Sangeeta Singh

Professor Department of Management and Innovation

Email: sangeeta.singh@uia.no
Phone: +47 38 14 23 35
Mobile phone: +47 46 41 05 67
Office: 9I255 (Universitetsveien 19, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway)

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Background and experience

Before joining Uiversity of Agder, Sangeeta was employed at the Norwegian School of Business BI as a Professor in the Department of Marketing.

Areas of responsibility

Sangeeta Singh is Professor at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder. She has a PhD in Marketing and an MBA in International Marketing from Kent State University (USA), and an MBA in Marketing Research and a Bachelor in Mathematics and Statistics from University of Allahabad (India)

Singh’s research interests are broadly in the field of consumer behavior, branding, and services. Her research has been published in Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Services Research and International Marketing Review. She has also contributed to several book chapters.

Singh is a former Professor and Associate Dean at BI Norwegian Business School. In addition to teaching in Norway, she has given courses at universities in USA, France, Spain, Germany, Lithuania and China.

Singh teaches brand management and social media marketing, both of which are aligned with her research interests in brand storytelling in social media.

Teaching

Sangeeta is responsible for Brand Management and Advertising at the bachelors level and Creative Problem Solving at the masters.

Research

Sangeeta´s research interests are broadly in the field of consumer behavior and specifically in branding, especially in social media.

Academic interests

Sangeeta teaches brand management and social media marketing, both of which are aligned with her research interests in brand storytelling in social media.

