Tirtha Dhar

I am an Associate Professor (Marketing) at the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies, College of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. Prior to joining UOIT in 2013 I worked as an Assistant Professor (Marketing) at the Faculty of Business and Information Technology, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and at Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia.

I am a marketing modeler with interest in both empirical and theoretical modelling with big data. I use tools from economics of industrial organization, econometrics and statistics in my research to address marketing strategies (such as: pricing and advertising decisions to maximize long term profits) and public policy related questions. My research has been published in leading marketing and economics journals and cited in major newspapers in Canada and in the US.

In terms of industry expertise I have worked extensively in food, movie, and internet marketing.

My PhD is in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Connecticut. After completing PhD I worked as a Post Doctoral Researcher at the Food System Research Group, University of Wisconsin-Madison in Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Ph.D. Agricultural and Resource Economics (2001): University of Connecticut
Thesis: Two-stage oligopoly pricing with differentiated products: The Boston fluid milk market
M.Sc. Agricultural and Resource Economics (1999): University of Connecticut
M.A. Economics (1994): Delhi University
B.A. (Hons.) Economics (1992): Delhi University

• Quantitative marketing and Industrial Organization
• Marketing strategy and public policy
• Food and health marketing
• Analytical marketing modeling
• Retailing and channel management
• Movie marketing
• e-Commerce

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Mantin, B., H. Krishnan and T. Dhar, “The Strategic Role of Third-Party Marketplaces in Retailing.” (forthcoming at Production and Operations Management)
• Dhar, T. (2013) “Can Margin Differences in Vertical Marketing Channels lead to Contracts with Slotting Fees?” Management Science 59(12): 2766-2771.
• Dhar, T. and G. Sun, and C. B. Weinberg (2012), “The long-term box office performance of sequel movies,” Marketing Letters 23(1): 13-29.
• Dhar, T. and K. Baylis (2011), “Fast-Food Consumption and the Ban on advertising Targeting Children: The Quebec Experience,” Journal of Marketing Research 48: 799-813. [Lead Article]
• Chen, J. X, O. Narasimhan, G. John, and T. Dhar. (2010). “An Empirical Investigation of Private Label Supply by National Label Producers.” Marketing Science 29(4): 738–755.
• Wang, S. S, K. W Stiegert, and T. Dhar. (2010). “Strategic Pricing Behavior under Asset Value Maximization.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d’agroeconomie 58(2): 151–170. [Lead Article]
• Ho, J. Y.C., T. Dhar, and C.B. Weinberg. (2009). “Playoff payoff: Super Bowl advertising for movies.” International Journal of Research in Marketing 26(3): 168-179. [Lead Article]
• Dhar, T., and J. D Foltz. (2005). “Milk by any other name... consumer benefits from labeled milk.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics: 214–228.
• Dhar, T., J. P Chavas, R. W Cotterill, and B. W Gould. (2005). “An Econometric Analysis of Brand-Level Strategic Pricing Between Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.” Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 14(4): 905–931.
• Dhar, T., J. P Chavas, and B. W Gould. (2003). “An empirical assessment of endogeneity issues in demand analysis for differentiated products.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85(3): 605–617.

Published Book Chapters and Conference Proceedings

• Dhar, T., and T. Wu., (forthcoming). “Mobile Computing Toys: Marketing Challenges and Implications.” in Mobile Services for Toy Computing edited by Patrick Hung. Springer.
• Dhar, T., Foltz, J. . Milk by Any Other Name... Consumer Benefits from Labelled Milk. The Political Economy of Genetically Modified Foods. (Edited by Robert E. Evanson and Terri Raney), Elgar Reference Collection.
• Foltz, J., T. Dhar, Assessing the Impact of Intellectual Property Rights in the Plant/Seed Industry. In J. Kesan (Ed.), Agricultural Biotechnology and Intellectual Property-Seeds of Change. (Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 2007), pp. 161-171.
• Dhar, T., Ho, J., Weinberg, C. . (2005). Hollywood Rebel Studio. Olympic Games Readings for Marketing.
• Cotterill, R., T. Dhar, Franklin, A. (1999). Post-Merger Price Conduct: A Case Study of Pricing in Connecticut Markets After the 1996 Royal Ahold-Stop & Shop Merger. Food Marketing Policy Center Research Report No. 47.
• Wang, S, K. Stiegert, and T. Dhar. 2005. “Strategic Pricing Behavior under Asset Value Maximization: An Empirical Assessment of the U.S. Retail Margarine and Butter Markets.” In Proceedings of the Second Biennial Food System Research Group. ed, Kyle Stiegert.
• Ho, J., T. Dhar, Weinberg, C. (2004). Effects of Pre-Launch Advertising for Movies: Why Advertise When You Have No Product to Sell? (1b). Proceedings of the Fifth Business and Economics Workshop Summit in Motion Picture Industry Studies, DeSantis Center for Motion Picture Industry Studies at Florida Atlantic University , 2004.