About

Venus Jin has served as assistant professor of communication at Boston College, tenured associate professor of marketing communication at Emerson College in Boston, and tenured associate professor of marketing at AACSB-accredited Sejong University Business School.

Venus is a social scientist committed to interdisciplinary research on emerging technologies, branding, social media marketing, and consumer behavior. She has published numerous refereed articles in leading peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Computers in Human Behavior, CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, Telematics & Informatics, Behaviour & Information Technology, Journal of Health Psychology, Journal of Media Psychology, and Evolutionary Psychology, among others.

As an award-winning teacher (Boston College Teaching with New Media [TWIN] Award), she teaches courses on digital media, branding, digital innovation, social media marketing, and research methods.

Venus received her MA (2005) and PhD (2007) from Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California.

Venus also has a unique industry experience of co-founding two tech startups and serving as a marketing director and branding advisor for fin-tech and education-tech startups.

Her research publications can be found at her Northwestern scholar page and Google Scholar page https://goo.gl/ufAEGM.

Research

  • Interconnection among Consumer Identity, Consumer Psychology, and Emerging Technologies in Branding and Marketing
  • Micro-Celebrities and the Power of User-Generated Content in Social Media Influencer Marketing, Luxury Brand Management, and Personal Branding
  • Artificial Intelligence, Human-Machine-Interaction, Online Dating, Social Media, Virtual Reality, Haptics, and Digital Games Through the Lens of Evolutionary Psychology
  • Entrepreneurship, Technological Innovation, and Business Strategy From the Digital Media Ecosystem Perspective

Teaching

  • MIT398: Web 2.0 and Personal Branding
  • MIT398: Digital Media Environments
  • MIT398: Digital Innovation and Social Media Marketing
  • GEN_CMN201: Research Methods in Communication
  • IDS433: Social Media and Content Curation (Master’s in Information Design & Strategy)
  • Executive Education Masterclass: Executing and Analyzing a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy (co-teaching with Gregory Bergida)

 

Grants and Awards


  • Lead Principal Investigator (LPI): NPRP12S-0227-190165 “Assessing Qatari Emerging Media Engagement: A Study of How AR, VR and other Emerging Media Are Being Utilized in Qatar," Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) National Priority Research Program (NPRP) ($482,986; Funded; Award Active)

  • Lead Principal Investigator (LPI): NPRP13S-0126-200176 “Promoting the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for the Development of Human Potential in Qatar: Challenges and Success Factors for Women’s Empowerment, Economic Diversification, and National Development”, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) National Priority Research Program (NPRP) (Passed Screening; Under Review)

  • Principal Investigator (PI): Academic Technology Innovation Grant (ATIG), “Leveraging fNIR Technologies for Health Communication and Consumer Research” (2010-2012); “Experimenting with Socially Interactive Robots and Creating Human-Robot-Interaction Interfaces for Social Science Research and Teaching” (2007-2009), two-time winner, Boston College

  • The Norman and Irma Mann Stearns Distinguished Faculty Award (2015), Emerson College

  • Teaching with New Media (TWIN) Award (2013), Boston College


 

Publications

REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES

DIGITAL MARKETING, SOCIAL COMMERCE, & BRAND MANAGEMENT

  • Jin, S. V. & Ryu, E. (2020). “I’ll buy what she’s # wearing”: The roles of envy toward and parasocial interaction with influencers in Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement and social commerce. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services

  • Jin, S. V. & Ryu, E. (2020). Instagram fashionistas, luxury visual image strategies, and vanity. Journal of Product & Brand Management

  • Jin, S. V. & Muqaddam, A. (2020). “Fame and envy 2.0.” in luxury fashion influencer marketing on Instagram: Comparison between mega-celebrities and micro-celebrities. International Journal of Internet Marketing & Advertising.
  • Jin, S. V. & Muqaddam, A. (2019). Product placement 2.0: “Do brands need influencers, or do influencers need brands?” Journal of Brand Management, 26(5), 522-537.

