Pelin Bicen, PhD

Biography

Dr. Pelin Bicen is a Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Undergraduate and Quant Programs at Suffolk University's Sawyer Business School. Her research focuses on marketing and innovation strategies, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence's impact on higher education, resource-limited innovation, and the alignment of sustainability goals with business profitability. She has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals including Journal of Business Research, Technovation, Journal of Marketing Management, and AI Magazine.

Dr. Bicen currently chairs the Sawyer Business School AI Policy Development Task Force and has been instrumental in integrating generative AI education into business curricula. Her contributions to education have been recognized with the Dean John Brennan Award for Outstanding Instruction to Graduate Students and multiple teaching excellence awards. She serves on the editorial review board of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice and was the Special Issue Editor for the journal on Profit with Purpose: How Marketing Can Drive Progress towards the UN SDGs.

Prior to academia, she worked as a Marketing Strategist and Data Scientist at BBDO Advertising Agency in Istanbul, managing national and international brand campaigns. Through her teaching and consultancy work, Dr. Bicen has collaborated with organizations including GE Appliances, iRobot, CARE.org, Mass General Hospital, and Sonos, bridging academic research with practical business solutions. She teaches courses on marketing in emerging technologies and advanced marketing analytics, and leads experiential learning projects connecting students with real-world clients.

Honors and Recognitions

• Office of the Governor Commonwealth of Massachusetts, AI Strategic Task Force, Study Group Member, 2024
• Dean John Brennan Award for Outstanding Instruction to Graduate Students, Suffolk University, 2022
• Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Suffolk University, SBS, 2021
• Suffolk University Leadership Institute Fellow, 2021
• Suffolk University Convocation Speaker, 2018
• Awarded Suffolk University Research Grant, 2016, 2018, 2019
• Excellence in Teaching, National Society of Leadership and Success, Penn State Erie, 2014
• Awarded Cleveland State University Research Grant, 2014
• Nominee, Council of Fellows Excellence in Teaching Award, Penn State Erie, 2010, 2011, 2014
• Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Texas Tech University, 2009
• AMA Tech SIG Best Dissertation Award, 2008
• Finalist, ISBM Doctoral Dissertation Award Competition, 2007

Professional Activities

• Special Issue Editor, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Profit with Purpose: How Marketing Can Drive Progress towards the UN SDGs
• Future Talent Council Member, Higher Ed Special Group
• Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice
• Advisory Board Member, Everett High School
• Marketing Strategy Track Chair, American Marketing Association Winter Conference, 2016

Publications

Recent Intellectual Contributions

• Sarkar, A., Gudigantala, N., & Bicen, P. (2025). “Conceptualizing the ‘LEAP’ Framework: A Strategy to Manage the Sustainability-Profitability Paradox,” Society and Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-08-2024-0261 ISSN: 1746-5680.
• Zinoviev, D., Sarkar A., & Bicen, P. (2024). “The ‘Non-Musk Effect’ at Twitter,” Social Network Analysis and Mining, 14(1), 131. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13278-024-01289-8
• Gudigantala, N., Madhavaram S., & Bicen, P. (2023). “Effective and Optimal AI for Value Maximization: A Framework for Organizations,” AI Magazine, 44(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/aaai.12076
• Zinoviev, D., Sarkar, A., & Bicen, P. (2023). “The ‘non-musk Effect’ at Twitter,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2304.11272.
• Elliott, E., Smith, R., & Bicen, P. (2023). “Ethnic Chambers of Commerce and Co-Creation of Value: A Synthesis of Cultural and Networking Competencies,” Journal of Research in Marketing & Entrepreneurship, 25(1), 26-2.
• Johnson, W. H. A., Bicen, P., & Zhu, Z. (2023). "Being lean: Conceptualizing and operationalizing the Lean Innovation Capability (LIC) of innovative companies". Technovation, 126, 102794. ISSN 0166-4972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102794.
• Madhavaram, S, Hunt, S.D, and Bicen, P. (2021), “Building customization capability in B2B marketing: the role of organizational capital,” Journal of Marketing Management. 37 (13-14) 1409-1435, https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2021.1910858
• Yuksel, M., Smith, A., Smith, R., Bicen, P., Wilson, E., & Weiner, J. (2021). “Student interest in client-sponsored projects: The quest for engagement in marketing research courses,” Journal of Marketing Education, 43(3), 354-370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475321996797
• Bicen, Pelin, Shelby D. Hunt and Sreedhar Madhavaram (2021), “"Enhancing Horizontal Innovation Alliance Performance: How Alliance's Market Orientation Promotes Effective Relational Governance,” Journal of Business Research, 123 (February), 23-31.
• Bicen, P. (2021). “Shelby D. Hunt’s legacy, the R-A theory of competition, and its perspective on the geographical indications (GIs) debate,” Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 31, 213-233.
• Bicen, Pelin and Naveen Gudigantala (2019), “Designing the Way Forward: The Role of Design Thinking in the Era of Digital Creativity,” Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability, 14(5).
• Gudigantala, Naveen, Pelin Bicen (2019), “Do Consumers’ Ethical Judgments Matter for Purchase Intentions in Online Gray Markets?” Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 13 (4).
• Bicen, Pelin and Naveen Gudigantala (2018) “Exploring the Relationships Among Digital Marketing and Social Media Activities, Online Customer Satisfaction and E-Commerce Performance: A Cluster Analysis of U.S. E-Commerce Retailers,” Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, 6 (1), 62-74.
• Elliott, Esi, Aron Darmody, and Pelin Bicen (2018), “Value Co-Creation for Service Delivery Innovations in Emerging Markets,” Journal of Business Cases and Applications, 22, 1-17.
• Gudigantala, Naveen, Pelin Bicen, and Mike Eom (2016) “An Examination of Antecedents of Conversion Rates of E-Commerce Retailers,” Management Research Review, 39 (1), 82-114.
• Bicen, Pelin and William H.A Johnson (2015) “Limited-Resources Innovation in High Turbulent Markets: The Role of Lean Innovation Capability,” Creativity and Innovation Management, 24 (2), 278-299.

Invited Talks

• 2024: Past, Present, and Future with AI, Speaker, Turkish Student Association, Boston
• 2024: AI and Sustainable Development Goals: Special Look in Education, Speaker, MIKTA, Boston
• 2024: Building Tomorrow’s WorkForce: AI’s Impact on Jobs, Panel Member, MA Jobs and Workforce Summit, Boston
• 2024: Keynote Speaker at BISET Conference, Köln, Germany
• 2024: AI’s Impact on Higher Ed and Workforce Development, Speaker, Turkish AI Initiative Summit, Istanbul
• 2024: AI Integration to Curriculum, Speaker, University of Puerto Rico Faculty Development
• 2024: AI’s Impact on Higher Ed and Skill Development, Speaker, Turkish Boston Consulate EduTalks
• 2024: Turks Talk, Keynote Speaker, Boston University
• 2023: Generative Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on Higher-Ed, Board of Trustee and Educational Affairs Committee Meeting

Intellectual Contributions

• Pelin Bicen's Intellectual Contributions [PDF]

Media Highlights

• Sound Advice @Suffolk News
• Super Market Research @Suffolk News
• Care Presentations @Suffolk News
• iRobot @Suffolk News