Yuanfang Lin

Associate Professor & Graduate Program Coordinator

Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing & Consumer Studies

Research Areas

Marketing

Dr. Yuanfang Lin is a marketing modeler specialized in identifying important substantive marketing problems (such as price competition, product innovation, decisions under uncertainties), constructing parsimonious analytical models that yield fundamental insights about firm and consumer behavior, and seeking empirical validation of theory predictions using appropriate data. Major tools for his research include microeconomics, industrial organization, game theory, econometrics and statistics. Dr. Lin's research findings have been published in leading academic journals including Management Science, Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, International Journal of Research in Marketing. Dr. Lin is the recipient of 2023 University of Guelph Research Excellence Award and 2023 University of Guelph Faculty Association (UGFA) Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Lin currently serves on the Editorial Review Board (ERB) of the International Journal of Research in Marketing, and as Associate Editor (AE) for the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences.

Education

PhD, Marketing, Washington University in St. Louis.

MS. Business Administration, Washington University in St. Louis.

MSc, Applied Economics & Statistics, University of Nevada, Reno.

BA, International Economics, Renmin University of China.

Research Interests

Analytical modeling
Competitive strategy
Product Innovation
Informational service
Pricing strategy
Retailing and channel management

Publications

(Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications)

* Yuanfang Lin, Amit Pazgal, and Li Yang (2026), "Dynamic Pricing with Demand Carry-Over: Managerial Practice vs Theory Prediction," Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences,43 (1), e70043.

* Yuanfang Lin and Amit Pazgal (2024), “Effects of Information Quantity and Diversity on Consumers under Complex Uncertainty,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 77, March 2024, 103652.

* Yuanfang Lin and Amit Pazgal (2021), “Taking Marketing Strategy Risks with Seemingly No Expected Gains,” Marketing Letters, 32, 363-377.

* Yuanfang Lin, Amit Pazgal, and David Soberman (2021), “Who is the Winner in an Industry of Innovation?,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38 (1), 50-69. IJRM "Editor's Choice 2021".

* Yuanfang Lin and Chakravarthi Narasimhan (2020), “Persuasive Advertising in a Vertically Differentiated Competitive Marketplace,” Review of Marketing Science, 18 (1), 145-177.

* Xin Ge, Paul Messinger, and Yuanfang Lin (2019), “Gleaning Inferences from Sold-Out Products,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Volume 49, 173-185. Administrative Science Association of Canada (ASAC) Conference Best Marketing Paper Award.

* Hejun Zhuang, Peter T.L. Popkowski Leszczyc and Yuanfang Lin (2018), “Why is Price Dispersion Higher Online than Offline? Impact of Retailer Type and Shopping Risk on Price Dispersion,” Journal of Retailing, 94 (2), pp. 136 - 153. on the List of Most-Cited Journal of Retailing Articles Since 2018.

* Yuanfang Lin and Sandeep Krishnamurthy (2017), “Generic and Brand Advertising Strategies under Inter-Industry Competition,” Customer Needs and Solutions, 4 (1), pp. 18-27.

* Dmitri Kuksov and Yuanfang Lin (2017), “Signaling Low Margin through Assortment”, Management Science, 63(4), pp. 1166-1183.

* Yuanfang Lin and Amit Pazgal (2016), “Hide Supremacy or Admit Inferiority—Market Entry Strategies in Response to Consumer Informational Needs,” Customer Needs and Solutions, 3 (2), pp. 94-103.

* Dmitri Kuksov and Yuanfang Lin (2010), “Information Provision in a Vertically Differentiated Competitive Marketplace”, Marketing Science, 29(1), pp. 122-138, nominated for 2010 Frank M. Bass Dissertation Paper Award.

Current Courses

(2025 - 2026)

MCS*6100 Marketing Strategy - Graduate (Fall 2025)

MCS*6950 Marketing Research Seminar - Graduate (Fall 2025)

Funding

Dr. Yuanfang Lin's scholarly works are supported by multiple research grants including Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development (IDG) Grant, Guelph Institute for Environmental Research (GIER), and Institute for Sustainable Commerce at Guelph (ISCG) Research Grants.