Research groups

Financial and economic behavior

Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Gjoneska, Biljana; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Pfuhl, Gerit & Aguilar, Leonardo [Show all 196 contributors for this article] (2025). Cross-cultural data on romantic love and mate preferences from 117,293 participants across 175 countries. Scientific Data. 12. doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-05365-2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Psychological studies on close relationships have often overlooked cultural diversity, dynamic processes, and potentially universal principles that shape intimate partnerships. To address the limited generalizability of previous research and advance our understanding of romantic love experiences, mate preferences, and physical attractiveness, we conducted a large-scale cross-cultural survey study on these topics. A total of 404 researchers collected data in 45 languages from April to August 2021, involving 117,293 participants from 175 countries. Aside from standard demographic questions, the survey included valuable information on variables relevant to romantic relationships: intimate, passionate, and committed love within romantic relationships, physical-attractiveness enhancing behaviors, gender equality endorsement, collectivistic attitudes, personal history of pathogenic diseases, relationship quality, jealousy, personal involvement in sexual and/or emotional infidelity, relational mobility, mate preferences, and acceptance of sugar relationships. The resulting dataset provides a rich resource for investigating patterns within, and associations across, a broad range of variables relevant to romantic relationships, with extensive opportunities to analyze individual experiences worldwide.
Pfuhl, Gerit; Prazeres, Filipe; Kowal, Marta; Aavik, Toivo; Abad-Villaverde, Beatriz & Afhami, Reza [Show all 116 contributors for this article] (2025). A preliminary study on the role of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases on self-reported health across countries. Public Health. ISSN 0033-3506. 242, p. 220–227. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.030. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Objectives Infectious diseases are often associated with decline in quality of life. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between personal history of communicable, i.e., infectious and parasitic diseases and self-rated health. Study design Secondary analysis of a large dataset multi-country observational study. Methods We used a four-pronged analysis approach to investigate whether personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases is related to self-reported health, measured with a single item. Results Three of the four analyses found a small positive effect on self-reported health among those reporting a history of pathogen exposure. The meta-analysis found no support but large heterogeneity that was not reduced by two classifications of countries. Conclusion Personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases does not reduce self-reported health across a global sample.
Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Dinić, Bojana M.; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Gjoneska, Biljana & Frederick, David A. [Show all 87 contributors for this article] (2023). Validation of the Short Version (TLS-15) of the Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45) across 37 Languages. Archives of Sexual Behavior. ISSN 0004-0002. doi: 10.1007/s10508-023-02702-7. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg’s 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, our literature review reveals that most studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. Here, aiming to achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, we developed a short version of the scale—the TLS-15—comprised of 15 items with 5-point, rather than 9-point, response scales. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided evidence for the three-factor structure of the TLS-15 and its reliability. Study 3 (N = 413) confirmed convergent validity and test–retest stability of the TLS-15. Study 4 (N = 60,311) presented a large-scale validation across 37 linguistic versions of the TLS-15 on a cross-cultural sample spanning every continent of the globe. The overall results provide support for the reliability, validity, and cross-cultural invariance of the TLS-15, which can be used as a measure of love components—either separately or jointly as a three-factor measure.
Meskó, Norbert; Kowal, Marta; Láng, András; Kocsor, Ferenc; Bandi, Szabolcs A. & Putz, Adam [Show all 95 contributors for this article] (2023). Exploring Attitudes Toward “Sugar Relationships” Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship. Archives of Sexual Behavior. ISSN 0004-0002. 53. doi: 10.1007/s10508-023-02724-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The current study investigates attitudes toward one form of sex for resources: the so-called sugar relationships, which often involve exchanges of resources for sex and/or companionship. The present study examined associations among attitudes toward sugar relationships and relevant variables (e.g., sex, sociosexuality, gender inequality, parasitic exposure) in 69,924 participants across 87 countries. Two self-report measures of Acceptance of Sugar Relationships (ASR) developed for younger companion providers (ASR-YWMS) and older resource providers (ASR-OMWS) were translated into 37 languages. We tested cross-sex and cross-linguistic construct equivalence, cross-cultural invariance in sex differences, and the importance of the hypothetical predictors of ASR. Both measures showed adequate psychometric properties in all languages (except the Persian version of ASR-YWMS). Results partially supported our hypotheses and were consistent with previous theoretical considerations and empirical evidence on human mating. For example, at the individual level, sociosexual orientation, traditional gender roles, and pathogen prevalence were significant predictors of both ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS. At the country level, gender inequality and parasite stress positively predicted the ASR-YWMS. However, being a woman negatively predicted the ASR-OMWS, but positively predicted the ASR-YWMS. At country-level, ingroup favoritism and parasite stress positively predicted the ASR-OMWS. Furthermore, significant cross-subregional differences were found in the openness to sugar relationships (both ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS scores) across subregions. Finally, significant differences were found between ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS when compared in each subregion. The ASR-YWMS was significantly higher than the ASR-OMWS in all subregions, except for Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Valentova, Jaroslava Varella; Varella, Marco A. C. & Frederick, David A. [Show all 78 contributors for this article] (2022). Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries. Evolution and human behavior. ISSN 1090-5138. 43(6), p. 455–474. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.003. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives.
