Professor emeritus Roger Calantone awarded for tenure and expertise in product innovation

The Broad College’s Department of Marketing is known for its industry-leading research insights and a curriculum driven by technology and innovation, both of which are brought to life by our prolific and passionate faculty.

Roger Calantone, University Distinguished Professor emeritus of marketing

As a high point to end 2022, Roger Calantone, University Distinguished Professor emeritus of marketing, was honored as the Product Development and Management Association’s Crawford Fellow, recognizing his significant impact and research in the marketing field.

“I was genuinely blown away when I heard the news. I have been involved with the association for years, so it was truly a full-circle moment to become a Crawford Fellow,” Calantone said. “It is an incredible honor to be named among reputable and respected professionals in our field.”

Calantone joined PDMA in 1982 and was one of its earliest members. He went on to serve as co-chair of the 1999 PDMA Research Forum and sat on the editorial board of the Journal of Product Innovation Management.

His distinction as a Crawford Fellow is based on criteria including contributions of knowledge and the direct impact of his research on the product development and management space. Several years can pass between new fellow appointments due to its highly selective nature, and Calantone is the latest Crawford Fellow since 2020.

Discovery across disciplines

Inspired by a professor he connected with during his undergraduate studies, Calantone has always had an unwavering passion for product development and innovation.

“Product innovation is such an exciting discipline to study and research because our work creates solutions for companies to shorten their product development cycles,” he said. “With product development research, companies could introduce new products to the market in less time and yield higher profits as a result. I like to think that the work my peers and I do is changing how businesses operate, today and in the future.

“The process of developing a new product is all about collaboration and trust between two major business functions: engineering and marketing,” he continued. “The integration of those two seemingly entirely different specialties helps build marketing plans that can be matched with different stages in the product cycle and streamline product marketing strategies.”

To that end, Calantone said he takes the most pride in a product development course that he established at MSU in partnership with Robert Hubbard, a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering. The course was taught to both marketing and engineering students, simulating the process of marketers and engineers joining forces to bring an idea to life. It went on to become the largest engineering elective at MSU for almost two decades and is still being taught to students today.

“We wanted to offer students the real-world experience of collaborating with people from different lines of work and expertise, and we were the first at MSU to do so,” he said. “The course was one of the most successful courses I have taught because of the immediate results we generated. Most students in the class got jobs in their desired career paths immediately after graduation. It is the best feeling to be able to give back to students in this way and see them succeed for years after.”

Leaving a legacy at MSU

According to Google Scholar, Calantone has accumulated about 56,000 citations and holds an H-index of 101, which is considered exceptional for this standard metric measuring scholarly output and performance. He authored over 400 peer-reviewed papers published in many industry journals. Throughout his career, Calantone has received multiple awards for his contributions to the product management industry and academic research.

“Roger is one of the most prolific researchers in marketing. He has authored over 300 journal publications, chaired 48 dissertations and served on 83 others as member,” Suman Basuroy, chairperson of the Department of Marketing, said. “He has been connected to MSU for many years and has always had our department’s best interests at heart. Even though he is now retired, we regularly communicate on many topics, and Roger always gives the best advice.”

Calantone first came to MSU in 1991, where he was a professor for courses in marketing, product development and statistics. During his time at Broad, he also chaired the Department of Marketing and served as a senior associate dean and senior advisor to several deans in the college.

For interim dean Judith Whipple, the work that Broad faculty members are doing every day powers academic excellence in the college and reinforces our position as a thought leader.

“A critical component of our mission at the Broad College and MSU is to create and advance knowledge accomplished,” she said. “Broad faculty such as Dr. Calantone demonstrate thought leadership through research that solves complex industry and societal problems, transforming business and the world around us while advancing academic theory and research methods.”

She also stressed the crucial role of research in educating every Broad student. “Research informs our curriculum, ensuring we provide students with an outstanding education at the leading edge of business. Recognition of the exceptional research efforts of our faculty through awards such as the PDMA Crawford Fellow Award affirms the realization of our commitment to research excellence and continues to position the Broad College as a top-of-mind business school. This recognition attracts the best and brightest faculty, staff and students to our community of scholars and empowers us to inspire the future of business.”

Basuroy added, “Roger’s contributions in the sphere of product innovation and marketing are monumental. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that he is honored as the PDMA Crawford Fellow. We at MSU are incredibly honored and proud of his achievements.”