Gulnur Tumbat, Ph.D., MBA, M.Sc.

Gülnur Tumbat, Professor of Marketing at San Francisco State University, is an internationally renowned marketing ethnographer focusing on risk taking and goal obtainment. She is also the Director of Lam-Larsen Community Engagement Initiative where she organizes the LFCOB's flagship event Women's Emerging Leadership Forum (WELF). She further serves as the faculty advisor for Providing Opportunities for Women on campus. Click here for her LinkedIn profile.

Tumbat’s main research interests are at the intersections of risk discourses, consumer culture, marketplace dynamics, and technology, where she uses interpretive research tools. She has published in prestigious academic outlets such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Theory, Consumption, Markets and Culture, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Advances in Consumer Research, European Advances in Consumer Research, and Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising: User Generated Content Consumption. Teaching Consumer Behavior has been her passion in classrooms with undergrads, MBAs, and Executive MBAs.

She has climbed the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each geographic continent (and is the first and only Turkish woman to do so). As an elite endurance athlete winning ultrarunning races, climbing big mountains in remote places, she provides a unique and scientifically informed perspective on risk taking, pushing boundaries, making decisions in dynamic and uncertain contexts, managing fear, goal alignment, leadership, persistence, entrepreneurship, and passion in all her classes, presentations, and workshops and a business behavioral scientist, she provides a unique perspective on risk taking, pushing boundaries, planning and proactive thinking, teamwork, managing fear, leadership, and project management. She is a frequent speaker at academic and industry events on these topics and more.

Education: 

• B.S (1996), Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
• M.S. (1999), Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
• M.B.A. (1999), Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
• Ph.D. (2005), David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

Research Interests: 

• Risk Marketing
• Consumer Culture
• Marketplace Dynamics
• Technology

Sample Publications:

• Coskuner-Balli, Gokcen and Gülnur Tumbat (2017) “Performative Structures, American Exceptionalism, and the Legitimation of Free Trade,” Marketing Theory, 17(1), 31-50.
• Tumbat, Gülnur and Kent Grayson (2016), “Authority Relinquishment in Agency Relationships,” Journal of Marketing, 80, 42-59.
• Tumbat, Gülnur and Russell W. Belk (2013), “Co-construction and Performancescapes,” Journal of Consumer Behavior, 12, 49-59.
• Tumbat, Gülnur and Kent Grayson (2013), Protections Against Agent Opportunism: Customer  Assumptions and Marketplace Realities,” Advances in Consumer Research Vol. 41, Simona Botti and Apama Labroo (eds.), Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research.
• Coskuner-Balli, Gokcen and Gülnur Tumbat (2012),"Constructing the Citizen-Consumer Through Political Discourse in US", Advances in Consumer Research Vol. 40, Zeynep Gürhan-Canli, Cele Otnes, and Rui (Juliet) Zhu (eds.), Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research.
• Tumbat, Gülnur and Russell W. Belk (2011), “Marketplace Tensions in Extraordinary Experiences,” Journal of Consumer Research 38(7), 42-61. **Recipient of the Sid Levy Award for the Best CCT Article Based on a Dissertation, 2nd Place.
• Tumbat, Gülnur (2011), “Co-constructing the Service Experience: Exploring The Role of Customer Emotion Management,” Marketing Theory 11(2), 187-206.
• Tumbat, G., & Bennett, L. (2010), “Consumption and Marketing in a 3D Virtual Space: The Second Life Experience,” in Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising, eds. Matthew Eastin, Terry Daugherty, and Neal M. Burns, Hershey: PA, IGI Global, 374-392.
• Tumbat, Gülnur (2008), “Customer Emotion Management and Symmetrical Emotional Exchange in (Extended) Service Encounters,” Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 35, Angela Y. Lee and Dilip Soman (eds.), Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research.
• Tumbat, Gülnur (2007), “Creating Value Through Marketing Risk: The Case of Adventure Companies,” American Marketing Association Winter Educators Conference Proceedings, Marketing Theory and Applications, Vol.18, Andrea L. Dixon and Karen A. Machleit (eds).
• Tumbat, Gülnur and Markus Giesler (2007), “Reconsidering Drama in Consumer Culture Research,” Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 34, Gavan J. Fitzsimons and Vicki G. Morwitz (eds.), Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research.
• Belk, Russell W. and Gülnur Tumbat (2005), “The Cult of Macintosh,” Consumption, Markets, and Culture, 8(3), 205-217. **One of the most downloaded 25 articles from the Consumption, Markets & Culture during 2009-10. **The 3rd overall most cited publication from the Consumption, Markets & Culture as of 2015.
• Tumbat, Gülnur (2003), “High-Risk Leisure Discourse: Influence/Use by Adventure Companies,” European Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 6, Darach Turley and Stephen Brown, eds., Valdosta, GA: Association for Consumer Research, 30-35.
• Toumajian, David and Gülnur Tumbat (2003), “Towards a Meaningful Identity: The (F)Utility of Lifestyle Research,” 12^th Annual Robert Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium Proceedings, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Marketing, Lincoln: NE. **Video also shown at 2nd Annual ACR Film Festival, October 2003, 10min., Toronto, Canada and won the Association for Consumer Research First Place People's Choice Award in 2003.