Singh, Sangeeta & Duque, Lola C (2019). Familiarity and Format: cause-related marketing promotions in international markets. International Marketing Review. ISSN 0265-1335. doi: 10.1108/IMR-10-2018-0307. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2014). To Automate or Not: Is that the question? Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship. ISSN 1077-1158. 19(3), p. 50–69. doi: 10.9774/gleaf.3709.2014.ju.00005. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2012). Close Encounters with The Police. BI Marketing Magazine. ISSN 1893-3092. 2, p. 24–25. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2012). Brands in Social Media. BI Marketing Magazine. ISSN 1893-3092. p. 14–15. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Sonnenburg, Stephan (2012). Brand Performances in Social Media. Journal of Interactive Marketing. ISSN 1094-9968. 26(4), p. 189–197. doi: 10.1016/j.intmar.2012.04.001. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The branding literature has long recognized the power of storytelling to provide meaning to the brand and practitioners have used storytelling to enhance consumers’ connections with brands. The premise of brand storytelling has been that the story and its content, production, and distribution are the brand owner’s realm and the consumer primarily a listener. The emergence of social media has changed the consumers’ role in storytelling from that of a passive listener to a more active participant. Our paper uses the metaphor of improvisation (improv) theater to show that in social media, brand owners do not tell brand stories alone but co-create brand performances in collaboration with the consumers. The first and foremost contribution of such a conceptualization is that it offers a semantic framework that resolves issues in storytelling , demonstrates the necessity of co-creation in storytelling, and identifies the core of an inspiring story. The improv theater metaphor also helps identify the following three propositions relevant for branding in social media: (i) the process of improvisation is more important than the output, (ii) managing brands is about keeping the brand performance alive, and (iii) understanding the audience and its roles is the prerequisite for a successful brand performance.
Singh, Sangeeta & Duque, Lola C (2012). Moderating Role of Stress in Evaluating Negative Services: Encounters With the Police. Journal of Service Research. ISSN 1094-6705. 15(2), p. 231–241. doi: 10.1177/1094670511435563. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Since negative services are usually sought during emergencies or when problems arise or to ensure against unwanted outcomes, they are typically accompanied by high levels of stress. Our study investigates the role of stress in evaluating such services. We examine citizen satisfaction with a specific negative service, police services, and the moderating role of stress in the evaluation of these services. Findings from our study confirm the moderating role of stress in satisfaction with police services, which determines the differential importance of service attributes: helping consumers manage the stress is more important for satisfaction when consumers are stressed while courtesy and speediness of service delivery are more important when consumers are not stressed. This can be the basis for training police officers to better understand the state the consumer is in and reinforce specific service features accordingly. The study adds to extant knowledge in three areas: (i) public/police services: satisfaction with a public service is valuable in evaluating government and agency performance (ii) negative services: they are an integral part of many service providers, yet understudied (iii) unpleasant affective state: people assign greater weight to unpleasant situations when making satisfaction judgments.
Olsen, Line Lervik & Singh, Sangeeta (2010). Teknologi eller personlig service; hvordan påvirkes kundenes lojalitet. Magma forskning og viten. ISSN 1500-0788. 13(1), p. 33–42. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta; Kristensen, Lene & Villasenõr, Erika (2009). Overcoming skepticism towards cause related claims: the case of Norway. International Marketing Review. ISSN 0265-1335. 26(3), p. 312–326. doi: 10.1108/02651330910960807. Full text in Research Archive
Hansen, Håvard & Singh, Sangeeta (2009). Word-of-Mouth and Consumer Choice Behavior: More on Message and Dispatcher Effects, Word-of-Mouth and Consumer Choice Behavior: More on Message and Dispatcher Effects. Association for Consumer Research,. p. 171–174. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Olsen, Line Lervik (2009). Sense or Sensibility? How Commitment Mediates the Role of Self-Service Technology on Loyalty. In Oliver, Dave; Livermore, Celia Romm & Sudweeks, Fay (Ed.), Self-service in the internet age : expectations and experiences. Springer. ISSN 9781848002067. p. 213–229. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Christoffersen, Line (2008). Bankkunden og relasjonen til penger behovsbasert segmentering. Magma forskning og viten. ISSN 1500-0788. 11(3), p. 68–76. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2006). Cultural differences in, and influences on, consumers' propensity to adopt innovations. International Marketing Review. ISSN 0265-1335. 23. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between national culture and adoption of new products, ideas, or behaviour to suggest a framework for distinguishing between innovative and imitative behaviour.
Christoffersen, Line & Singh, Sangeeta (2004). Successful Application of a Customer Relationship Management Program in a Non-Profit Organisation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. ISSN 1069-6679. 12(2), p. 28–42. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This paper is a case study of a non-profit organization, Plan Norway, which changed itself from being a sales-oriented company to a market-oriented one in the process of implementing a customer relationship management program. The case of Plan Norway is examined using the five critical areas identified by researchers and practitioners-strategy, customers or market, people, process and technology. The study identifies reasons for the success of the customer relationship management programs at the non-profit organization and offers insights to other organizations, both for non-profits and for profits.
Singh, Sangeeta; Alon, Ilan & Welsh, Dianne (2002). Understanding Norway for Franchising Potential, Franchising in Western and Northern Europe. CCH Publishing. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Selnes, Fred (2000). Polygamous Loyalty and Varying Utility Function: An Explanation of Brand Switching in Frequently-made Purchases. Advances in Consumer Research. ISSN 0098-9258. 4, p. 162–166. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Hu, Michael Y. (2000). Context-Dependent Ethnic Identity And Its Impact On Product Evaluations: A Case of the Asian Indian Immigrants. Advances in Consumer Research. ISSN 0098-9258. 4, p. 150–155. Full text in Research Archive

