Gregory T. Gundlach

Biography

Gregory T. Gundlach.  A faculty member of the Coggin College of Business, Gregory T. Gundlach is the Coggin Distinguished Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing and Logistics at the University of North Florida.  He is also a Senior Fellow at the American Antitrust Institute an independent nonprofit Washington D.C. based education, research and advocacy organization focusing on effects of business practices on competition and their implications for public policy.  Before coming to the University of North Florida, Professor Gundlach was the John Berry, Sr. Professor of Business at the University of Notre Dame where he was a faculty member since 1987.  Professor Gundlach received his Bachelor's Degree in 1979, his Master of Business Administration in 1981, his Doctor of Jurisprudence (law) in 1985, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing in 1987.  All four degrees are from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

Professor Gundlach’s research interests focus on vertical (e.g., supply chain/distribution) and horizontal (e.g., competition) business relationships and practices with particular emphasis on how such associations are managed, their performance, and the nature of business and public policy implications that may result.  His research has appeared in numerous academic publications including the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Marketing Science, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Venturing, Antitrust Bulletin, New York University Law Review and the University of Pittsburgh Law Review, among others.  Professor Gundlach has been recognized as among the Top 50 Scholars in Marketing based on average annual citations in the “top three” journals1 and is among the most prolific contributors to the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing over its 20 year history.2

Among his recent disciplinary activities in marketing, Professor Gundlach is examining the interdisciplinary ties between supply chain management and marketing including co-editing (with Tom Mentzer) a Special Issue of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science on the topic  In addition, Professor Gundlach is examining the implications of American Marketing Association’s new definition of marketing including hosting a series of special sessions at major conferences and editing a Special Section of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing on the topic. 

Among his recent interdisciplinary activities involving marketing and public policy, he is working with a number of scholars to examine the recent Supreme Court decision in Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS which overturned a 90-year competition policy precedent against the use of vertical price fixing agreements (i.e., resale price maintenance).   In his capacity as Senior Fellow with the American Antitrust Institute Professor Gundlachhas co-chaired five annual international interdisciplinary roundtables and symposiums on the implications of business and marketing theory and practices for competition policy and antitrust.  These include the recent 2007 Invitational Symposium on Buyer Power (i.e., focusing on the implications of the redistribution of power held by buyers and sellers in supply chains), the 2006 Invitational Symposium on the Future of Aftermarkets in Systems Competition (i.e., addressing the implications of marketing and consumer  aspects of  aftermarkets), the 2005 Invitational Roundtable on Complexity Science, Networks and the Modernization of Antitrust (i.e., addressing the evolving perspective in business and marketing that adopts a systems orientation), the 2004 Roundtable on Combining Horizontal and Vertical Analysis in Antitrust:  Implications of the Work of Robert L. Steiner (i.e., addressing the interplay and implications of the combination of horizontal and vertical competition), the 2003 Roundtable on Antitrust and Category Captains (i.e., addressing the implications of category management) and the 2002 Roundtable on Marketing Competitive Conduct and Antitrust Policy (i.e., addressing the implications of marketing strategy).   Overviews and select articles from each of the events have appeared in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and/or special issues ofthe Antitrust Bulletin. 

Professor Gundlach’ just published textbook (with William Wilkie and Lauren Block and other respected members of the field) Explorations of Marketing in Society (Thomson Southwestern/AMA) provides original content and readings for those who wish to explore marketing in society including its contributions to public policy.   His prior book (with Paul Bloom), the Handbook of Marketing and Society (Sage) examines the impact of marketing practices on society including public policy.  

Professor Gundlach has served as Vice President of Marketing for the American Marketing Association’s Academic Council and is past Associate (Developmental) Editor for the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing where he oversaw a 600% increase over the prior 20 years in the number of articles published in the journal on competition policy and antitrust.  He is currently or has been a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science among others. 

Professor Gundlach has also provided counsel and other expertise on marketing and public policy related issues to a variety of governmental agencies, trade associations and companies.  His clients include Miller Brewing, Brown & Williamson, Mars, Inc., Carnival Cruise Lines, Conwood Inc., NAACP, Lorillard, RJ Reynolds, Caliber Learning Systems, Kinkos, Hills Pet Products, the Federal Trade Commission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. General Accounting Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, California State Senate, the cities of Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, among others.  As part of this work, Professor Gundlach has formally testified before the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, the Federal Trade Commission and the California State Senate on the nature and competitive effects of marketing practices. 

As a basis for informing his scholarship, consultative engagements by Professor Gundlach focus on novel public policy questions involving vertical (e.g., supply chain/distribution) and horizontal (e.g., competition) practices in marketing.  In this respect, Professor Gundlach most recently provided counsel and expert testimony in matters relating to the case, Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS.  The case involve the public policy analysis and implications of vertical price fixing arrangements between suppliers and retailers.  Recently decided by the Supreme Court, the case has been identified as one of the most important and potentially impactful marketing-related cases before the Court in over a decade.  Professor Gundlach also provided expert counsel and testimony for Conwood Co. in their suit against rival United States Tobacco Co..  That case resulted in a $1.05 billion jury award – reportedly the largest antitrust jury verdict in U.S. history.   The case involved novel questions surrounding the use of slotting allowances and fees and category management, two areas of research by Professor Gundlach.  In his consultative role, Professor Gundlach has also and continues to work to assist the Brady Center Against Gun Violence, the Educational Fund Against Gun Violence and other advocacy organizations in their national effort with numerous cities across the country, national associations (NAACP) and other groups to curb the diversion and unlawful trafficking of firearms through the study of legal and illegal channels of distribution and competition in the sale of firearms.   In this role, Professor Gundlach recently provided research and counsel in the first lawsuit (NAACP v. AcuSport et al 2003) to find that the marketing and distribution practices of handgun manufacturers and distributors created a nuisance and thereby harmed the public.