Prof. Ron Shachar (; born as Ron Schwartzman; Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli professor and researcher in the fields of economics, marketing, and storytelling. His research deals with branding and advertising with a focus on the entertainment industry (e.g., television and film) and political elections. Today, he serves as Head of the Business Honors Program at the Arison School of Business, Reichman University.Prof. Ron Shachar, in Reichman University Website Prof. Shachar previously served as a faculty member at Tel Aviv University, Yale University, and as the Dean of the Arison School of Business at Reichman University.CV of Prof. Ron Shachar
Career Prof. Shachar was born and raised in Ramat Gan, and is a graduate of Blich High School. He completed a Bachelor of Economics in 1986 and Master of Economics in 1988, and his PhD in Economics in 1992, from Tel Aviv University, he studied his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After completing his doctorate and post-doctorate at Harvard University he joined the faculty of Yale University in the School of Business Administration from 1992 to 1997. In 1997 he returned to Israel, and taught at Tel Aviv University. Between the years 2004–2010 he served as head of the marketing specialty, and was elected as an outstanding lecturer, in 2006 he was appointed an associate professor and in 2009 as a full professor. in the years 2004–2010 he was a visiting professor at Duke University. In 2011 he moved to Arison School of Business at the Reichman University,ליאור דטל, המרצים מהאוניברסיטאות עוברים למכללות: עם משכורות של 80 אלף שקל קשה להתווכח, דה מרקר, 21 בינואר 2011 and served as Dean of the Arison School of Business at Reichman University from 2011 to 2014, and since 2013 has served as Head of the Business Honors Program at the Arison School of Business. Prof. Shachar also serves as a visiting professor at Columbia University in Manhattan, and since 2019 also serves as a visiting professor at New York University.Prof. Ron Shachar in Stern School of Business New York University Website
Shachar has held professional positions within the political system in Israel. In 1989, he served as economic advisor to Deputy Finance Minister Yossi Beilin, and in 1992 he served as a member of Yitzhak Rabin's 100-day team. Shachar served as a surveyor and strategist for the Meretz party in the Israeli general election in 1999 and 2003, as well as a political commentator on television channels: Channel 1 (Israel) and Channel two. Shachar has advised a variety of leading companies in the United States, including the television network CBS and the World Bank, and has served as a consultant to Keshet Broadcasting and various advertising companies in Israel.
Research
Shachar researches in the fields of advertising, branding, marketing, and politics.רון שחר, האם נתניהו טעה כששינה את השיח הביטחוני?, גלובס, 20.03.2019רקפת פרא, "אסונות הם הכוח היחיד שיכול לערער את הסטטוס-קוו", Mako, תאריך 18/01/18 His research deals with strategies and marketing in the entertainment industries, film,JMT Roos, R Shachar, When Kerry met Sally: Politics and perceptions in the demand for movies, Management Science 60 (7), 2011, pp. 1617–1631 and television,R Shachar, BN Anand, The effectiveness and targeting of television advertising, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 7 (3), 1998, pp. 363–396RL Goettler, R Shachar, Spatial competition in the network television industry, RAND Journal of Economics, 2001, pp. 624–656 political elections,R Shachar, The political participation puzzle and marketing, Journal of marketing research 46 (6), 2009, pp. 798–815 brandsMJ Lovett, R Peres, R Shachar, On brands and word of mouth, Journal of marketing research 50 (4), 2013, pp. 427–444R Shachar, T Erdem, KM Cutright, GJ Fitzsimons, Brands: The opiate of the nonreligious masses?, Marketing Science 30 (1), 2011, pp. 92–110BN Anand, R Shachar, Brands as beacons: A new source of loyalty to multiproduct firms, Journal of marketing Research 41 (2), 2004, pp. 135–150 and advertising.BN Anand, R Shachar, Advertising, the matchmaker, The RAND Journal of Economics 42 (2), 2011, pp. 205–245BN Anand, R Shachar, Targeted advertising as a signal, QME 7 (3), 2011, pp. 237–266
His research focuses on positive aspects of branding and advertising for consumers. While previous studies have described branding and advertising processes as changing consumer preferences, Shachar's research has shown that branding and advertising can provide information to consumers and, as a result, give rise to smarter consumer decisions.Anand, Bharat and Ron Shachar, Brands as Beacons: A New Source of Loyalty to Multiproduct Firms, Journal of Marketing Research, 41 (2), 2004, pp, 135–150Anand, Bharat and Ron Shachar, (Noisy) Communications, Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 5 (3), 2007, pp. 211–237Anand, Bharat and Ron Shachar, Targeted Advertising as a Signal, Quantitative Marketing and Economic, 7 (3), 2009, pp. 237–266Anand, Bharat and Ron Shachar, Advertising, the Matchmaker," RAND Journal of Economics, 42 (2), 2001, pp. 205–245 Shachar's research on branding and brands also focuses on the ability of these to serve consumers in building and expressing their personalities and identities. In this context two of his papers show the connection between brands and religious belief. According to empirical findings, the use of brands weakens religious belief and the need to participate in religious activity.Shachar, Ron, Tulin Erdem, Keisha Cutright, and Gavan Fitzsimons, Brands: The Opiate of the Non-Religious Masses?, Marketing Science, 30 (1), 2011, 92–110Kuksov, Dmitri, Ron Shachar and Kangkang Wang, Advertising and Consumers Communications, Marketing Science, 32 (2), 2013, pp. 294–309 One of his studies focuses on a different aspect of marketing—identifying which brands are gaining popularity on social networks and private conversations and how brands can encourage this activity.Lovett, Mitch, Renana Peres and Ron Shachar, On Brands and Word-of-Mouth, Journal of Marketing Research, 50, August 2013, pp. 427–444
His research on elections and political campaigns employs analytical tools from the economics field to explore the psychological and social dimensions of political elections. His research demonstrates that participation in elections is influenced by habitual processes.Shachar, Ron and Barry Nalebuff, Follow the Leader: Theory and Evidence on Political Participation, American Economic Review, 89 (3), 1999, pp. 525–547Green, Donald and Ron Shachar, Consuetude in Voter Turnout, The British Journal of Political Science, 30, 2000, pp. 561–573Shachar, Ron, Party Loyalty as Habit Formation, Journal of Applied Econometrics, 18 (3), 2003, pp. 251–269Gerber, Alan., Donald Green and Ron Shachar, Voting may be Habit Forming: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment, American Journal of Political Science, 47 (3), 2003, pp. 540–550Ron Shachar, The Political Participation Puzzle and Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, 46 (6), 2009, pp. 798–815 In recent years, his research has focused on stories and storytelling."הנהמה" של שון פן, מה שכרוך, כאן His research illustrates the psychological aspects of storytelling – the higher the person's ability to tell a story, the higher a person's sense of meaning and purpose.Mario Mikulincer, Ron Shachar, Is Storytelling Ability Related to the Sense of Meaning in Life? Additional areas of research demonstrates how advertising messages can become particularly effective when they incorporate narrative elements.
