Brian V. Larson, PhD
- Interim Associate Dean for Graduate SBA Programs & Professor
- Business Administration
- Communications & Marketing
- International Relations
Affiliated Programs
- Marketing (BSBA)
- Sport & Event Management (BSBA)
- Environmental Health & Sustainability Management (BA)
Education
- PhD, Marketing (1999)
Oklahoma State University (OK)
About Me
My teaching interests include marketing strategy, marketing research, and sport marketing. I am passionate about innovating, seeing global opportunities, and building relationships. I founded a world-class Sport Management Advisory Board, initiated the first international professional fan research efforts spanning multiple sport leagues and countries, and served as Department Chair where we grew the faculty ranks and started several new exciting majors. I earned a PhD from Oklahoma State University in 1999 and have published more than 20 journal articles and presented research findings at 35 conferences. My wife, Lucia, and I live with our two children in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.
Areas of Expertise
- Marketing
- Brands and fan engagement
- Consumer behavior
- Leadership and communications
- Event marketing
- International marketing
- Auto industry issues
Research Interests
My current research interests include assessing complex sport marketing service quality encounters at professional sport events. The work looks at the encounter from both the service provider's side and the event attendee's side and compares those perceptions.
Media Expertise
- Marketing
- Brands and fan engagement
- Consumer behavior
- Leadership and communications
- Event marketing
- International marketing
- Auto industry issues
Publications
- Larson,Brian V., Jensen, Ric, and Yawei Wang (2015), “Wanted: Contagious Gameday Staff. Testing the Effect of Smiling on Fan Responses," Services Marketing Quarterly, issue 37-03
- Jensen, Ric, Nick Bowman, Brian V. Larson, and Yawei Wang (2013), “Looking at Shirt Sponsorships from Both Sides of the Pond: Comparing Global Trends versus America's Major League Soccer,” International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.
- Jensen, Ric, Nick Bowman, Yawei Wang, and Brian V. Larson (May 2012), “New League, New Market and New Sponsorship: An Exploratory Study of Attitudes towards Shirt Sponsorship in Major League Soccer" Soccer & Society, vol. 13, no. 3
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
International Academy of Business and Disciplines (IABD)
Awards
- Elected to the International Academy of Business Disciplines Board of Directors, 2016
- Recipient of the Widener University's SBA Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award, 2015
- Research Sabbatical: NFL Fan Experience Measurement Development, 2014
- Nicholas P. Trainer Faculty Fellowship Award (2020)
- SBA Distinguished Service Award Winner (2021)
- Widener University Distinguished Professor nominee (2021)
- Lindback Outstanding University Teaching Award nominee (2021, 2022)
- Sabbatical award – International University Collaborative Development (2022)
News
In the Media
- Delaware County Daily Times
- The Daily Upside
- Vista Today
- Far & Widener
- WalletHub
Noteworthy
- School of Business Administration Professors Publish Article on International Learning
Dr. Brian Larson, professor and department head of management, and Dr. Yamuna Baburaj, assistant professor of management, co-authored an article in the May 2020 issue of the Journal of International Business Disciplines. The article, titled "Alternative Multi-mode International Learning: A Model Establishing Collaboration," proposes a set of activities to enhance cross-cultural learning opportunities as a viable alternative to study abroad.