Tom van Laer

23

Articles

39

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Tom van Laer is Professor of Persuasive Language and Storytelling at SKEMA. Recognised as the leading expert globally, he occupies the top position on Elsevier’s SciVal top 100 list for the most-cited researchers in the domain of storytelling, persuasion, and messaging. His approach to research is truly interdisciplinary, bridging paradigms and mixing methodologies from behavioural experiments and quantitative modelling to in-depth interpretive research.

Tom’s papers are published in the most prestigious academic journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Consumer Research (JCR), Journal of Management Information Systems, International Journal of Research in Marketing, where he serves as Area Editor, Journal of Service Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, and Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, to name a few. He has a unique talent for enriching various academic conversations, whether through theoretical, strategic, or methodological contributions. His two most recent articles in the Journal of Consumer Research particularly set a benchmark for how to address complex questions with clarity and insight, according to the editorial team.

Tom's research has not only captured the academic world’s attention but has also garnered extensive media attention across the globe, including coverage by prominent outlets in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US, and interviews on national television and radio.

Among his array of accolades for research, teaching, and media engagement, Tom holds most dear a personal victory from his youth: winning his high school's story read-aloud contest in 1995. This early achievement not only showcases his lifelong passion for storytelling but also symbolizes the depth of his commitment to exploring and understanding narrative's power.

Experience

  • 2026–present
    Professor of Persuasive Language and Storytelling, SKEMA
  • 2019–2026
    Associate Professor of Narratology, University of Sydney
  • 2018–2019
    Reader (Associate Professor) of Marketing, City University of London
  • 2015–2018
    Senior Lecturer in Marketing, City University of London
  • 2017–2017
    Visiting Scholar, Monash University
  • 2014–2016
    Visiting Scholar, University of Sydney
  • 2011–2015
    Assistant Professor, ESCP Europe Business School
  • 2010–2011
    Visiting Scholar, University of New South Wales

Education

  • 2011 
    Maastricht University, Doctorate in Marketing (PhD)

Publications

  • 2026
    From storytelling to truth-telling: Narrative integrity in science communication, Science Communication
  • 2026
    Degrees of persuasion: Ethical communication in climate fiction films, Journal of Business Ethics
  • 2026
    (Dis)content: How deliberate, less moderated expressions of perceived injustice signal shifts in consumer confidence and protest participation, Journal of Interactive Marketing
  • 2025
    Verbal persuasion in marketing: A multi-method meta-analysis of analytical and narrative processing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
  • 2025
    Responsibilizing the Net-Zero Hero? Creation and implications of a tragic subject position, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
  • 2024
    Narrative agency, Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
  • 2023
    There and back again: Bleed from extraordinary experiences, Journal of Consumer Research
  • 2022
    Not whodunit but whydunit: Story characters’ motivations influence audience interest in services, Journal of Service Research
  • 2020
    It’s the story, stupid: The consumer reviews most likely to influence purchasing decisions, Marketing Intelligence Review
  • 2020
    It’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it! Effective message styles for promoting innovative new services, Journal of Business Research
  • 2019
    A discourse analysis of pilgrimage reviews, Journal of Marketing Management
  • 2019
    What happens in Vegas stays on TripAdvisor? A theory and technique to understand narrativity in consumer reviews, Journal of Consumer Research
  • 2019
    Tweeting with the stars: Automated text analysis of the effect of celebrity social media communications on consumer word of mouth, Journal of Interactive Marketing
  • 2019
    Storytelling in the digital era: A meta-analysis of relevant moderators of the narrative transportation effect, Journal of Business Research
  • 2018
    Need for narrative, Journal of Marketing Management
  • 2018
    The seven stages of the digital marketing cycle, Contemporary Issues in Digital Marketing: New Paradigms, Perspectives and Practices
  • 2017
    Using EEG to examine the role of attention, working memory, emotion, and imagination in narrative transportation, European Journal of Marketing
  • 2017
    Assessing the effect of narrative transportation, portrayed action, and photographic style on the likelihood to comment on posted selfies, European Journal of Marketing
  • 2016
    Untangling a web of lies: Exploring automated detection of deception in computer-mediated communication, Journal of Management Information Systems
  • 2016
    Script for science fiction, Calabash Cadencé Taisgeadan
  • 2016
    Brand story-making and digital conversations, Advances in Consumer Research
  • 2016
    How word-of-mouth influences the storyteller: Does the effect replicate in China?, Advances in Consumer Research
  • 2016
    Narrative consumption in a digital world, Advances in Consumer Research
  • 2014
    It’s the social, stupid! Leveraging the 4C markers of social in online service delivery, Handbook of Service Marketing Research
  • 2014
    The means to justify the end: Combating cyber harassment in social media, Journal of Business Ethics
  • 2014
    The Extended Transportation-Imagery Model: A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of consumers’ narrative transportation, Journal of Consumer Research
  • 2013
    A walk in customers' shoes: How attentional bias modification affects ownership of integrity-violating social media posts, Journal of Interactive Marketing
  • 2012
    In de schoenen van de klant: over de maakbaarheid van verantwoordelijke medewerkers, Ontwikkelingen in het marktonderzoek: Jaarboek MarktOnderzoekAssociatie
  • 2011
    Return of the narrative: Studies on transportation in social media,
  • 2011
    Een betrouwbaar verhaal: hoe te reageren op negatieve blogs van klanten, Ontwikkelingen in het marktonderzoek: Jaarboek MarktOnderzoekAssociatie
  • 2010
    In stories we trust: How narrative apologies provide cover for competitive vulnerability after integrity-violating blog posts, International Journal of Research in Marketing
  • 2007
    The shortage of legal dictionaries translating European languages, Terminology

Grants and Contracts

  • 2020
    Supporting CALD Australians to be responsible energy consumers
    Role:
    Chief investigator
    Funding Source:
    Energy Consumers Australia
  • 2017
    Exploring linguistic signals in earnings update calls
    Role:
    Chief investigator
    Funding Source:
    Inveso
  • 2017
    Automatic assessment of narrativity and consumer responses in big data
    Role:
    Chief investigator
    Funding Source:
    Marketing Science Institute

Professional Memberships

  • Association for Consumer Research
  • International Society for the Study of Narrative
  • European Marketing Academy
  • Australian Marketing Institute

Contact Tom for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision