Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2005, Consumer Sciences (Minors: Marketing / Quantitative Psychology)
M.S., Iowa State University, 2001, Textiles and Clothing (Minor: Business Administration)
B.S., Seoul National University, 1993, Clothing and Textiles

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Consumer Environments: Conversational AI design and analysis for optimizing cognitive and social assistance to support consumer information processing and decision making in phygital (physical + digital) environments; Consumer and industry perceptions and acceptance of AI; Machine learning and data analytics for enhancing customer service.
• Innovations in Branding and Merchandising: Branding in social media for boosting customer engagement; Immersive/interactive technology (e.g., VR/AR) for optimal branding and merchandising in actual and virtual consumption environments

• Innovation in Retail and Consumer Experiences
• Retail Management
• Merchandise Planning and Control
• Research Methods
• Branding Research
• Conversational AI Agent Research in Consumer and Design Sciences

Harrison, E. N. B., & Kwon, W.-S. (2023). Brands talking on events? Brand personification in real-time marketing tweets to drive consumer engagement. Journal of Product and Brand Management, (Ahead of Print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-10-2022-4180

Huang, X., & Kwon, W.-S. (2023). Do university trademarks matter?: Interaction between university-related apparel style and licensing status. Journal of Product and Brand Management, (Ahead of Print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2022-4041

Chang, J. Y., & Kwon, W.-S. (2022). E-store-brand personality congruence for multichannel apparel retail brands. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 26(1), 159-178. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-08-2019-0167

Kwon, W.-S., Woo, H., Sadachar, A., & Huang, X. (2021). External pressure or internal culture? An innovation diffusion theory account of small retail businesses’ social media use. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102616

Ross, K., Kwon, W.-S., Westrick, S., Kader, M. S., Zhao, Y., & Huang, X. (2021). Medicare plan decisions: What strategy do older adults use for e-healthcare decision-making and what intelligent assistance do they need? Communications in Computer and Information Science, 1419, 265-272. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78635-9_41

Ginder, W., Kwon, W.-S., & Byun, S.-E. (2021). Effects of internal-external congruence based CSR positioning: An attribution theory approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 169, 355–369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04282-w

Chattaraman, V., Kwon, W.-S., Ross, K., & Gilbert, J. (2019). Should AI-based, conversational digital assistants employ social- or task-oriented interaction style? A task-competency and reciprocity perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 90, 315-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.08.048

Kwon, W.-S., Chattaraman, V., Ross, K., Alikhademi, K., & Gilbert, J. E. (2018). Modeling conversational flows for in-store mobile decision aids. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 852, 302-308. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92285-0_42

Kwon, W.-S., Englis, B., & Mann, M. (2016). Are third-party green-brown ratings believed? The role of prior brand loyalty and environmental concern. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 815-822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.07.008

• Student Government Association Outstanding Faculty Award, Auburn University (AU; 2008)
• Overall Best Paper Award, American Collegiate Retail Association / American Marketing Association Triennial
 Conference (2021)
• Paper of Distinction Awards, International Textiles and Apparel Association (ITAA; 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019,
 2020)
• Educators for Socially Responsible Apparel Practices Research Award, ITAA (2018)
• Best Poster Paper Award, HCI International (2018)
• Best Poster Award for Faculty Engagement, Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference (ESCC; 2017)
• People’s Choice Poster Award, ESCC (2017)
• Nomination for Creative Research and Scholarship Awards, AU (2017)
• Nomination for Alumni Professorship,, AU (2016)
• National Textile Center (NTC) Director’s Award for Excellence in Demonstrating Inter-University Collaboration
  (2009)
• Best Poster Award, NTC Forum (2007, 2009)
• NTC Director’s Award for Excellence in Achieving Project Objectives (2007)