Brandon Glenn Christensen (PhD’25)
Faces of Leeds Snapshot
Name: Brandon Glenn Christensen
Hometown: Lindon, Utah
Leeds Division: Marketing
Upcoming Position: Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Arkansas
Leeds Mentors: John Lynch was one of the main reasons I came to Leeds; Joe Gladstone helped get my research off the ground; and Alix Barasch really trained me how to think, write and research like a top scholar. But the entire Marketing Division is full of kind geniuses, all of whom I’ve benefited from.
Highlight: Watching the Marketing Division and its PhD program grow and improve. During COVID, there were only three PhD students, but we’ve been able to grow the program to nine very bright, thoughtful PhD students. I’m confident in them, and I’m excited to see what they do!
Research Inspiration: I used to work for a pet food company, and it was there I was first introduced to the idea of “luxury” or “premium” dog food, which was bonkers to me. That was the start of my research questions about luxury, social status and signaling.
“We’ve been able to grow the PhD program in Marketing to nine very bright, thoughtful PhD students. I’m confident in them, and I’m excited to see what they do!”
Dissertation: “Underexplored Factors in Status Signaling Decisions and Behaviors”
Summary: Despite the global prevalence of status signaling, research on luxury consumption has largely overlooked two critical factors shaping consumers’ signaling decisions: the economic characteristics of the audiences receiving the signal and the inherently subjective nature of luxury. My dissertation demonstrates that consumers are more likely to avoid status signaling through luxury consumption when those who would receive the status signal have lower economic status.
Why is this research impactful?
This pattern of luxury avoidance is driven by “Exclusivity Discomfort,” an individual difference I introduce and validate with a novel psychometric scale. Given rising concerns about economic inequality in the United States, my research sheds light on how consumers navigate social situations where they are confronted with economic inequality and identifies which consumers are most affected by economic disparities in their decision-making.