Matthew Godfrey : Isenberg School of Management : UMass Amherst

Matt studies the sustainability and equity of consumer participation in the marketplace, with research examining repair, consumer vulnerability, spirituality, and other topics. To address these complex, societal-level challenges, Matt primarily takes a sociological approach to theory and a qualitative approach to methods that can examine consumer experiences in ways that account for their sociocultural context. His research has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Service Research. He has served as a guest co-editor for Journal of the Association for Consumer Research and is a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Consumer Research. Matt received his Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, Master’s degree from the University of Calgary, and PhD from the University of Arizona.

Education

PhD, Marketing (major) & Sociology (minor), University of Arizona, 2019

Academic Appointments

Associate Professor of Marketing, Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, 2026-present

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, 2019-2026

Recent Honors / Awards

Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, American Sociological Association Consumers and Consumption Section, 2023

Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) Honor Roll (for 2022 JCR article, “Repair, Consumption, and Sustainability"), 2022

Doctoral Fellow, AMA-Sheth Consortium, 2018

Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), 2016-2019

MAP Whitepaper Research Grant Recipient (with Melanie Wallendorf), University of Arizona Economic and Business Research Center, 2016

University Fellow, University of Arizona, 2014-2015

Research Interests

Repair and sustainability

Servicescape branding and design

Consumer Culture Theory (CCT)

Services marketing

Equity and inclusion in the marketplace

Qualitative data and interpretive analysis

Recent Honors / Awards

Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2025, Journal of Consumer Research

Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, 2023, American Sociological Association Consumers and Consumption Section (recognizing 2022 JCR article, “Repair, Consumption, and Sustainability”)

Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) Honor Roll, 2022

Teaching Interests

Undergraduate

General Customer Insights (MKTG 411)
Services Marketing (MKTG 468)

Doctoral

Interpretive Analysis of Consumption, Markets, and Culture (SCH-MGMT 892M)

Professional LinksGoogle ScholarLinkedInORCID 

Professional Links

Google Scholar

ORCID

Selected Publications

Ryu, Kyungin, Elizabeth G. Miller & D. Matthew Godfrey (forthcoming). “Brand Faith: How Spiritual Relationships Develop Between Consumers and Brands.” Published online October 9, 2025, Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaf055

Godfrey, D. Matthew & Alicia M. Johnson (forthcoming). “Holistic Social Service Systems as a Framework for Addressing Financial Vulnerability.” Published online December 31, 2025, Journal of Service Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705251409999

Arnould, E., D. Matthew Godfrey, & Linda L. Price (2026). “Addressing Service Grand Challenges Through Inductive Research.” Journal of Service Management, 37(6), 222-248. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-01-2026-0061

Godfrey, D. Matthew & Linda L. Price. (2025). “How an Ethos of Repair Shapes Material Sustainability in Services,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53(2), 439-462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-023-00993-9

Godfrey, D. Matthew, Linda L. Price, and Robert F. Lusch (2022), “Repair, Consumption and Sustainability: Fixing Fragile Objects and Maintaining Consumer Practices,” Journal of Consumer Research, 49(2), 229–251. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucab067