Claes Fornell

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Claes Fornell
Claes Fornell

Claes Fornell is one of the world’s leading experts on customer satisfaction measurement, and customer and employee asset management[1][2][3][4]. He is the Donald C. Cook Professor of Business Administration at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, the Director of the National Quality Research Center (NQRC) (also at the University of Michigan), the founder and Chairman of CFI Group, and Chairman of Foresee Results. As Director of the NQRC, Fornell developed the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Fornell’s recent research has examined the impact of ACSI on profitability, stock returns, GDP growth, and consumer spending.

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[edit] Background, education and academic career

Born and raised in Sweden, Fornell received a Ph.D. in Economics in 1976 from the University of Lund, Sweden. During his doctoral studies he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley. Following the completion of his Ph.D., Fornell was on the faculty at Duke University (1977-1978) and Northwestern University (1978-1980). He came to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1980 to take a position at the University of Michigan, where he was appointed the Donald C. Cook Chair in 1988. He has also been a visiting professor at INSEAD (France), the Helsinki School of Economics (Finland), and the Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden).

Fornell is considered the foremost experts on customer satisfaction and its implications for the overall economy, stock returns and corporate management[1][2][3][4]. He is regularly interviewed by leading media publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today and Business Week.

[edit] Research and Writing

Fornell’s academic research centers on two distinct but interrelated topics: the application of advanced quantitative methods to marketing and economic research, and customer satisfaction measurement. It was the convergence of these two interests that led Fornell, in 1993, to found the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan and to begin the American Customer Satisfaction Index project. Since 1993, the ACSI project has dominated his academic and professional activities.

Fornell’s recent research has involved the wealth of data collected through the ACSI project, and examines the relationship between ACSI performance and macroeconomic and stock market performance. According to a University of Michigan press release, his articles are some of the most cited in the field of marketing science[1]. For instance, his article on structural equation modeling in the Journal of Marketing Research (February, 1981) is the most cited article in the history of that journal[1]. He is also the lead author of a Journal of Marketing article linking satisfaction performance to stock market growth, demonstrating that a portfolio of firms with high ACSI scores consistently outperforms the market. Additional research has also evidenced the relationship between customer satisfaction and shareholder value, market value added, consumer spending growth, and gross domestic product growth. Fornell’s most recent book, The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), draws on the results of the ACSI as well as his experiences working with many companies.

[edit] Other professional experience

Along with his chaired professorship at the University of Michigan, Fornell is the founder and Chairman of the Board of CFI Group. CFI Group has U.S. offices in Ann Arbor and Atlanta, as well as offices in China, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. Fornell is also Chairman of Foresee Results, a website satisfaction firm co-founded by CFI Group and Compuware Corporation in 2001. ForeSee Results is one of the fastest growing companies in its market and has received numerous awards and recognition for its technology as well as substantial new private investment in 2007[5][6]. In addition, Fornell is the founder of CSat Hedge Fund, a fund of securities traded on the basis of customer satisfaction performance[7].

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Sipher-Mann, Leah. "Ross Professor Recognized as Top Influential Scholar." http://www.bus.umich.edu/NewsRoom/ArticleDisplay.asp?news_id=12351.
  2. ^ a b Lurz, Bill. "Claes Fornell: Customer Science." http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/article/CA462721.html
  3. ^ a b Flaherty, Julie. "FIVE QUESTIONS for CLAES FORNELL; How Wal-Mart Changed the Game." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E1DB1E3DF931A15751C1A9649C8B63
  4. ^ a b "Professor Claes Fornell Awarded Honorary Professor of Tianjin University." http://www.tju.edu.cn/english/news/news.jsp?infoid=12445.
  5. ^ Zemke, Jon. "ForeSee Results capitalizes on new work, to create 45 more jobs." MetroMode, 3-13-2008. http://www.metromodemedia.com/innovationnews/foresee0055.aspx
  6. ^ Bomey, Nathan. "Two new tech startups sprouting in Ann Arbor." MLive.com, 3-18-2008. http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/03/two_it_startups_sprouting_in_a.html
  7. ^ "CSAT Market Neutral has joined The Nordic Hedge Fund Index (NHX)." http://www.hedgenordic.com/?pageid=30&type=news&article=1058

[edit] External links

[edit] Partial bibliography

Fornell is the author of several books and nearly 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, including:

  • Fornell, Claes, (2007), The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference. N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Fornell, Claes, Sunil Mithas, Forrest V. Morgeson III & M.S. Krishnan, (2006), "Customer Satisfaction and Stock Prices: High Returns, Low Risk," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 70, January, 3-14.
  • Fornell, Claes, David Van Amburg, Forrest Morgeson & Barbara Bryant, (2005). The American Customer Satisfaction Index at 10 Years. Ann Arbor: The Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
  • Anderson, Eugene W., Claes Fornell & Sanal K. Mazvancheryl, (2004), "Customer Satisfaction and Shareholder Value," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 68, October, 172-185.
  • Fornell, Claes, (2001), "The Science of Satisfaction," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 79, 3 March, 120-121.
  • Fornell, Claes, Michael D. Johnson, Eugene W. Anderson, Jaesung Cha & Barbara Everitt Bryant, (1996), "The American Customer Satisfaction Index: Nature, Purpose and Findings," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, October, 7-18.
  • Anderson, Eugene W., Claes Fornell & Donald R. Lehmann, (1994), "Customer Satisfaction, Market Share and Profitability: Findings from Sweden," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, July, 53-66.
  • Fornell, Claes & David F. Larcker, (1981), "Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error," Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18, February, 39-50.