  • Jin, S. V., Muqaddam, A., & Ryu, E. (2019). Instafamous and social media influencer marketing, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 37(5), 567-579.

  • Jin, S. V. & Ryu, E. (2019). Celebrity fashion brand endorsement in Facebook viral marketing and social commerce: Interactive effects of social identification, materialism, fashion involvement, and opinion leadership. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 23(1), 104-123.

  • Jin, S. V. (2018). “Celebrity 2.0 and beyond!” Effects of Facebook profile sources on social networking advertising. Computers in Human Behavior, 79, 154-168.

  • Phua, J., Jin, S. V., & Hahm, J. M. (2018). Celebrity-endorsed e-cigarettes brand Instagram advertisements: Effects on young adults’ attitudes towards e-cigarettes and smoking intentions. Journal of Health Psychology, 23(4), 550-560.

  • Youn, S. & Jin, S. V. (2017). “Reconnecting with the past in social media”: The moderating role of social influence in nostalgia marketing on Pinterest. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 16(6), 565-576.

  • Phua, J., Jin, S. V., & Kim, J. (2017). Gratifications of using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat to follow brands: The moderating effect of social comparison, trust, tie strength, and network homophily on brand identification, brand engagement, brand commitment, and membership intention. Telematics & Informatics, 34, 412-424.

  • Jin, S. V. & Phua, J. (2016). “Making reservations online”: The impact of consumer-written and system-aggregated user-generated content (UGC) in travel booking Websites on consumers’ behavioral intentions. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(1), 101-117.

  • Jin, S. A. & Phua, J. (2014). “Following celebrities’ Tweets about brands:” The impact of Twitter-based electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) on consumers’ source credibility perception, buying intention, and social identification with celebrities. Journal of Advertising, 43(2), 181-195.

    * Top 3 most downloaded/read articles in Journal of Advertising and Routledge Social Science Journals

  • Jin, S. A. (2012). The potential of social media for luxury brand management: A structural equation modeling approach. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 30(7), 687-699.

VIRTUAL REALITY HAPTICS, VIRTUAL COMMERCE, & CONSUMER IDENTITY

  • Jin, S. V. & Phua, J. (2015). The moderating effect of computer users’ autotelic need for touch on brand trust, perceived brand excitement, and brand placement awareness in haptic games and in-game advertising (IGA). Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 58-67.

  • Jin, S. A. (2012c). The virtual malleable self and the virtual identity discrepancy model: Investigative frameworks for virtual possible selves and others in avatar-based identity construction and social interaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(6), 2160-2168.

  • Jin, S. A. (2011b). The impact of 3D virtual haptics in marketing. Psychology & Marketing, 28(3), 240-255. *Special Issue on “The Role of Touch in Marketing”

  • Jin, S. A. (2011c). “It feels right. Therefore, I feel present and enjoy:” The effects of regulatory fit and the mediating roles of social presence and self-presence in avatar-based 3D virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 20(2), 105-116.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010b). Parasocial interaction with an avatar in Second Life: A typology of the self and an empirical test of the mediating role of social presence. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 19(4), 331-340.

  • Jin, S. A., & Lee, K. M. (2010). The influence of regulatory fit and interactivity on brand satisfaction and trust in e-health marketing inside 3D virtual worlds (Second Life). CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 13(6), 673-680.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010h). Effects of 3D virtual haptics force feedback on brand personality perception: The mediating role of physical presence in advergames. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 13(3), 307-311.

  • Jin, S. A., & Bolebruch, J. (2010). Virtual commerce in Second Life: The roles of physical presence and brand-self connection. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2(4), 3-12.

  • Jin, S. A., & Sung, Y. (2010). The roles of spokes-avatars’ personalities on brand communication in 3D virtual environments. Journal of Brand Management, 17(5), 317-327.

  • Jin, S. A. (2009b). The roles of modality richness and involvement in shopping behavior in 3D virtual stores. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23(3), 234-246.