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Singh, Sangeeta (2009). The Dual Nature of Ethnic Identity: Its Impact on Product Evaluations. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG. ISBN 9783639181517. 143 p. Full text in Research Archive

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Singh, Sangeeta (2025). Janne Bodin (34) bruker ekstra inntekter fra sosiale medier til å forlenge mammapermisjonen. [Journal]. fvn.no. doi: https:/www.fvn.no/nyheter/lokalt/i/3MWw4L/nettkurs#ui-core-comments. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2023). Cause Related Marketing Breakfast Seminar. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2023). Creative Problem Solving Applied to School of Business. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2023). Brand Storytelling Alumni School of Business. Full text in Research Archive
Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Dinić, Bojana M.; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Gjoneska, Biljana & Frederick, David A. [Show all 87 contributors for this article] (2023). Correction to: Validation of the Short Version (TLS-15) of the Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45) Across 37 Languages (Archives of Sexual Behavior, (2023), 10.1007/s10508-023-02702-7). Archives of Sexual Behavior. ISSN 0004-0002. doi: 10.1007/s10508-023-02751-y. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2022). Brand Storytelling Alumni Univ. of Agder. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Busagara, Theresia (2020). Building Brands with Cause-related Marketing Campaigns in Emerging Markets. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2020). Designing Experiments. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2018). Brand Strategies. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2017). Quo Vadis Branding. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2017). Brand Storytelling. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Olsen, Line Lervik (2013). To Automate or Not: Is that the question? Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Duque, Lola C. (2012). Explicit Donations In Cause-Related Marketing Promotions: Enhancing Value Inferences And Overcoming Skepticism. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2011). Guilty as Told: Increasing the Desirability of Utilitarian Products. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta; Duque, Lola C & Andreassen, Tor Wallin (2008). Satisfaction as Relief or Contentment: Comparing the Two Prototypes. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Olsen, Line Lervik (2007). High Tech or High Touch? Full text in Research Archive
Olsen, Line Lervik & Singh, Sangeeta (2007). Customer Equity in a Triadic Perspective: Employing Balance Theory to Understand the Dynamics amongst its Drivers. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2003). The Role of Emerging Communication Technologies in Providing Added Value to Customers. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Kristoffersen, Line (2003). Successful Application of a CRM Program in a Non-Profit Organisation. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2001). Providing Added Value Using the Internet: A Case for the Airline Industry. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2001). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Innovative and Imitative Consumption Behaviour. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta & Micola, Augosto R. (2001). Environmental Friendliness as a Differentiating Attribute for Marketing Electricity: Does Culture Plays a Role? Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (1999). Context-Dependent Ethnic Identity and it's Impact on Product Evaluations. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (1999). Cross-cultural Comparison of Adoption of Innovations: A Propositional Inventory of Expected Outcomes. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (1996). Ethnic Identity within the Acculturation Framework: An Integrated Approach to Consumer Decision Making. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (1995). Consumers' Degree of Environmental Involvement and Select Psychosocial Variables: A Preliminary Analysis of the Relationship. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta; Sinescu, Ingrid-Nicoleta & Matyas-Peter, Terez (2026). Marketing as Investment: An Analysis of Global Advertising and Firm Valuation. Universitetet i Agder. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta; Hasanaj, Burim & Weegels, Matijs (2026). High end tourism in the Nordic Market: Branding and consumer perception in destination management company. Universitetet i Agder. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (2000). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Adoption of Products and Ideas: Implications for the Norwegian Fish Industry. Full text in Research Archive
Singh, Sangeeta (1998). Examining the Impact of the Dual Nature of Ethnic Identity on Product Evaluations. Full text in Research Archive

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Published Apr. 16, 2024 11:33 AM