Kim Saxton
Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing
"With faculty members who are fundamentally strong researchers, Kelley Indianapolis has really cultivated a culture for good research. Due to our interdisciplinary structure, we gain a huge amount of insight from our peers in other fields, offering perspectives of value outside of our own areas of expertise."
Kim Saxton is no stranger to research. Even before switching gears to a career in academia, Saxton spent several years as a research and marketing consultant, most notably as a marketing strategist for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company. Since joining the Kelley Indianapolis faculty in 2004, Saxton has used her expertise in market segmentation, competitive intelligence systems, marketing strategy, and branding and corporate reputation, in both the classroom and several research endeavors.
"Research is like a puzzle; the more involved you become, the more interesting it gets," explains Saxton, who recently completed a visiting professorship at the University of Queensland Business School in Australia. "I choose projects based not only on my interests and curiosity, but on issues that are current – topics you read about in the business news."
Much of Saxton's research focuses on measuring corporate reputation, assessing branding initiatives and facilitating market segmentation. Through a review of pharmaceutical advertisements – some targeted to physicians, others to consumers – Saxton studied the implications of managing brand image across multiple customer segments and whether this influenced brand choice. In other projects, she has explored the benefits and differences of a sales orientation versus a marketing orientation in company strategy.
"Too often academics are thought of as people in ivory towers who are out of touch with the real world," observes Saxton. "At Kelley, we are working on solutions to problems managers can use now. My research is very practically oriented, and I believe we all strive to stay both relevant and current in our approach to research and problem solving."
