Nicole Robitaille

Refereed Publications

Robitaille, N., House, J., & Mazar, N. (2021; first two authors contributed equally). Effectiveness of Planning Prompts on Organizations’ Likelihood to File their Overdue Taxes: A Multi-wave Field Experiment, Management Science, 67(7), 4327-4340.

Robitaille, N., Mazar, N., Tsai, C.I., Haviv, A.M., & Hardy, E. (2021). Increasing Organ Donor Registrations with Behavioral Interventions: A Large-Scale Field Experiment, Journal of Marketing, 85(3), 168-183.

Mazar, N., Robitaille, N., & House, J. (2021). Do Behavioral Nudges work on Organizations? Harvard Business Review (website), February 22, 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/02/do-behavioral-nudges-work-on-organizations?ab=hero-subleft-2

Manuscripts Under Review/Working Papers

Chen, Y., Ovchinnikov, A., & Robitaille, N. Does Size Matter for Loyalty Points Redemptions? Management Science, under 1st round review.

Ashworth, L., Philp, M., Rath, S., & Robitaille, N. (alphabetical equal contribution) Gifts that Keep on Giving: Reflected Appraisals from Gifts and Their Role in Identity and Choice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, under 1st round review.

Priolo, G., Stablum, F., Vacondio, M., D’Ambrogio, S., Caserotti, M., Conte, B., De Roni, P., Du Plooy, H., Grillo, V. D., Mastromatteo, L. Y., Tedaldi, E., Toscano, F., Aguilar-Armijo, J., Ghomroudi, P. A., Al Rai, A., Alexa, L., Andersen, M. H., Andersson, P. A., Barakat, K. A.,… Rubaltelli, E. The robustness of mental accounting around the world. Nature Human Behavior, under 1st round review.

Amaral, C., Kolsarici, C., Ikonen, I., & Robitaille, N. Motivating Sustainable Energy Consumption Within Organizations: The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Behavioral Nudging, manuscript in preparation for Management Science.

Robitaille, N., Plassmann, H., Mazar, N., & Linder, A. (first three authors contributed equally, reverse alphabetical). Pain of Paying – A Metaphor Gone Literal, manuscript in preparation for International Journal of Research in Marketing.

Mutluoglu, A., Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N. Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Suspicion of Expensive Gifts Undermines Gift Appreciation, manuscript in preparation for Journal of Consumer Psychology.

Zeng, Y., Tsai, C., Zhao, M., & Robitaille, N. How End Proximity Influences Mundane Consumer Experience, manuscript in preparation for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Robitaille, N., Mazar, N., & Mitchell, A. Removing Individuals’ License to Misbehave, manuscript in preparation for International Journal of Research in Marketing.

Rath, S., Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N., Pangs from Persuasion: When Recommendations Undermine Consumers' Social Worth, manuscript in preparation for Journal of Consumer Research.

Rath, S., Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N., I’m not your Friend, Buddy: The Unfavorable Effects of Firm Friendliness on Consumer Attitudes, manuscript in preparation for Journal of Consumer Psychology.

Sobol, K., Robitaille, N. & Walsh, D. The Subjective Experience of Goal Failure: How Choosing the Lesser Evil Eradicates the Negative Consequences of Goal Failure, manuscript in preparation for Journal of Consumer Research.

Book Chapters

Robitaille, N., House, J., & Mazar, N. (Forthcoming). Horizontally Scaling a Planning Prompt Intervention in New People (Canadian Organizations), Places (Tax Compliance), and Time (Repeat Exposure), in What Works, What Doesn’t (and When), ed. Dilip Soman, University of Toronto Press.

Other Publications

Robitaille, N. (2023). Collaboration Is the Key to Impact. AACSB Insights, February 6, 2023, https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/articles/2023/02/collaboration-is-the-key-to-impact

Robitaille, N., Mazar, N., & House, J. (2021). Are Repeat Nudges Effective? For Tardy Tax Filers, It Seems So. Behavioral Scientist, June 7, 2021, https://behavioralscientist.org/are-repeat-nudges-effective-for-tardy-tax-filers-it-seems-so/

Robitaille, N. (2019). A Little Nudge Goes a Long Way in Increasing Organ Donor Registrations. The Conversation, May 1, 2019, https://theconversation.com/a-little-nudge-goes-a-long-way-in-increasing-organ-donor-registrations-115051

Textbook Contributions

“As I see It – The Motivation Process,” in Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being, 9th Canadian edition, by Michael Solomon et al., North York, Ontario: Pearson.