Honors and Awards: 

• CMO Society, Turkey CMO Awards Jury Member, February 2024.
• Center for Ethical and Sustainable Business (CESB) Teaching Award, May 2023.
• Sid Levy Award Jury Member, Consumer Culture Theory Consortium, May 2022.
• Community Engagement Performance Award by Lam Family College of Business, SFSU, April 2022.
• Certificate of Recognition by Lam Family College of Business, SFSU, "...for unique methods in data collection at summit sites, while simultaneously pursuing her outstanding mountaineering reaching the top of six of the seven summits, the highest points on each geographic continent, including Mount Everest," San Francisco, April 2022.
• Assocation for Consumer Research Doctoral Symposium Faculty Mentor, Association for Consumer Research Conference, San Diego, CA, October 2017.
• Advertising Education Foundation, Visiting Professor Program Fellowship @ Ogilvy & Mathers in Manhattan, New York, NY, June 2012.
• The Sidney J. Levy Award 2nd Place for The Best Consumer Culture Theory Dissertation Article published in 2010, 2011.
• San Francisco State University Professional Development Council Mini-Grant Award, December 2006.
• 39th AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium Fellow, Texas A&M University, College Station-TX, June 2004.
• University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business, Global Business Program Scholarship for Dissertation Research, 2004.
• First Place People's Choice Award for the video Towards a Meaningful Identity: The (F)Utility of Lifestyle Research, ACR Film Festival, Association for Consumer Research Conference, Toronto, Canada, October 2003.
• 12th Robert Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium Fellow, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Marketing, March 2003.

Professional Associations: 

• Association for Consumer Research
• American Marketing Association
• Consumer Culture Theory Consortium

Invited Presentations / Workshops: 

• “Fear and Curiosity,” CMO Society of Turkey, April 2024
• “Product/Market Fit: Sociological Approaches,” Swissnex CleanTech Bootcamp, April 2024.
• “What it Takes to Carve a Path to the Top” Keynote Speaker, WELF Women’s Emerging Leadership Forum, Lam Family College of Business, SFSU, October 2022.
• “Consumer Research: An Overview,” Kimola Academy, Kimola Consumer Analytics, October 2021.
•  “Goal Setting and Risk Management,” Keynote Speaker, AMSICON Alliance Management Studies International Conference, Alliance University, India, January 2021.
•  “Ascending Through Uncertainty” WELF Women’s Emerging Leadership Forum, Lam Family College of Business, SFSU, April 2021.
•  “Team Dynamics and Leadership Workshop,” Matthews Asia San Francisco, July 2019.
• “Dream Big,” In-Day, LinkedIn San Francisco, January 2019.
•  “Big Goals at High Places: What Does it Take?” Faculty Presenter at the SFSU College of Business, Marketing EXPO, April 2019.
•  “Qualitative Research in Generating Consumer Insights,” PhD Seminar at University of Innsbruck, School of Management, Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, Austria, January 2019.
•  “Branding Life Risk: Everest as a Brand,” BrandVenture, University of Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck - School of Management, Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, Austria, January 2019.
•  “How Do Consumers Cope with Vulnerability to Opportunism in Principal-Agent Relationships?” University of Innsbruck - School of Management, Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, Austria, March 2018.
•  “Publishing in JCR and JM with Ethnographic Work: My Journey,” University of Innsbruck - School of Management, Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, Austria, March 2018.
• “Inan, Calis, Basar” Panel (translation: “Believe, Work, Succeed”), Turkey Innovation Week, Ankara-Turkey, May 2015.
•  “Decision and Sense Making in Thin Air,” SFSU EMBA Program, San Francisco, CA, 2009.
•  “Interpretive Consumer Research: Insights from the Field,” Doctoral Seminar at the Marketing Department, Golden Gate University, San Francisco: CA, 2006.
• “Interactional Nature of High-Risk Service Encounters,” HEC School of Management, Paris, France, 2004.
• “Consumer Behavior and Leisure,” Parks and Recreation Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City: UT, 2004.