Gina Tran, Ph.D.
Expert in marketing Florida Gulf Coast University
- Fort Myers FL
Gina A. Tran explores consumer behavior and the impact of technology on consumption.
Florida Gulf Coast University
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Media
Biography
Dr. Tran’s research interests center on exploring consumer behavior and the impact of technology on consumption. She is particularly interested in how emerging technologies and social media platforms influence consumer engagement, decision making and attitudes.
Dr. Tran’s work integrates psychological theories to understand the underlying mechanisms of consumer behavior. Her research has been published in leading marketing journals and presented at national and international conferences.
In addition to her research, Dr. Tran is dedicated to mentoring students and fostering experiential learning opportunities that prepare future marketing leaders for success in a rapidly changing business environment.
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Junior Faculty Scholarship Excellence Award Recipient
2020
Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award Recipient
2019
Individual Faculty Service Excellence Award Nominee
2018
Education
University of North Texas
Ph.D.
2014
University of North Texas
M.S.
Industrial-Technical Merchandising & Fabric Analytics
2003
Rice University
B.A. & B.S.
Asian Studies & Chemical Engineering
2000
Affiliations
- American Marketing Association
- Academy of Marketing Science
- Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators
- Society for Marketing Advances
- Mu Kappa Tau – Marketing Honor Society
- Beta Gamma Sigma – Business Honor Society
Selected Media Appearances
Florida Gulf Coast University students embrace 'The Great Lock In' challenge
Gulf Coast News tv
2025-09-26
Gina Tran looks at the latest TikTok trend and why it's gaining in popularity.
Too many streaming services? How you can cut down and save money
Gulf Coast News tv
2025-05-29
Gina Tran gives advice on how to maximize your money when choosing streaming services.
An Emergency Food Bucket Goes Viral, Experts Say it Could Be Useful,”
Gulf Coast News tv
2024-08-19
Gina Tran explains why marketing to consumers' concerns can be successful.
The Stanley cup craze: How a thermos became a status symbol
NBC 2 tv
2024-02-20
Gina Tran explains why items become trendy.
Eco-friendly shopping on the rise amid fast fashion trends
NBC-2 News online
2023-10-11
Gina Tran, a Marketing Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, emphasizes the significance of green marketing and environmentally friendly initiatives.
Selected Event Appearances
"Exploring Deinfluencers and How Consumers’ Parasocial Relationships with Deinfluencers Can Influence Mindful Consumption Intentions"
Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators Conference Tulsa, Oklahoma
2025-03-19
“The Rise of the Deinfluencers: Perceived Similarity and Emotions in Advocating Sustainable Consumption on Social Media,”
2024 Global Fashion Management Conference Milan, Italy
2024-07-11
“Virtual Identity, Real Impact: Understanding the Role of Computer-Generated Image Influencers in Promoting Prosocial Behavior,”
Academy of Marketing Science Conference Coral Gables, Florida
2024-05-22
“Virtual Reputation Management Tactics and Social Media Behavior,”
Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators Conference Houston, Texas
2023-03-08
Selected Articles
“The Rise of the Deinfluencers: Perceived Similarity and Anticipated Emotions in Advocating Mindful Consumption on Social Media,”
Psychology & MarketingKhaled Aboulnasr, Gina A. Tran, Taehoon Park
2025-08-20
As society's interest in mindful consumption and sustainability grows, deinfluencers are emerging as an impactful force in reshaping consumer behavior. Unlike traditional influencers, deinfluencers discourage the purchase of indulgent, ineffective, or overpriced products while advocating for simplified, sustainable and ethical lifestyles. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study develops a model to examine the relationships between homophily toward deinfluencers, anticipated pride and guilt, mindful consumption intentions, willingness to pay a premium for sustainably‐produced offerings and engagement with the deinfluencer's content. The findings of four studies support the proposed model. Study 1 employs an experimental design to show that consumers perceive greater attitudinal and value homophily with deinfluencers compared to traditional influencers. Study 2 uses structural equation modeling to demonstrate that perceived homophily activates both anticipated pride and guilt, which in turn significantly influence mindful consumption intentions. Study 3 builds on these findings by testing the direct path from homophily to mindful consumption intentions and examining how mindful consumption intentions predict willingness to pay and engagement intentions with deinfluencer content. To address the intention‐behavior gap, Study 4 incorporates actual mindful consumption behavior, confirming that the proposed pathways translate into real‐world action. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on influencer marketing and anti‐consumption advocacy by highlighting the role of deinfluencers in shaping consumer intentions and demonstrating their role in fostering both mindful consumption intentions and behavior.
