Colleen P. Kirk
Title: Professor
Department: Management and Marketing
Campus: New York City
Area(s) of Expertise: Consumer Behavior
Education Credentials: D.P.S., M.B.A., M.I.M.
Joined New York Tech: 2016
A student-first marketing professor, Colleen Kirk, D.P.S., is also passionate about research and discovery. Her research centers around consumer behavior, especially in the areas of psychological ownership, emotions, and decision-making. Specific areas of interest include: exploring how and when consumers' feelings of ownership lead to territorial and stewardship responses; understanding how consumers come to feel a sense of ownership of intangible digital technologies and its implications for marketers; and narcissism in consumer behavior.
Focusing her research on experimental design, Kirk is also interested in diverse methodologies and analytical techniques. Her work is published in top journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Journal of Brand Management, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice and others.
An award-winning researcher and reviewer, Kirk serves as Associate Editor of the prestigious Journal of Business Research and sits on the editorial review board of the Journal of Advertising Research. Her research has appeared in a wide variety of national and international media outlets including Psychology Today, the Financial Times, Business Insider, Salon, Radio New Zealand, BBC Mundo, iHeart Radio Canada, and many others.
Kirk has an extensive professional background in product management, marketing, and sales in the technology industry. She enjoys engaging students in research and in live projects for entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations, which gives them hands-on experience in applying marketing theory while providing value to clients. She also serves as a go-to-market mentor and business plan competition judge for entrepreneurs at the clean technology accelerator, CleanTech Open. Kirk holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University, a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a Doctor of Professional Studies in Marketing and International Economics from Pace University.
Selected Publications
- Colleen P. Kirk and Givi, J. (2025). The AI-Authorship Effect: Understanding Authenticity, Moral Disgust, and Consumer Responses to AI-Generated Marketing Communications. Journal of Business Research. Volume 186, January 2025.
- Colleen P. Kirk, Sedikides, C. and Givi, J. (2024). Just Because I'm Great (and You're Not): Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Differentially Predict Consumer Gifting Behaviors. Journal of Personality, 0:1–18.
- Colleen P. Kirk and Rifkin, L. S. (2024). The World is My Oyster: Consumer Psychological Ownership in a Spatial Computing Era. In Ruvio, A. and Belk, R. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook on Identity and Consumption. Routledge.
- Givi, J. and Colleen P. Kirk (2023). "Saying No: The Negative Ramifications from Invitation Declines Are Less Severe than We Think." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
- Rifkin, L., Colleen P. Kirk, and Corus, C. (2023). A Turn of the Tables: Psychological Contracts and Word of Mouth about Sharing Economy Platforms when Consumers Get Reviewed. Journal of Consumer Research.
- Colleen P. Kirk, Peck, J., Hart, C., & Sedikides, C. (2022). Just My Luck: Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Differentially Predict Word of Mouth about Promotional Games. Journal of Business Research, 150 (2022), 374–388.
- Rifkin, L. Corus, C. and Colleen P. Kirk. (2022). “The Reputation Economy: A Tale as Old as Time or a New Paradigm?” In A. Hanlon & T. Tuten (Eds.), SAGE Handbook of Digital Marketing and Social Media: London: Sage Publishing.
- Peck, J., Kirk, C. P., Luangrath, A. W., & Shu, S. B. (2021). Caring for the commons: Using psychological ownership to enhance stewardship behavior for public goods. Journal of Marketing, 85(2), 33-49.
- Colleen P. Kirk and Rifkin, L. (2020). I'll Trade You Diamonds for Toilet Paper: Consumer Reacting, Coping and Adapting Behaviors in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Business Research.
- Colleen P. Kirk (2019). Dogs Have Masters, Cats Have Staff: Consumers’ Psychological Ownership and Their Economic Valuation of Pets. Journal of Business Research, 99(6), 306-318.
- Kirk, Colleen P. (2018). "How Customers Come to Think of a Product as an Extension of Themselves." Harvard Business Review.
- Kirk, Colleen P., Peck, J., and Swain, S. D. (2018). Property Lines in the Mind: Consumers' Psychological Ownership and Their Territorial Responses. Journal of Consumer Research.
- Kirk, Colleen P., Chiagouris, L., Lala, V., & Thomas, J. (2015). How Do Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Respond Differently to Interactivity Online? A Model for Predicting Consumer Attitudes and Intentions to Use Digital Information Products. Journal of Advertising Research, 55(1), 1-14.
- Cardon, M. S., & Colleen P. Kirk (2015). Entrepreneurial Passion as Mediator of the Self-Efficacy to Persistence Relationship. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 39(5), 1027-1050.
- Kirk, Colleen P., McSherry, B. and Swain, S. D. (2015). Investing the Self: The Effect of Nonconscious Goals on Investor Psychological Ownership and Word-of-Mouth Intentions. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 58(C), 186-194.
- Kirk, Colleen P., Swain, S. D., & Gaskin, J. (2015). I'm Proud of It: Consumer Technology Appropriation and Psychological Ownership. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 23(2), 166-184.
- Kirk, Colleen P., Ray, I., & Wilson, B. (2013). The Impact of Brand Value on Firm Valuation: The Moderating Influence of Firm Type. Journal of Brand Management 20(6), 488-500.
Complete List of Published Works
Professional Honors and Awards
- New York Tech School of Management Distinguished Faculty Scholarship Award, May 2022
- Faculty Engagement in the John Rebecchi Professional Enrichment Program Award, May 2021
- Finalist for the 2021 American Marketing Association / Marketing Science Institute H. Paul Root award for contribution to the practice of marketing.
- Finalist for the 2021 American Marketing Association Shelby D. Hunt / Harold H. Maynard award for contribution to marketing theory.
- New York Tech School of Management Professional Enrichment Leadership Award, May 2020
- New York Tech School of Management Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, May 2020
- New York Tech School of Management Crystal Award for Faculty Engagement with Professional Enrichment Program, May 2019
- Cross-Pollination, Feature in New York Tech Magazine, Fall 2017
- Bright Idea Award, Awarded best paper in 2015 Publications of New Jersey's Business Faculty. Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University/New Jersey Policy Research Organization (NJPRO) Foundation, September 2016
- Best Paper Award, Consumer Behavior Track, American Marketing Association Winter Educators' Conference, Las Vegas, February 2016
- Award for Best Reviewer, Direct/Interactive Marketing Research Summit, Marketing EDGE, Chicago, October 2013
- Award for Best Doctoral Student Paper in Behavioral Finance, The Academy of Behavioral Finance and Economics, Los Angeles, August 2011
Professional Memberships
- American Marketing Association
- Association for Consumer Research
- Society for Consumer Psychology
Courses Taught at New York Tech
- MRKT 410: Marketing Policy and Strategy
- MRKT 501: Introduction to Marketing
- MRKT 610: Branding
- MRKT 620: Strategic Marketing and Branding
- MRKT 710: International Marketing
- MRKT 745: Internet Marketing
- MRKT 750: Marketing Research for Managerial Decisions
- MRKT 765: Marketing of New Products
- MRKT 775: Consumer Behavior
- BUSIE 702: Practicum