Pentina
This serial grant will allow Pentina to travel to Ukraine in May and June 2013 for the first, qualitative stage of her research project, and then in May and June 2014 for its final, experimental stage.
“I am very excited and honored to receive this distinguished scholarship,” Pentina said. “In our ‘borderless’ economic environment, the discipline of marketing has increasingly focused on developing the body of knowledge based on international empirical findings. I anticipate that my work in the Ukraine will contribute to a better understanding of the institutional and cultural contexts for consumer decision-making in emerging economies.”
She will collaborate with Dr. Uliya Ukis, president of the International Solomon University and an economics professor.
“Our research will test existing theories of individual and group decision-making in the culture transitioning from interdependent to individualistic personal identities and evaluate potential moderating roles of institutions and culture on consumer behavior. We will also study the specifics of emerging online marketing communications tools — for example, social media and electronic word of mouth — in affecting online consumer behavior in the Ukraine.
“The specific qualifiers of Ukraine consumers, as well as their consumption practices, deserve very close investigation as the Ukraine is gradually entering the global marketplace,” Pentina explained. “Boasting a high level of education and literacy, with great interest and involvement of the population in the Internet communities, the Ukraine represents an ideal context to study.”
The principal purpose of the Fulbright Program is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of more than 150 participating countries.
Pentina is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in 2012-13.
The Fulbright Program is a premier international educational exchange sponsored by the United States government. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
“We congratulate Dr. Pentina on her outstanding personal and professional achievement of being selected a Fulbright Scholar,” said Dr. Tom Sharkey, interim dean of the College of Business and Innovation. “It is a testimony to her commitment to the teaching and research profession and her dedication to personal lifelong learning that benefits both her students and her academic colleagues.”
