Professors

Tom VAN LAER

Professor

Persuasive Language, Storytelling

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Tom VAN LAER

Academy

Transformation

Research center

Marketing Interactions

Location

Lille

Discipline

Marketing

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.

Education
2021
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Great Britain
2011
Doctorat (PhD) en Marketing, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
2006
Master (MA) in Communication and Information Sciences, Radboud University, The Netherlands
2024
Certified Practising Marketer, Australian Marketing Institute, Australia
2015
Proficiency in Case Teaching, the Case Centre, Great Britain
2008
Proficiency in English, University of Cambridge, Great Britain
Experience
Full-time academic positions
Since 2026
Professor of Persuasive Language and Storytelling, SKEMA Business School, France
2024 - 2025
Visiting Faculty, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
2019 - 2026
Associate Professor of Narratology, The University of Sydney, Australia
2018 - 2019
Reader of Marketing, Bayes Business School, Great Britain
2017
Visiting Faculty, Monash University, Australia
2015 - 2018
Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Bayes Business School, Great Britain
2014 - 2016
Visiting Faculty, The University of Sydney, Australia
2011 - 2015
Assistant Professor, ESCP Business School, France
2010 - 2011
Visiting Faculty, UNSW Sydney, Australia
2007 - 2011
PhD Candidate, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Other professional experiences
2024 - 2026
Deputy Head of the Discipline [Department] of Marketing, The University of Sydney, Australia
2022 - 2025
Membership Executive Manager, The Association for Consumer Research, United States of America
2006 - 2009
Marketing Communications Officer, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Research grants, Awards and Honors
Awards and Honors
2025
The Annual Conference Best Competitive Paper Award (Politics and Governance) Honorable Mention, The Association for Consumer Research, United States of America
2025
Marketing Research Excellence Award, The University of Sydney, Australia
2025
Nominated for the Business School Research Excellence Award, The University of Sydney, Australia
2023
The Conference Runner-Up for Best Paper in the Consumer Culture Theory Track, Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy, New Zealand
2023
Nominated for the Business School Research Excellence Award, The University of Sydney, Australia

Peer-reviewed journal articles

CHADWICK, V., GOLDWATER, M.B., VAN LAER, T., SMITH, J., CVEJIC, E., MCCAFFERY, K.J. and COPP, T. (2026). Influence of Anecdotes of IVF Success on Treatment Decision Making: An Online Randomized Controlled Trial. Medical Decision Making, 46(1), pp. 15-25.
ORAZI, D.C., HAMBY, A., HERHAUSEN, D., VAN LAER, T., LUDWIG, S., GONSALVES, C. and GREWAL, D. (2025). Verbal persuasion in marketing: A multimethod meta-analysis of analytical and narrative processing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53(6), pp. 1600-1623.
VAN LAER, T. and SMITH, M.E. (2025). Responsibilizing the Net-Zero Hero? Creation and Implications of a Tragic Subject Position. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 44(4), pp. 542-558.
VAN LAER, T. and ORAZI, D.C. (2024). Narrative Agency. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 9(1), pp. 95-105.
ORAZI, D.C. and VAN LAER, T. (2023). There and Back Again: Bleed from Extraordinary Experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 49(5), pp. 904-925.
HAMBY, A. and VAN LAER, T. (2022). Not Whodunit But Whydunit: Story Characters’ Motivations Influence Audience Interest in Services. Journal of Service Research, 25(1), pp. 48-65.
VAN LAER, T. (2020). It’s the Story, Stupid: The Consumer Reviews Most Likely to Influence Purchasing Decisions. NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, 12(2), pp. 46-51.
BERTELE, K., FEIEREISEN, S., STOREY, C. and VAN LAER, T. (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, 107, pp. 38-49.
ALETI, T., PALLANT, J.I., TUAN, A. and VAN LAER, T. (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, 48(1), pp. 17-32.
VAN LAER, T., EDSON ESCALAS, J., LUDWIG, S. and VAN DEN HENDE, E.A. (2019). What Happens in Vegas Stays on TripAdvisor? A Theory and Technique to Understand Narrativity in Consumer Reviews. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(2), pp. 267–285.
VAN LAER, T., FEIEREISEN, S. and VISCONTI, L.M. (2019). Storytelling in the digital era: A meta-analysis of relevant moderators of the narrative transportation effect. Journal of Business Research, 96, pp. 135-146.
VAN LAER, T. and IZBERK-BILGIN, E. (2019). A discourse analysis of pilgrimage reviews. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(5-6), pp. 586-604.
VAN LAER, T., VISCONTI, L.M. and FEIEREISEN, S. (2018). Need for narrative. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(5-6), pp. 484-496.
GORDON, R., CIORCIARI, J. and VAN LAER, T. (2018). Using EEG to examine the role of attention, working memory, emotion, and imagination in narrative transportation. European Journal of Marketing, 52(1/2), pp. 92-117.
FARACE, S., VAN LAER, T., DE RUYTER, K. and WETZELS, M. (2017). Assessing the effect of narrative transportation, portrayed action, and photographic style on the likelihood to comment on posted selfies. European Journal of Marketing, 51(11/12), pp. 1961-1979.
LUDWIG, S., VAN LAER, T., DE RUYTER, K. and FRIEDMAN, M. (2016). Untangling a Web of Lies: Exploring Automated Detection of Deception in Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of Management Information Systems, 33(2), pp. 511-541.
VAN LAER, T. (2014). The Means to Justify the End: Combating Cyber Harassment in Social Media. Journal of Business Ethics, 123(1), pp. 85-98.
VAN LAER, T., DE RUYTER, K., VISCONTI, L.M. and WETZELS, M. (2014). The Extended Transportation-Imagery Model: A Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers' Narrative Transportation. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(5), pp. 797-817.
VAN LAER, T., DE RUYTER, K. and COX, D. (2013). A Walk in Customers’ Shoes: How Attentional Bias Modification Affects Ownership of Integrity-violating Social Media Posts. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(1), pp. 14-27.
VAN LAER, T. and DE RUYTER, K. (2010). In stories we trust: How narrative apologies provide cover for competitive vulnerability after integrity-violating blog posts. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(2), pp. 164-174.
VAN LAER, C.J.P. and VAN LAER, T. (2007). The shortage of legal dictionaries translating European languages. Terminology. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication, 13(1), pp. 85-92.

Conference presentations

VAN LAER, T. (2024). Life imitates art imitates life…: A framework for understanding the intersection between narrative consumption and generational identities. In: Mallen Screen Entertainment Conference. Cambridge.

Press and social media

VAN LAER, T., VISCONTI, L.M. and FEIEREISEN, S. (2018). Need for narrative. Journal of Marketing Management.