Research in Progress

Robitaille, N., Ashworth, L., Kolsarici, C., & Amaral, C., Understanding and Increasing Consumer Adoption of Digital Government Services: A Large Scale RCT, data collection complete.

Robitaille, N., Awasthi, B., Improving Consumers’ Debt Management: A Longitudinal Field Experiment, data collection complete.

Robitaille, N., & House, J. Enhancing Legitimacy with Deadlines, data collection ongoing.

Mutluoglu, A., Vanlerberghe, E., Ok, E., Robitaille, N., & Ashworth, L., The Female Sustainability Advantage: Feminine Brands are Considered More Sustainable, data collection ongoing.

Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N. Purchase Reluctance: The Effect of Irrelevant Price Offers, data collection ongoing.

Selected Media Coverage

CBC Radio, The Conversation, CTV, EurekAlert, The Globe and Mail, Global News, The National Post, Smith Business Insight

Instructor

• Individual Research Project, Master of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Queen’s University, 2023, 2024
• Marketing II, Undergraduate, Queen’s University, 2022
• Consumer Behavior II, MSc/PhD, Queen’s University, 2021, 2023
• Intro to Marketing, Undergraduate, Queen’s University, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
• Psychology Special Directed Lab Course, Undergraduate, Queen’s University, 2017

PhD Committees

• Sophia Mannina, Digital Technology, Queen’s University, Committee Member, Current
• Yang Chen, Analytics, Queen’s University, Committee Member, Current
• Aybike Mutluoglu, Marketing, Queen’s University, Committee Member, Current
• Suzanne Rath, Marketing, Queen’s University, Committee Member, 2019

MSc Student Supervision

• Emma Vanlerberghe, Queen’s University, 2023
• Donella Plastik, Queen’s University, 2019
• Alyssa Whalen, Queen’s University, 2018

Engagement and Education

• Creating a Culturally Responsive Classroom Culture, Queen’s University, 2023
• EDII in Pedagogy and Practice Series (Power, Privilege & Bias; Navigating Difficult
• Conversations; Conversations on Decolonization; Inclusive & Responsive Teaching; and
• Universal Design for Learning), Queen’s University, 2020, 2022
• Case Teaching: 1-day workshop, Queen’s University, 2016
• Case Teaching: 2-day workshop, University of Toronto, 2013
• Teaching Business in College and University: 10-week course, University of Toronto, 2012

Interests

Behavioral science, judgement and decision making, consumer wellbeing, public policy 

My research is in the area of behavioral science and its applications to consumer wellbeing, marketing and policy. I take a behavioral economics approach to study consumer decision making, using field and laboratory data.  My research has covered a broad range of topics such at looking at how nudges can encourage organizations improve tax compliance, increase organ donor registrations, and help consumers stay committed to their long term goals.

Conference Presentations (*presenter)

Yang C.,* Ovchinnikov, A., Robitaille, N. (2023) Does Size Matter for Loyalty Point Redemptions? paper presented at INFORMS MSOM Conference, Montreal, QC.

Amaral, C., Kolsarici, C., Ikonen, I.*, Robitaille, N. (2023) Motivating Sustainable Energy Consumption Within Organizations: The Role of Analytics and Optimized Communication, paper presented at AMA Marketing and Public Policy Conference, Arlington, VA.

Yang C.,* Ovchinnikov, A., Robitaille, N. (2023) Does Size Matter for Loyalty Point Redemptions? paper presented at POMS Conference, Orlando, FL.

Amaral, C., Kolsarici, C., Ikonen, I.*, Robitaille, N. (2023) Motivating Sustainable Energy Consumption Within Organizations: The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Behavioral Nudging, paper presented at European Marketing Academy Annual Conference, Odense, Denmark.

Yang C.,* Ovchinnikov, A., Robitaille, N. (2023) Does Size Matter for Loyalty Point Redemptions? paper presented at the 8th Annual Empirical & Theoretical Symposium for Canadian Marketing Strategy, Kingston, ON.

Mutluoglu, A., Vanlerberghe, E., Ok, E., Robitaille, N., Ashworth, L. (2023) The Female Sustainability Advantage: Feminine Brands Are Considered More Sustainable, paper presented at Southern Ontario Behavioural Decision Research Conference, Toronto, ON.

Mutluoglu, A.,* Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N. (2022). Why Recipients Don’t Appreciate Expensive Gifts: The Role of Suspicion, paper presented at Southern Ontario Behavioural Decision Research Conference, Toronto, ON.

