Each week, Daniels is featuring a researcher who conducts meaningful research that impacts their field and the wider community. Learn more about their work in Q&As with the Daniels Research team and email them to nominate yourself or a colleague for a future Q&A.
Dan Baack is the current director of the Executive PhD program. Beyond his administrative role, Dan is an expert in advertising, brand management and international marketing. His academic research focuses on how differences in how consumers process information affect promotional activities. This includes investigations of creativity and advertising effectiveness, of advertising’s impact on brand image, and of culture’s influence on marketing activity. He also has looked into how cultural understanding influences market entry choice. More recently, he has started a series of studies exploring diversity, equity and inclusion in various business contexts..
What do you study, and how did you get started?
My research centers on how individuals process information—how attention, cognition, biases and memory shape advertising effectiveness and international business decisions. I began in psychology, publishing my first paper as an undergraduate, and eventually moved into a joint PhD program in International Business and Marketing. That training allowed me to combine my interest in cognitive processes with work on advertising, ethics and global market entry.
Over time, my work has expanded to include cross-cultural communication and ethics in advertising, and more recently, a practices-based approach to understanding international marketing that moves beyond traditional cultural value models.
How does your research inform your teaching?
I teach across the full range of Daniels programs, and I integrate my research differently depending on the audience and course. In advertising-focused classes, I draw on my work examining creativity and the effects of ethical versus unethical ads. In international business courses, I incorporate my research on entry modes, global communication and decision-making under uncertainty.
My goal is to present research in a way that is rigorous but also meaningful for students, giving them tools they can apply in managerial and strategic contexts.
How do you engage with industry?
Throughout my career, I have consulted with organizations of various sizes, including Fortune 100 companies and local firms. My consulting work spans brand management, market research and international expansion strategy. These projects help ensure that my research questions are grounded in real organizational challenges, and they provide valuable examples and context that I bring into the classroom.
Also, as Director of the Executive PhD program, I work with experienced professionals who bring decades of managerial expertise to academic research. Their practical background adds depth to classroom discussions and significantly enriches their scholarly work.
How does the Executive PhD strengthen faculty research and the broader academic community?
The program has become an important contributor to faculty scholarship at Daniels. Faculty frequently coauthor publications with Executive PhD students, and many of these papers appear in highly respected journals. The practitioner insights these students offer often yield unique contributions that distinguish their work from more traditional academic studies.
More broadly, the program introduces a different type of scholar into academia—individuals who can teach effectively, participate constructively in research discussions and translate between industry and academic perspectives. That balance is increasingly valuable within higher education.
At a time when the value of higher education is publicly debated, these graduates play an important role in demonstrating the rigor and relevance of academic research and in strengthening the connection between higher education and industry.