Prof. Shachar has held a number of senior editorial positions in international journals. His research has been published in leading journals such as: American Economic Review,Ron Shachar, Barry Nalebuff, Verifying the Solution from a Nonlinear Solver: A Case Study: Comment, American Economic Review, 94 (1), 2004, pp. 3ץ82–390 Marketing Science,Lovett, Mitch, Renana Peres and Ron Shachar, A dataset of brands and their characteristics" Marketing Science, 33 (4), 2014, 609–617 Journal of Marketing Research,Roos, Jason, Carl Mela and Ron Shachar, The Effect of Links and Excerpts on Internet News Consumption, Journal of Marketing Research, 57 (3), 2020, pp. 395–421 International Journal of Research in Marketing,Appel, Gil, Barak Libai, Eitan Muller and Ron Shachar, On the Monetization of Mobile Apps, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37 (1), 2020, pp. 93–107 RAND Journal of Economics,Goetttler, Ronald and Ron Shachar, Spatial Competition in the Network Television Industry, RAND Journal of Economics, 32 (4), 2001, pp. 624–656 Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and the American Journal of Political Science. Prof. Shachar has, or currently acts as an editorial board member in prominent journals including: Journal of Marketing Research, Quantitative Marketing and Economics, International Journal of Research in Marketing,International Journal of Research in Marketing – Editorial Board Marketing Science,Marketing Science – Editorial Board Journal of Marketing Behaviour,Journal of Marketing Behavior – Editorial Board and Applied Economics Research Bulletin.
Shachar served as a reporter and editor for several newspapers in Israel and also wrote three books. In 2001, a reference book was published that detailed political marketing strategies under the name Leader by Invitation. In 2006, he published a suspense novel titled Serendipity. In 2018, he wrote the novel X in the Middle, which went on to become a bestseller.Michal Lesman, If there is something not right figure to do, is not going to happen: Interview with author of "The X in the middle", Mako, 28 February 2018 (Hebrew)Keren Tzuriel Harari, Storytelling Festival: Prof. Ron Shachar presents the surprising management tool of the current era, Calcalist, February 9, 2018
Awards and recognitions
In 2008, Prof. Shachar received the Dick Wittink Award—Honorable Mention.Dick Wittink Award In 2018, one of his articlesLovett, Mitch, Renana Peres and Ron Shachar, On Brands and Word-of-Mouth," Journal of Marketing Research, 50, August 2013, pp. 427–444 reached the O'Dell Award final,Rajdeep Grewal, 2018 William F. O'Dell Award, American Marketing Association, 4.8.2018 and in 2020 he received the award for best article in the International Journal of Research in Marketing.
Published works
Shachar has published over 50 peer review articles with a h-index of 23. (Partial List)
Books
Invited Leader: On Voters and Strategies of Political Marketing, Yedioth Ahronoth Publishing, 2001 (Hebrew) Serendipity, IQ Publishing, 2006 (Hebrew) X in the middle, Yedioth Books Publishing, 2018 (Hebrew)
Selected articles Mario Mikulincer, Ron Shachar, Is Storytelling Ability Related to the Sense of Meaning in Life? Cutright, Keisha, Tülin Erdem, Gavan J. Fitzsimons and Ron Shachar, Finding Brands and Losing Your Religion, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(6), 2014, pp. 2209–2222 MJ Lovett, R Peres, R Shachar, On brands and word of mouth, Journal of marketing research 50 (4), 2013, pp, 427–444 BN Anand, R Shachar, Advertising, the matchmaker, The RAND Journal of Economics 42 (2), 2011, pp. 205–245 BN Anand, R Shachar, Brands as beacons: A new source of loyalty to multiproduct firms, Journal of marketing Research 41 (2), 2004, pp. 135–150 Alan S. Gerber, Donald P. Green, Ron – Shachar, Voting May Be Habit‐Forming: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment, American Journal of Political Science 47(3), 2003, pp. 540 – 550 Ronald Goettler, Ron Shachar, Spatial Competition in the Network Television Industry, The RAND Journal of Economics 32(4), 2001, pp. 624–56 Ron Shachar and Barry Nalebuff, Follow the Leader: Theory and Evidence on Political Participation, The American Economic Review, Vol. 89, No. 3, 1999, pp. 525–547
Personal life