Robitaille, N.,* Sobol, K., & Walsh, D. (2022). Fending Off Failure: How Choosing the Lesser Evil Eradicates the Negative Consequences of Goal Failure, paper presented at Behavioral Insights into Business for Social Good Conference, Vancouver, BC.

Amaral, C., Kolsarici, C.,* Ikonen, I., Robitaille, N. (2022) Motivating Sustainable Energy Consumption Within Organizations: The Role of Analytics and Optimized Communication, paper presented at Marketing Dynamics Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Yang C.,* Ovchinnikov, A., Robitaille, N. (2021) Does Redeeming Loyalty Rewards Increase Customer Loyalty? paper presented at INFORMS Annual Meeting, hybrid virtual and Anaheim, CA.

Mutluoglu, A.,* Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N. (2021). Why Recipients Don’t Appreciate Expensive Gifts: The Role of Suspicion, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research Conference, virtual.

Sobol, K.,* Robitaille, N., & Walsh, D. (2021). Fending Off Failure: How Choosing the Lesser Evil Eradicates the Negative Consequences of Goal Failure, paper presented at 15th Annual International Conference on Psychology, Athens, Greece.

Sobol, K.,* Robitaille, N., & Walsh, D. (2021). Fending Off Failure: How Choosing the Lesser Evil Eradicates the Negative Consequences of Goal Failure, paper presented at Southern Ontario Behavioral Decision Research Conference, virtual.

Sobol, K.,* Robitaille, N., & Walsh, D. (2019). The Subjective Experience of Goal Failure: How Choosing the Lesser Evil Eradicates the Negative Consequences of Goal Failure, poster presented at Society for Judgment and Decision Making Conference, Montreal, QC.

Rath, S.,* Ashworth, L,. & Robitaille, N. (2019). Perceived Persuasion Conveys a Threat to Consumers’ Social Worth, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., Tsai, C.I. & Hardy, E. (2019). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Behavioural Insights into Business for Social Good, Vancouver, BC.

Ashworth, L.,* & Robitaille, N. (2019). Purchase Reluctance: The Effect of Irrelevant Price Offers, paper presented at Southern Ontario Behavioral Decision Research Conference, Waterloo, ON.

Rath, S.,* Ashworth, L,. & Robitaille, N. (2018). Pangs from Persuasion: When Recommendations Undermine Consumers’ Social Worth, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, Dallas, TX.

Robitaille, N.,* House, J., & Mazar, N. (2018). Effectiveness of Repeated Implementation Intension- Interventions on Organizations’ likelihood to File their Overdue Taxes, paper presented at International Congress of Applied Psychology, Montreal, QC.

Philp, M.,* Ashworth, L., Robitaille, N., & Rath, S. (2018). You Are What You Get: The Effects of Receiving Gifts on Reflected Appraisals, Identity, and Future Consumption, paper presented at Society for Consumer Psychology, Dallas, TX.

Rath, S.,* Ashworth, L,. & Robitaille, N., & Philp, M. (2017). Friend or Firm: When Friendliness Reduces Comfort Perceptions During Sales Interactions, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, San Diego, CA.

House, J.,* Robitaille, N., & Mazar, N. (2017). Implementation Intentions: How to Nudge Organizations to Pay their Overdue Taxes, paper presented at Southern Ontario Behavioral Decision Research Conference, Kingston, ON.

Rath, S.,* Ashworth, L,. & Robitaille, N., & Philp, M. (2017). Friend or Firm: When Friendliness Reduces Comfort Perceptions During Sales Interactions, paper presented at Ivey Symposium on Consumer Behavior, London, ON.

Tsai, C.I.,* Zhao, M., & Robitaille, N. (2016). How ‘Time until the End’ Influences Actual versus Predicted Consumer Experiences: A Resource Allocation Account, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, Berlin, Germany.

Philp, M.,* Ashworth, L., Robitaille, N., & Rath, S. (2016). Gifting and Identity: The Effect of Gifts on Receiver Self-Identity, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, Berlin, Germany.

Rath, S.,* Ashworth, L,. & Robitaille, N., & Philp, M. (2016). Friend or Firm: When Friendliness Reduces Comfort Perceptions During Sales Interactions, poster presented at Association for Consumer Research, Berlin, Germany.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Tsai, C.I. (2016). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Behavioral Decision Research in Management, Toronto, ON.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Tsai, C.I. (2016). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Southern Ontario Behavioral Decision Research Conference, London, ON.

