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Ajay Manrai

Photograph Image of Ajay Manrai
Title Professor Emeritus of Marketing
Email manraia@nospam68ce935c9ce0f.udel.edu
Biography

Biography

Dr. Ajay K. Manrai is professor emeritus of marketing at the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Global Marketing (Taylor & Francis), a Scopus Q1 journal (best quartile) with a 2024 CiteScore of 7.7, and a Clarivate ESCI-indexed journal with a 2024 Journal Impact Factor of 4.3. He is also a former president of the International Management Development Association (2010–12). Manrai is ranked in the top 0.8% of scholars globally, according to ScholarGPS (2024).

He holds a Ph.D. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (ranked 31st in the 2025 World University Rankings), an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

With more than four decades of academic experience, Manrai has held faculty appointments at the Kellogg School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (ranked 14th in the 2025 World University Rankings) and the University of Delaware’s Lerner College. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, including Marketing Science (ABS 2024: 4*), Journal of Marketing Research (ABS 2024: 4*), Journal of International Marketing (ABS 2024: 3), Journal of Global Marketing, International Business Review (ABS 2024: 3), Journal of Business Research and Psychometrika (ABS 2024: 3).

Manrai’s accolades reflect his impact, including the university-wide Excellence in Teaching Award (1994) and multiple Lerner College MBA and EMBA teaching awards. As a global academic leader and mentor, he has traveled to more than 150 countries across seven continents. He received a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar grant (India, 2011) and continues to support the scholarly community through editorial leadership, mentorship and international engagement.

Education

  • Ph.D. in marketing, Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1986
  • M.B.A. in marketing, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India, 1976
  • B. technology in mechanical engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India, 1973

Select Publications

  • Manrai, A.K. and P.K. Sinha (1989), “Elimination-By-Cutoffs,” Marketing Science, Volume 8, No. 2, pp. 133-152.
  • LaTour, S. and A.K. Manrai (1989), “Interactive Impact of Informational and Normative Influence on Donations,” Journal of Marketing Research, Volume 26, pp. 327-335.
  • DeSarbo, W.S., A.K. Manrai, and R. Burke (1990), “A Nonspatial Methodology for the Analysis of Two-Way Proximity Data Incorporating Distance-Density Hypothesis,” Psychometrika, Volume 55, No. 2, pp. 229-253.
  • DeSarbo, W.S. and A.K. Manrai (1992), “A New Multidimensional Scaling Methodology for the Analysis of Asymmetric Proximity Data in Marketing Research,” Marketing Science, Volume 11, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Lead Article in the tenth anniversary issue of the Journal.
  • DeSarbo, W.S., M. Johnson, A.K. Manrai, L.A. Manrai, and E.A. Edwards (1992), “TSCALE: A New Multidimensional Scaling Procedure Based on Tversky’s Contrast Model,” Psychometrika, Volume 57, No. 1, pp. 43-69.
  • Manrai, L.A. and A.K. Manrai (1993), “Positioning European Countries as Brands in a Perceptual Map: An Empirical Study of Determinants of Consumer Perceptions and Preferences,” Journal of Euromarketing, Volume 2, No. 3, pp. 101-129.
  • Manrai, A.K. (1995), “Mathematical Models of Brand Choice Behavior,” European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 82, pp. 1-17. Lead Article.
  • Manrai, A.K. and L.A. Manrai (1995), “A Comparative Analysis of Two Models of Store Preference Incorporating the Notion of Self-Image and Store-Image: Some Empirical Results,” Journal of Marketing Channels, Volume 4, No. 3, pp. 33-51.
  • Andrews, R. L. and A.K. Manrai (1998), “Simulation Experiments in Choice Simplification: The Effect of Task and Context on Forecasting Performance,” Journal of Marketing Research, Volume 35, pp. 198-209.
  • Manrai, A.K. (1998), “Feature Issue: Modeling and Measurement Methodology in Consumer Perceptions, Preference, Consideration, and Choice Behavior,” Editorial in European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 111, No. 2, pp.189-192.

Awards & Honors

  • Nominated for the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics MBA Teaching Award, University of Delaware, 2014, 2016
  • The Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics MBA Teaching Award, Honorable Mention, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012
  • The Executive MBA Teaching Excellence Honorable Mention Award in Appreciation of Outstanding Contributions to Learning, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
  • Nominated for the University-Wide Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Delaware, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015
  • Department of Business Administration Award for Outstanding Teaching, 2014
  • The Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics MBA Teaching Award for Outstanding Teaching, 2006, 2009
  • The Executive MBA Outstanding Teaching Award in Appreciation of Overall Excellence in Teaching, 2001, 2003, 2007
  • College-wide Outstanding Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, 1995
  • University-wide Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Delaware, 1994
  • First “Outstanding MBA Teacher Award” at the College of Business & Economics, University of Delaware, 1992

Curriculum Vitae

Download Ajay Manrai’s CV (PDF)