibility to cross-selling persuasion published in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (2017) have been written-up in the Keller Center Research Report (March 2019), which is distributed to approximately 9,000 real estate sales professionals in the U.S.
• Radio interviews on Peer vs. Expert Online review research on Ultra 106.5 (David Wood Dec 17, 2018), ABC Southeast NSW (Simon Lauder Dec 18, 2018), and ABC Melbourne (Ali Moore Dec 20, 2018).
• Radio interviews on Nostalgia and Food Indulgence research on BBC5 (Rhod Sharp Nov 22, 2018), ABC Far North (Kier Shorey Dec 04, 2018) and ABC Southern Queensland (Sheridan Stewart Dec 12, 2018)
• Media write-up on Nostalgia's leading role in the festive season food coma (Dec 18, 2018)
• Media write-up on Nostalgia and Food Indulgence (Nov 20, 2018)
• Media write-up on Peer vs. Expert Online review (Nov 21, 2018)
• Thought Capital Podcast on 'Opening the Gate to China' (Aug 28, 2018)
• Interview on Doing Business with China (Apr 24, 2018)

     Latest journal articles:

• Sun, Jin, Hean Tat Keh, and Angela Y. Lee (2019), “Shaping Consumer Preference Using Alignable Attributes: The Roles of Regulatory Orientation and Construal Level,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 36 (1), 151-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2018.12.001
• Keh, Hean Tat, Nicole Hartley, and Di Wang (2019), “The Differential Effects of Separated vs. Unseparated Services: The Roles of Performance Risk and Regulatory Focus,” Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 29 (1), 93-118. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-04-2018-0097

     Research highlights: 

• A national-level outstanding research achievement award from the Ministry of Education, China in 2015 (Sun, Keh, & Lee, 2012, Journal of Consumer Research).
• Honourable mention for the 2011 Servsig Best Article award (Keh & Pang, 2010, Journal of Marketing).
• Runner-up for the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation Best Published Paper award in 2010 (Keh & Xie, 2009, Industrial Marketing Management).
• Citation in the Wikipedia entry on ‘Brand Equity’ (Chu & Keh, 2006, Marketing Letters).
• Received major research grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

     Teaching highlights:

• 2018 ANZMAC Distinguished Marketing Educator of the Year Award.
• Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence 2017, Monash Business School, Monash University. (Click on link for Youtube video)
• Four ‘Purple Letters’ for outstanding teaching at Monash University (2016-2018).
• Finalist for the 2016 MPA Supervisor of the Year at Monash University.
• Voted Most Popular MBA Professor (MBA 最喜爱的老师) at Peking University for three consecutive years (2007-2009).
• Outstanding Educator Award 2001, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore.
• Conducted executive programs and consulted with blue-chip companies such as European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, Glaxo Smith Kline (China), Samsung (China), SK Holdings, British Telecom, Dow Chemical, and China Merchants Bank.

     Service highlights: 

• On the editorial boards of Journal of Advertising, Australasian Marketing Journal, Frontiers of Business Research in China, and Asia Marketing Journal.
• On the academic advisory board of the CMO Council.
• Initiator and Organizer, Marketing Research Camp, Department of Marketing, Monash University (2015-present).
• Recruitment panel member, Department of Marketing, Monash University (2017-present).
• Teaching mentor, Department of Marketing, Monash University (2016-present).
• Executive Committee, Department of Marketing, Monash University (2013-present).
• Initiator and Organizer, Marketing Research Summit, UQ Business School, University of Queensland (2012-2013).
• Academic Director, Doing Business in China Program, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University (2007-2010).
• Deputy Head of Department, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University (2007-2010).
• PhD program steering committee, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University (2005-2009).     

My current research examines consumer psychology in the contexts of services marketing, sustainable or green marketing, food marketing, and healthcare marketing. Illustrative research topics include:

1. sustainable or green consumption (e.g. social class and sustainable consumption, effects of power on propensity for green consumption, self-construal and green product consumption, the role of positive emotions on sustainable consumption, etc.)

2. food marketing (e.g. choice of minimally-processed vs. ultra-processed foods on consumers' healthy lifestyle intentions, well-dressed people and street-food consumption, understanding Chinese consumers' preference for Australian food products)

3. service characteristics (e.g. applications of service separation in different contexts [Keh & Pang, 2010], service standardization vs. customization [Ding & Keh, 2016], service intangibility vs. tangibility [Ding & Keh, 2017], service employees [Zhao, Yan, & Keh, 2018; Keh et al., 2013])

4. information processing (e.g. how attribute alignability affects consumers' service preference [Sun, Keh, & Lee, 2012], the differential effects of expert review vs. peer review on service evaluation [Keh & Sun, 2018], the effects of novel product displays on purchase intention) [Wang & Keh, in progress])

Potential honours and PhD applicants

1. I am able to supervise topics that fall within my research interests (see illustrative topics above). Please read my recent research papers and discuss with me before sending me a full proposal.

2. Potential honours and PhD applicants need to be familiar with behavioural experiment methods and cognitive-social psychology theories, which form the bases for my current research.

3. You need to have a curious and probing mind, aptitude for hard work, and passion for research excellence (think "quality," not "quantity").

Postdoctoral applicants

I welcome supervision enquiries from postdoctoral fellows trained in social psychology, consumer psychology, and services marketing who share my research interests. However, please note that I currently do not have funding for postdoctoral positions. You will need to apply for funding from other sources (government agencies, your current organisation, etc.).