“As behavioral science continues to advance research into human decision-making processes, it is important for researchers to uncover what drives consumer actions and reactions in today’s marketplace.” This is how the Carolan Research Institute, founded by PhD Geraldine Fennell, introduces itself on its website. Its mission is “to explore consumers’ everyday actions in greater depth,” in line with Fennell’s ideas.
Geraldine Fennell worked in the private sector before moving into academia: “She dedicated her life to marketing research and to advancing the field,” said Dr. Héctor Bajac, academic secretary of the School of Communication.
In her later years, she founded the Carolan Research Institute, which she later endowed with her estate. When she died in 2014, the foundation received funds from her estate to carry out the mission Fennell had entrusted to it: “to continue the research she was conducting—that is, to keep researching in her fields; understanding people and how needs and motivations arise,” explained Bajac, who serves as academic coordinator for the Bachelor’s Degree in Business Communication and the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication with a focus on Advertising and Marketing.
His focus, rather than simply promoting products, was on understanding what comes before the product. In other words, how the activities we humans engage in give rise to needs and motivations that later translate into demand for products. It is the entire process leading up to the product’s existence that ultimately leads to product design.
Today, the foundation is essentially run by Professor Joel Saegert, a colleague of Fenell’s. “He’s a professor at the University of Texas, where I studied. We’re friends,” Bajac said. “When Geraldine died and he found out he was responsible for continuing the foundation, one of the first things we did was reach an agreement with ORT to fund research in Geraldine Fennell’s field.”
To that end, for the past three years they have been working to select research projects—from both graduate students and faculty members—to be funded by the Carolan Research Institute. Bajac noted that professors Gustavo Rubinsztejn, Dinorah Margounato, and Ximena Fernández traveled to Spain this year to present the research they conducted, which was funded through this agreement.
This is a very interesting agreement because it allows students and faculty to access funding to research topics related to consumer behavior, how needs arise, and so on.
Bajac, in turn, took classes with Robert Hoover, who has been teaching at ORT for 20 years. “He was my mentor; he was the one who steered me from finance toward marketing. His classes inspired me to develop such a passion for the field,” he recalled. Hoover currently serves on the board of directors of the Carolan Research Institute.
Joel Saegert and Robert Hoover usually visit Uruguay once a year, during which time they review applications and discuss project ideas. They also provide coaching on how to approach the projects, with the goal of aligning them with Geraldine Fennell’s philosophy. They also participate in the review and presentation of results, either in person or remotely. “I serve as a liaison,” Bajac said. “Generally, this is part of a course, so the deadlines follow the semester schedule. Proposals independent of the courses can also be considered.”
Hoover is scheduled to visit Uruguay in 2018, at which time a presentation will be held at the School of Communication to inform faculty and students about opportunities for research funding.
The Carolan Research Institute’s goal is for the research resulting from this process to be shared through conferences or publications, given that one of the foundation’s objectives is “to promote Fennell’s ideas and ensure they are disseminated.” “To carry out this work, one must understand her thinking; one must read the articles she has already written and the methodology she proposes, as well as the approaches she has developed; because the idea is to disseminate this so that, ultimately, Geraldine Fennell’s thinking is disseminated.”
Learning about motivations
Bajac is currently conducting research that aims to replicate one of Geraldine Fennell’s most comprehensive studies: “It starts with the activities that certain people engage in and identifies specific motivations for engaging with a product category.” The qualitative phase is now complete, and the study is in the quantitative phase; “quantifying the importance of each of the motivations we identified for six product categories.”
Researching Fennell's legacy
In June, a competition organized by the University of Texas at San Antonio came to a close, with Bajac serving as a member of the jury. Five research projects will receive $15,000 each to study topics related to Fennell’s work. The findings of these projects will be presented in May 2019 in San Antonio, Texas.