    * Top 25 hottest articles in Journal of Interactive Marketing

  • Jin, S. A., & Bolebruch, J. (2009). Avatar-based advertising in Second Life: The role of presence and attractiveness of virtual spokespersons. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 10(1), 51-60.

  • Jin, S. A. (2009d). Modality effects in Second Life: The mediating role of social presence and the moderating role of product involvement. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(6), 717-721. 

E-HEALTH, HEALTH MARKETING, & VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN MEDICINE

  • Phua, J., in, S. V., & Kim, J. (2020). Pro-veganism on Instagram: The effects of user-generated content (UGC) types and content generator types in Instagram-based health marketing communication about veganism. Online Information Review.

  • Phua, J., Jin, S. V., & Kim, J. (2020). The roles of celebrities’ and consumers’ vegan identity in marketing communication about veganism. Journal of Marketing Communications.

  • Jin, S. V., Phua, J., & Lee, K. M. (2015). “Telling stories about breastfeeding through Facebook”: The impact of user-generated content (UGC) on pro-breastfeeding attitudes. Computers in Human Behavior, 46, 6-17.

  • Jin, S. A. (2012f). “To disclose or not to disclose, that is the question:” A structural equation modeling approach to communication privacy management in e-health. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(1), 69-77.

  • Ahn, D., Jin, S. A., & Ritterfeld, U. (2012). “Sad movies don’t always make me cry:” The cognitive and affective processes underpinning enjoyment-of-tragedy. Journal of Media Psychology, 24(1), 9-18.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010e). The roles of regulatory focus and medical recommendation avatars’ trustworthiness in virtual environment-based e-health. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 13(4), 461-466.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010f). Virtual reality technologies for medical training, surgical simulation, and the delivery of healthcare. Health Communication Research, 2(1), 67-98. [Published in English in South Korea]

  • Jung, Y., Peng, W., Moran, M., Jin, S. A., Jordan-Marsh, M., McLaughlin, M. L., Albright, J., Cody, M., & Silverstein, M. (2010). Low-income minority seniors’ enrollment in a cyber café: Psychological barriers to crossing the digital divide. Educational Gerontology, 36(3), 193-212.

  • Jin, S. A. (2009c). E-health education on Human Papillomavirus: The effects of message framing in 3D virtual environment-based e-health intervention on HPV preventive behavioral intentions. Health Communication Research, 1(1), 49-64. [Published in English in South Korea]

  • Ritterfeld, U., & Jin, S. A. (2006). Addressing media stigma for people experiencing mental illness using an entertainment-education strategy. Journal of Health Psychology, 11(2), 247-267.

SOCIAL MEDIA & WEB 2.0 (INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & ONLINE DATING)

  • Jin, S. V., Ryu, E., & Muqaddam, A. (2019). Romance 2.0 on Instagram! What type of girlfriend would you date? Evolutionary Psychology, 17(1), 1-17.

  • Jin, S. V., Ryu, E., & Muqaddam, A. (2018). Dieting 2.0!: Moderating effects of Instagrammers’ body image and Instafame on other Instagrammers’ dieting intention, Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 224-237.

  • Jin, S. V. & Ryu, E. (2018). “The paradox of Narcissus and Echo in the Instagram Pond” in light of the selfie culture from Freudian evolutionary psychology: Self-loving and confident but lonely. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 62(4), 554-577. *Lead Article

  • Jin, S. V. (2018). Interactive effects of Instagram foodies’ hashtagged #foodporn and peer users’ eating disorder on eating intention, envy, parasocial interaction, and online friendship. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 21(3), 157-167.

  • Jin, S. V. & Muqaddam, A. (2018). “Narcissism 2.0! Would narcissists follow fellow narcissists on Instagram?” The mediating effects of narcissists personality similarity and envy, and the moderating effects of popularity. Computers in Human Behavior, 81, 31-41.*Media Coverage (News Week, CBC Radio, International Business Times, Yahoo News, and more)

  • Phua, J., Jin, S. V., & Kim, J. (2017). Uses and gratifications of social networking sites (SNSs) for bridging and bonding social capital: A comparison of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 115-122.