Rath, S.,* Ashworth, L,. & Robitaille, N., Philp, M., & Kerman, J. (2016). I’m not your Friend, Buddy: The Unfavorable Effects of Firm Friendliness on Consumer Attitudes, paper presented at Brand and Brand Relationships Conference, Toronto, ON.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Tsai, C.I. (2016). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Behavioral Science and Policy Association Conference, Washington, DC.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Tsai, C.I. (2016). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Society for Consumer Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL.

Philp, M.,* Ashworth, L., Robitaille, N., & Rath, S. (2016). Gifting and Identity: The Effect of Gifts on Receiver Self-Identity, paper presented at the Ivey Symposium on Consumer Behavior, London, ON.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Tsai, C.I. (2015). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Chicago, IL.

House, J.,* Robitaille, N., & Mazar, N. (2015). Increasing Timely Tax Payment with Implementation Intentions: A Field Experiment, paper presented at Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Chicago, IL.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Tsai, C.I. (2015). Nudging to Increase Organ and Tissue Donor Registrations, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, New Orleans, LA.

House, J.,* Mazar, N., & Robitaille, N. (2015). Increasing Timely Tax Payment with Implementation Intentions: A Field Experiment, paper presented at Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC.

Mazar, N.,* Plassmann, H., Robitaille, N., & Lindner, A. (2015). The Origin of the Pain of Paying: Evidence from fMRI and behavioral experiments, paper presented at European Conference of the Society of Consumer Psychology, Vienna, Austria.

Robitaille, N., Mazar, N.,* & Tsai, C.I. (2015). Increasing Organ and Tissue Donor Registration, paper presented at The La Londe Conference in Marketing Communications and Consumer Behavior, La Londe, France.

Mazar, N., Plassmann, H.,* Robitaille, N., & Lindner, A. (2015).The Origin of the Pain of Paying: Evidence from fMRI and behavioral experiments, paper presented at The La Londe Conference in Marketing Communications and Consumer Behavior, La Londe, France.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Mitchell, A. (2014). Removing Consumers’ License to Misbehave, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, Baltimore, MD.

Mazar, N., Plassmann, H.,* Robitaille, N., & Lindner, A. (2014). The Origin of the Pain of Paying: Evidence from fMRI and Behavioral Experiments, paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Society for NeuroEconomics, Miami, FL.

Mazar, N., Plassmann, H.,* Robitaille, N., & Lindner, A. (2014). The Origin of the Pain of Paying: Evidence from fMRI and Behavioral Experiments, paper presented at Behavioral Decision Research in Management, London, UK.

Mazar, N.,* Plassmann, H., Robitaille, N., & Lindner, A. (2012). The Origin of the Pain of Paying, paper presented at Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Minneapolis, MN.

Mazar, N.,* Plassmann, H., Robitaille, N., & Lindner, A. (2012). The Origin of the Pain of Paying, paper presented at Society for Consumer Psychology, Florence, Italy.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Mitchell, A. (2012). Removing Consumers’ License to Misbehave, paper presented at Society for Consumer Psychology, Las Vegas, NV.

Robitaille, N.,* Mazar, N., & Mitchell, A. (2012). Removing Consumers’ License to Misbehave, paper presented at Ivey Symposium on Consumer Behavior, London, ON.

Robitaille, N.,* & Mazar, N. (2011). Removing Consumers’ License to Misbehave, paper presented at Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Seattle, WA.

Mazar, N., Plassmann, H., Robitaille, N.,* & Lindner, A. (2011). The Origin of Pain of Paying, paper presented at Association for Consumer Research, St. Louis, MO.

Robitaille, N.,* Grohmann, B., Zhou, R., & VonGrunau, M. (2009). The Effects of Product Display Organization on Consumers’ Visual Attention to Attributes, poster presented at Society for Consumer Psychology, San Diego, CA.

Penhune, V., Longo dos Santos, C.,* and Robitaille, N. (2006). Consolidation of Implicit and Explicit Learning in a Biconditional Grammar Task, poster presented at Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco, CA.

Chaired Symposia

Robitaille, N., & Mazar, N. (2016). Symposium Co-Chairs. The Greater Good: Behavioral Research with Social Value, Society for Consumer Psychology Conference, St. Pete Beach, FL.

