When César Zamudio dived into his doctoral research, he didn’t think he had a great idea, know much about the subject, have data or know whether it would appeal to the marketing community. But he knew the topic was unique and he was doggedly determined.

Cesar Zumudo

César Zamudio

In February, Zamudio won honorable mention in the annual 2011 Marketing Science Institute (MSI) Alden G. Clayton Dissertation Proposal competition. The contest is one of the most prestigious dissertation competitions for junior marketing scholars and the highest honor a doctoral marketing student can earn. Proposals came from students and top-ranked universities around the world.

In addition to the award, MSI also gave Zamudio a $3,000 grant to help him complete his dissertation.

“Years before winning the proposal, I sat in the chair of my committee’s office and told him I wanted to win the MSI dissertation award along with other distinctions. I was passionate about it. I was driven. I believed those accolades would help me achieve my dream – to start my legacy as a marketing scholar and through this, enable me to help businesses, my community and future students,” Zamudio said.

“My research advances methods to examine problems on choosing others and in so doing, contributes to our understanding of job markets, social networks and branding.”

César Zamudio,
doctoral
management and marketing student

Zamudio attributes his selection to originality and the potential contribution to research and management. The dissertation focuses on a concept  he calls “choosing others,” whether it’s choosing employees, business partners or celebrities, to speak on a firm’s behalf.

“The study of consumer choices has a long tradition in marketing. However, most studies examine settings in which consumers purchase packaged goods, durables and so forth, but very little attention has been paid to situations where people choose other people or firms choose other firms,” Zamudio said.

Zamudio said examples include social networks, where friends choose friends, or job markets where employers and employees must find the best matches.

“My research advances methods to examine problems on choosing others and in so doing, contributes to our understanding of job markets, social networks and branding,” Zamudio said.

In addition to the award, Zamudio also won a $10,000 grant from the Institute in its “Ideas Challenge” competition, which sought ideas that could substantially improve the field of marketing for scholars, students and marketing professionals. Zamudio was the only student winner in the contest. He proposed the establishment of a global social network of marketing scholars and professionals that allowed for networked resources to increase research output in the field.

Zamudio  expects to graduate from the Naveen Jindal School of Management  in May 2013 with a PhD in management science with an emphasis in marketing. After graduation, he hopes to become a professor at an American university where he can establish himself as a marketing scholar, “develop groundbreaking research with managerial relevance and help guide new students through the doctoral process.”

A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Zamudio says there are few marketing scientists from Mexico. He said that motivates him to work hard to become a positive example for students from his country. 

“I hope the honors I was blessed to achieve will spur other Jindal students’ interest in pursuing difficult goals and find the determination in their hearts to achieve them,” said Zamudio. “All it takes is a dream and the will to push forward.