  • Jin, S. V. & Martin, C. (2015). “A match made… online?” The effects of user-generated online dater profile types (free-spirited versus uptight) on other users’ perception of trustworthiness, interpersonal attraction, and personality. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 18(6), 320-327. *Media Coverage (Washington Post),

  • Jin, S. A. (2013a). “Peeling back the multiple layers of Twitter’s private disclosure onion:” The roles of virtual identity discrepancy and personality traits in communication privacy management on Twitter. New Media & Society, 15(6), 813-833

  • Phua, J. & Jin, S. A. (2011). “Finding a home away from home:” The use of SNSs by Asia-Pacific students in the United States for bridging and bonding social capital. Asian Journal of Communication, 21(5), 504-519.

  • Park, N., Jin, B., & Jin, S. A. (2011). Effects of self-disclosure on relational intimacy in Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1974-1983. 

HUMAN-COMPUTER-INTERACTION & HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION

  • Jin, S. A. (2013b). The moderating role of sensation seeking tendency in robotic haptic interfaces. Behaviour & Information Technology, 32(9), 862-873.

  • Jin, S. A. (2011d). Leveraging avatars in 3D virtual environments (Second Life) for interactive learning: The moderating role of the behavioral activation system vs. behavioral inhibition system and the mediating role of enjoyment. Interactive Learning Environments, 19(5), 467-486.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010c). The effects of incorporating a virtual agent in a computer-aided test designed for stress management education: The mediating role of enjoyment. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(3), 443-451.

  • Park, N., Lee, K. M., Jin, S. A., & Kang, S. (2010). Effects of pre-game stories on feelings of presence and evaluation of computer games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 68(11), 822-833.

  • Lee, K. M., Peng, W., Jin, S. A., & Yan, C. (2006). Can robots manifest personality?: An empirical test of personality recognition, social responses, and social presence in human-robot interaction. Journal of Communication, 56(4), 754-772.

DIGITAL GAMES

  • Jin, S. A. (2012a). “Toward integrative models of flow:” Effects of performance, skill, challenge, playfulness, and presence on flow in video games. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56(2), 169-186.

    *Lead Article

  • Jin, S. A. (2012b). Self-discrepancy and regulatory fit in avatar-based exergames. Psychological Reports: Mental & Physical Health, 111(3), 697-710

  • Jin, S. A. (2012e). Effects on mood of activating the private versus the collective self. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 40(2), 189-194.

  • Jin, S. A. (2011a). “I feel present. Therefore, I experience flow:” A structural equation modeling approach to flow and presence in video games. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 55(1), 114-136.

  • Jin, S. A. (2011e). “My avatar behaves well, and this feels right:” Ideal and ought selves in video gaming. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 39(9), 1175-1182.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010a). “I feel more connected to the physically ideal mini me than the mirror-image mini me:” Theoretical implications of the “malleable self” for speculations on the effects of avatar creation on avatar-self connection in Wii. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 13(5), 567-570.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010d). “I can be happy even when I lose the game:” The influence of chronic regulatory focus and primed self-construal on exergamers’ mood. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 13(4), 467-471.

  • Jin, S. A. (2010g). Does imposing a goal always improve exercise intentions in avatar-based exergames?: The moderating role of interdependent self-construal on exercise intentions and self-presence. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 13(3), 335-339.

  • Jin, S. A. (2009a). Avatars mirroring the actual self versus projecting the ideal self: The effects of self-priming on interactivity and immersion in an exergame, Wii Fit. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(6), 761-765.

    *Top 25 hottest articles in CyberPsychology & Behavior

  • Jin, S. A. & Park, N. (2009). Parasocial interaction with my avatar: Effects of interdependent self-construal and the mediating role of self-presence in an avatar-based console game, Wii. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(6), 723-727.

  • Lee, K. M., Park, N., & Jin, S. A. (2004). Narrative and interactivity in computer games. Journal of Game Industry & Culture, 4, 105-128. [Published in English in South Korea]