Bobbie Rathjens

Ph.D. Candidate

Department

Communication

rathjens@msu.edu

Bio

Bobbie is a former industry professional with cross-disciplinary experience in business, marketing, and communication. Her research navigates consumer behavior in digital contexts, with a special emphasis on the impact of social media influencers, negative online reviews, and managerial responses. Bobbie possesses a Master's degree in Marketing Research from the Eli Broad College of Business.

Research and Teaching

Previously serving as a Director of Marketing at a nationally recognized ski and golf resort and a Corporate Social Media Strategist in the healthcare sector, Bobbie's professional journey informs her scholarly pursuits. Her research navigates consumer behavior in digital contexts, focusing on the topics of online reviews, social media influencers, and emerging communication technologies within the hospitality industry. This work has led to notable publications in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and Communication Reports.

Bobbie has led courses as the instructor of record for Introduction to Marketing Analytics, Human Communication, Group and Leadership Communication, Social Media Applications, and Introduction to Marketing. Her commitment to educational excellence is further evidenced by her certification in QM: Quality Matters Applying the Rubric (APPQMR), demonstrating her proficiency in developing high-quality online course content.

Related Work

NCA 108th Annual Convention lineup for ComArtSci researchers

Publications

Rathjens, B., Wu, A., Zhang, L., & Wei, W. (2024). When social media influencer endorsement backfires: Unpacking fallout from explicit endorsements across brand equity levels. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.

Yang, W., Zhang, L., Wei, W., Yoo, M., & Rathjens, B. (2023). The joint impacts of consumers’ need for status, celebrity star power, and image congruence on celebrity endorsement effectiveness. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Insights.

Rathjens, B., Gunden, N., Zhang, L., Jain, G., & Law, R. (2023). A systematic review of contactless technologies research in hospitality and tourism during the COVID-pandemic. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.

Zhang, L., Wei, W., Rathjens, B., & Zheng, Y. (2023). Pet influencers on social media: The joint effect of message appeal and narrator. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 110,

Rathjens, B., Van Der Heide, B., Pham, D., Earle, K., Ulusoy, E., Mason, A. J., Zhang, Y., & Bredland, A. (2023). Negative online reviews and manager response: Applying expectancy disconfirmation theory in a CMC context. Communication Reports, 36(2), 110–122.

Wei, W., Zhang, L., Rathjens, B., & McGinley, S. (2022). Electronic consumer-to-consumer interaction (eCCI) post a service failure: The psychological power of need for approval. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 1–14.

Conferences

Rathjens, B.*, Van Der Heide, B., Zhu, R., & Pham, D. (2024). Motivations unveiled: How altruism and self-interest shape exaggeration behavior. [Paper presentation]. Central States Communication Association (CSCA) Annual Convention. Grand Rapids, MI.

Rathjens, B.*, Zhang, L. & Cha, J. (2023). Chatbots for customer service requests: Investigating goal orientation and task complexity. [Paper presentation]. 7th World Research Summit for Hospitality and Tourism. Orlando, FL.

Rathjens, B.*, Van Der Heide, B., & Pham, D. (2023). When the act of writing a negative review makes you more negative: The attenuating effect of manager response. [Paper presentation]. National Communication Association’s 109th Annual Conference. National Harbor, MD.

Rathjens, B.*, Zhang, L., & Cha, J. (2023). Robots vs. humans in services: examining the role of process- vs. outcome-orientation. [Paper presentation]. The 28th Annual Graduate Education & Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism. Pomona, CA.

Rathjens, B.* & Zhang, L. (2022). Does brand familiarity and ad disclosure matter? An investigation of social media influencers. [Poster presentation]. 2022 Purdue Spirit of Hospitality Summit. West Lafayette, IN.

(*presenter)

Contact Information

404 Wilson Rd
Academic Twitter: @bobbierath
LinkedIn: Bobbie Rathjens
Website: bobbierathjens.com