“Strategies to Improve Brand Loyalty: An Application of TAM Theory in Branded Apps,”
Journal of Strategic MarketingGina A. Tran, Seth Ketron, Trang P. Tran,Robert Fabrize
2023-10-19
Many times, branded apps are rarely used after consumers initially download them, raising the question of how marketers can make these apps more useful to consumers. To that end, although the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been well-documented in the information systems and marketing literatures, application of this theory in the branded app context is scarce. Building on the TAM and value co-creation literatures, this research explores how key functions of branded apps improve brand loyalty via personalization and value co-creation. Data were collected from young adults at two public universities using an online survey. The conceptual model was tested employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 372 branded app users. On the theoretical side, this study uniquely integrates TAM with value co-creation, while on the practical side, the findings confirm that branded apps provide an entertaining and personalized avenue to brand loyalty alongside more conventional mechanisms, such as customer relationship management and loyalty programs.
“Personal Information Disclosure on Social Networking Sites,”
Psychology & MarketingKhaled Aboulnasr, Gina A. Tran, Taehoon Park
2021-09-18
The rapid growth in consumers' adoption of social networking sites revolutionized the marketing landscape, transforming the way brands communicate with their customers. At the same time, the widespread popularity of social networking sites raised major concerns about the privacy and security of users' personal information on these platforms. Drawing on social identity, and privacy calculus theories, this study examines the roles of consumer-social networking site relational dimensions, namely personal information disclosure and social networking sites identification as drivers of consumer brand engagement on social networking sites-hosted brand pages. We show that the extent of consumer-social networking site identification and the degree to which consumers disclose personal information on a social networking site affect their engagement with other brands hosted on that platform. Online survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of US consumers (n = 506) and empirically tested through structural equation modeling provide overall support to the proposed model. This study contributes to the literature by being the first to empirically demonstrate the spillover effects of consumer-social networking site relational attributes to online consumer brand engagement. The findings provide guidance to marketing managers seeking to increase brand engagement on social media.
Comparing email and SNS users: Investigating e-servicescape, customer reviews, trust, loyalty and E-WOM
Journal of Retailing and Consumer ServicesGina A. Tran, David Strutton
2020
For better or worse, satisfied or dissatisfied customers function as trusted branding faces for organizations as they transmit potentially viral messages through E-WOM. These E-WOM messages can prove marketers' best friends or worst enemies, depending on their tenor. With data from actual customers of an e-tailer, this research enriches our understanding of how e-servicescape is linked to E-WOM. E-servicescape captures the online environmental factors of marketers’ websites. Two forms of E-WOM are examined; i.e., emails and social network postings. Customer reviews were investigated as a prospective sub-dimension of e-servicescape. Findings suggest that customer reviews play an integral role in the e-servicescape construct, that e-servicescape positively impacts trust and that trust positively influences E-WOM and customer loyalty. Two groups of customers were compared, and results indicated differences between email and SNS users. Theoretical and managerial insights related to E-WOM and electronic commerce shopping behavior were generated.
Investigating the marketing impact of consumers’ connectedness to celebrity endorsers
Psychology & MarketingGina A. Tran, Atefeh Yazdanparast, David Strutton
2019
Consumers enjoy following famous media personalities, discovering details about their habits, food preferences, or designer brands that they wear. Consumers model their consumption behaviors based on their favorite celebrities’ preferences. Marketers are aware of such celebrity admiration and frequently use celebrities as part of marketing communication strategies. Grounded in parasocial relationship and social connectedness theories, this study tests a model of connectedness to the celebrity, attitude toward the celebrity, receptivity toward the celebrity-endorsed message, and purchase intentions of the celebrity-endorsed market offering. These relationships were investigated using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate an individual's level of connectedness to their favorite celebrity is positively linked with both their receptivity toward the celebrity-endorsed message and purchase intentions of the celebrity-endorsed market offering. On the theoretical side, the integration of parasocial relationship and social connectedness theories explain the processes through which celebrity endorsements impact consumers’ attitudes and behaviors.
Has Reality Television Come of Age as a Promotional Platform? Modeling the Endorsement Effectiveness of Celebreality and Reality Stars
Psychology & MarketingGina A. Tran, David Strutton
2014
Reality television programming (RTVP) was once simply an innovative entertainment phenomenon. But RTVP also has recently evolved into a mainstream promotional platform. Two new forms of celebrities arose during this progression: “reality” and “celebreality” stars. This study, which is grounded in connectedness theory, addresses an unresolved issue related to the use of celebrity endorsers, that is, how endorsers’ status as reality or celebreality stars influences viewers’ perceptions of, beliefs about, and purchase intentions toward products they endorse. These relationships were examined through SEM, as were the effects of viewers’ connectedness to RTVP stars and their perceptions regarding whether RTVPs are authentic. Four primary findings emerged. The observation that reality impacted viewer connectedness and that connectedness and authenticity impacted viewers’ purchase intentions (endorsement effectiveness) revealed various practical and theoretical contributions, as did the observation that endorsers’ celebreality or reality star status moderated each of these relationships.