Robitaille, N., & Mazar, N. (2015). Symposium Co-Chairs. The Greater Good: Behavioral Research with Social Value, Association for Consumer Research Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Robitaille, N. (2011). Symposium Chair. Spending Hurts? Examining the Antecedes and Consequences of the Pain of Paying, Association for Consumer Research Conference, St. Louis, MI.

Invited Talks

2023 Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (virtual)

2023 Grenoble Ecole de Management (virtual)

2021 BI-Org Partnership Student Chapter (University of Toronto, virtual)

2021 Better Marketing for a Better World (BMBW) Health and Wellbeing Forum, Journal of Marketing (virtual)

2021 Simon Business School, University of Rochester (virtual)

2021 City of Kingston Economic Recovery Taskforce

2019 Gordan Lang School of Business, Guelph University

2019 2nd Annual BEworks Summit for Behavioural Science in Business

2019 Behavioral Economics in Action at Rotman (BEAR) Summer Research Retreat, University of Toronto

2018 FCAC National Research Symposium on Financial Literacy

2018 Cognitive Neuroscience Seminar Series, Psychology, Queen’s University

2018 Behavioral Insights in Canada Conference: Building a BI Practice in Public Policy, UofT

2017 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

2016 Employment and Social Development Canada, Service Research Conference

2016 University of Ottawa, 4th Canadian PhD and Early Career Workshop on Environmental Economics

2016 Government of Canada, Behavioral Economics for the Public Sector Conference

2013 SUNY Stony Brook

2013 Queen’s University

2013 Concordia University

2013 Iowa State University

2013 BE Works Consulting

2010 University of Tübingen

Honors, Fellowships and Awards

• Financial Times 2023 Responsible Business Education Award Recipient, 2023
• AMA/Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award Finalist, 2022
• Designing a Career for the Marketing Academy (DCMA) Attendee, 2022
• ACR/Sheth Doctoral Symposium Faculty Participant (virtual), 2021
• Amethyst Award, Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU), Ontario Government, 2015
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Business Research, 2015
• AMA Sheth Doctoral Consortium Fellow, University of Washington, 2012
• fMRI Decision Neuroscience Workshop Fellow, University of Michigan, 2009

Grants & Funding

• Smith General Research Grant 2023–2024
• SSHRC Internal Grant, 2021–2023
• Smith General Research Grant 2021–2022
• SSHRC Partnership Grant (Behaviourally Informed Organizations), Collaborator, 2019–2024
• D.I. McLeod Research Assistantship, Queen’s University, 2014–2022
• D.I. McLeod Summer Research Assistantship, Queen’s University, 2016, 2018, 2021
• Smith School of Business Conference Funding, 2016–2017
• Michael Lee-Chin Institute for Corporate Citizenship Research Grant, 2011, 2014
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2013–2014

Faculty Service

• Commerce Program Review Committee, 2023–2024
• Designing a Career for the Marketing Academy (DCMA) Secretary Elect, 2023
• Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, 2016–2017, 2022–2023
• Renewal, Tenure and Promotion Committee, 2021–2022
• Subject Pool and Behavioral Lab Committee, 2015–2017, 2018–2019, 2020–2022
• EDII Research and Thought Leadership Working Group, 2020–2021
• Session Leader, Smith Doctoral Consortium, 2014, 2016–2020
• Speaker Series Organizer, Marketing, 2015–2017, 2018–2019, 2022–2024
• Inter-Collegiate Business Competition, Judge, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020
• Queen’s Entrepreneurs Competition, Judge 2014, 2015

Conference Organizer

• Southern Ontario Behavioral Decision Research, Co-Chair, 2017

Program Committee

• Southern Ontario Behavioral Decision Research, 2019–2023

Reviewing

• Journal of Consumer Research
• Journal of Marketing
• Management Science
• Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
• Journal of Business Research (2015 Outstanding Reviewer)
• British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open
• Marketing Letters
• Ethics and Behavior
• Social Psychology
• Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences
• Brand and Brand Relationships Conference
• Association of Consumer Research Conference
• Association of Consumer Research European Conference
• Association of Consumer Research Asia-Pacific Conference
• Society of Consumer Psychology Conference
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grants
• Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture Scholarships
• Hong Kong Research Grants Council
• Mitacs Accelerate Research Proposals

Professional Affiliations

• Association for Consumer Research (ACR)
• Association for Psychological Science (APS)
• Behavioral Science and Policy Association (BSPA)
• Society for Consumer Psychology (SCP)
• Society for Judgment and Decision Making (SJDM)