Bobbie Rathjens

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.

Previously serving as a Director of Marketing at a renowned 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 nuanced interplay 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.

An adept educator, Bobbie has led courses in Introduction to Marketing Analytics, Human Communication, Social Media Applications, and Introduction to Marketing. She also served as a teaching assistant for Hospitality Business Strategy. 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.

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. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480231223150Yang, W., Zhang, L., Wei, W., Yoo, M., & Rathjens, B. (2023). Do we love celebrity endorsers? The joint impacts of consumers’ need for status, celebrity’s star power and image congruence on celebrity endorsement effectiveness. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-05-2023-0313Rathjens, 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. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480231191192Rathjens, 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. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2022.2154815Zhang, 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, 103453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103453
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. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480221141649   Rathjens, B., Zhang, L., & Cha, J. [Title withheld.] Manuscript submitted for publication to Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology.