Robert V. Kozinets is the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair of Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and Marshall School of Business. He is an innovative researcher and academic whose methods and theories are widely used in research, classrooms, and industry.
Kozinets is well-known for inventing netnography in 1995, which applies ethnographic methods to digital interaction research. He wrote the influential book Netnography: The Essential Guide to Qualitative Social Media Research based on this method.
He has taught digital research methods, combined with marketing and branding theories, practices, and ethics, to academics and global organizations like American Express, L’Oréal, Sony, and Nissan. His research focuses on technology, entertainment, religion, and desire, and he empowers a more cultural and passionate approach to the new media economy.
Kozinets has authored and edited eight books, including the recently published “Netnography Unlimited,” and he co-authored “Influencers,” which will be released in 2022. He has over 120 publications, including highly cited articles in top-tier academic journals, research videographies, and published poems. He is an associate editor at the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Research and an incoming Chair of the Policy Board of the Journal of Association for Consumer Research.
Kozinets has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of marketing and research, including the Shelby Hunt Award, William R. Davidson Award, and Emerald Management Reviews Citation of Excellence. He has also been recognized for his teaching excellence and was nominated for the MBA Program Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Award.
Kozinets is an expert in advertising, business, digital media, entertainment, entrepreneurship, ethics, groups, organizations, and networks, marketing, politics, popular culture, science, social justice, social media, sports, technology, and innovation. His research and practice areas include civic engagement and social justice, culture and media, organizations and networks, and science, technology, and innovation.
Outside of academia, Kozinets enjoys painting, poetry, playing guitar, and gardening. He currently lives in Los Angeles.