Alicia M. Johnson
Assistant Professor
Alicia Johnson is a consumer behavior researcher whose work examines how individuals and families make financial decisions and how organizations can help people achieve better financial outcomes. Drawing on her professional experience in the consumer finance industry, she combines practical insight with academic research to better understand the factors that shape financial behavior and well-being.
Her research seeks to generate actionable insights for businesses, nonprofit organizations, and policymakers interested in supporting consumer decision making. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Alicia studies a wide range of financial behaviors, including debt management, budgeting, financial planning, and household financial decision making.
More recently, her work has expanded to include parental financial decision making and the ways parents engage in financial decision making on behalf of their children. Inspired by her teaching in nonprofit and social marketing, she has also developed a growing interest in nonprofit communications, donor engagement, and how messaging strategies can encourage positive behavior change. Across her research, Alicia is particularly interested in how communication, framing, and behavioral interventions can be leveraged to improve decision making and enhance consumer well-being.
Education
Recent Honors/Awards
Research Interests
Media, Industry, and Public Impact
Teaching Interests
- Nonprofit and Social Marketing
- Tools for Professional Success
- Foundations of Marketing
- Marketing and Society
Academic Appointments
Selected Publications
Kim, Lena, Emily Garbinsky, and Alicia M. Johnson, “How Gender of the Higher Earner Affects Couples’ Financial Management Strategies.” First round revision at Journal of Consumer Research.
2023 Saroj and Vithala Rao Award for Best 1st or 2nd Year Paper
Dyckman Research Grant Johnson College of Business Recipient ($1,000)
Johnson, Alicia M.,* Wendy De La Rosa,* Anastasiya Pocheptsova Ghosh, and Bikram Ghosh, “More Paychecks, Less Planning: How Payment Frequency Influences Budgeting.”
Johnson, Alicia M., Daniel Villanova, Julio Sevilla, Matthew Issac, and Rajesh Bagchi (2026), “First In, First Out? How Debt Age Affects Debt Prepayment Decisions,” forthcoming at Journal of Marketing Research, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437261419746
Godfrey, Matthew and Alicia M. Johnson (2026), “Holistic Social Service Systems as a Framework for Addressing Financial Vulnerability,” forthcoming at Journal of Service Research, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705251409999
Johnson, Alicia M., Daniel Villanova, and Scot Burton (2025), “Upside Down Auto Loans and The Effect of Advertised Loan Terms on Consumer Borrowing Decisions,” Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 45 (1), 33-49, https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156251364171
Johnson, Alicia M., Daniel Villanova, and Ronn J. Smith (2023), “Loan Amount versus Monthly Payments: The Effect of Loan Application Formats on Consumer Borrowing Decisions,” Journal of Consumer Research, 50 (4) 765-786, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucad015
Winner: SMA Doctoral Dissertation Competition Best Overall Proposal Award
Co-runner up: William O. Bearden Award\