Sidharth Muralidharan

Advertising

Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator

Email

sidmurali@smu.edu

Phone

214-768-1542

Dr. Sidharth Muralidharan, professor in the Temerlin Advertising Institute, earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communication in 2012 from The University of Southern Mississippi. He formerly worked as a junior account executive for Zehnder Communications, Baton Rouge.

His primary research interests are on “pro-social” advertising, specifically, advertising’s impact on mitigating social and environmental issues in India and abroad, while secondary research interests include social media and online advertising.

His work has been published in the Journal of Advertising; Journal of Advertising Research; International Journal of Advertising; Journal of Interactive Advertising; International Journal of Consumer Studies; Health Communication; Asian Journal of Communication; and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking among others.

Muralidharan is a member of the American Academy of Advertising (AAA).

ResearchGate
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Education

Ph.D. Mass Communication, The University of Southern Mississippi, 2012
M.S. Communication, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, La., 2008
B.E. Information Technology, Bharathiar University, India, 2004

Recent Work

Publications

  1. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Roth-Cohen, O. (2024). Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) among generational cohorts: Attitude toward disabled models and advertising effectiveness. International Journal of Advertising. DOI: 10.1080/02650487.2024.2344947.
  2. Pookulangara, S., Shephard, A. J., & Muralidharan, S. (2024). Organization sustainability communication by fashion brands: A qualitative analysis of messaging and engagement on Facebook and Instagram. Journal of Promotion Management. DOI: 1080/10496491.2024.2333485.
  3. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Roth-Cohen, O. (2024). How religiosity and spirituality influences the ecologically conscious consumer psychology of Christians, the Non-religious, and Atheists in the United States. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 46(1), 71-87.
  4. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Roth-Cohen, O. (2024). “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the greenest of them all?” The impact of green advertising cues on generational cohorts. International Journal of Advertising, 43(1), 125-148.
  5. Xie, Q., & Muralidharan, S. (2024).It’s a comparison game! The roles of social comparison, perceived exclusivity, and perceived financial benefits in non-fungible token marketing. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 18(2), 294-314.
  6. Roth-Cohen, O., La Ferle, C., & Muralidharan, S. (2023). The impact of religious and spiritual persuasive messages on religious Jews and the non-Religious. Israel Affairs (accepted).
  7. Xie, Q., Muralidharan, S., & Edwards, S. (2023). Who will buy the idea of non-fungible token (NFT) marketing? Understanding consumers’ psychological tendencies and value perceptions of branded NFTs. International Journal of Advertising. DOI: 1080/02650487.2023.2262859.
  8. Xie, Q., Muralidharan, S., Edwards, S. & La Ferle, C. (2023). Unlocking the powerof non-fungible token (NFT) marketing: Exploring how NFT perceptions foster brand loyalty and purchase intention among Millennials and Gen-Z. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 23(4), 356-373.
  9. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Roth-Cohen, O. (2023). The digitalization of religion: Smartphone use and subjective well-being during COVID-19. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 62(1),144-163.
  10. Muralidharan, S. (2023). Mediating roles of karma and self-enhancement in the effect of religious and spiritual primes on bystanders’ reporting intention. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 47(1), 189-201.
  11. Kim, E., Muralidharan, S., and Shoenberger, H. (2022). Testing the extent of the ‘immersive’ experience: The role of ad relevance, ad vividness, and ad message explicitness in narrative advertising.Media Business Culture, 2(13), 9-26.
  12. Muralidharan, S., Roth-Cohen, O., & La Ferle, C. (2022). Considering the subjective well-being of Israeli Jews during the COVID-19 pandemic: Messaging insights from religiosity and spirituality as coping mechanisms. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12010.
  13. Sahadev, S., Muralidharan, S., & Singh, P. (2022). Introduction to the special issue on marketing communications and sustainability. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(3), 227-231.
  14. Roth-Cohen, O., Muralidharan, S., & La Ferle, C. (2022). The importance of spiritual consumption, religious expression and subjective well-being among Christians in the US during COVID-19. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(2), 1719-1733.
  15. La Ferle, C., Muralidharan, S.*, & Roth-Cohen, O. (2022). Exploring the differential effects of religious and spiritual cues on online advertising: A study of U.S. Christians and the non-religious during COVID-19. Journal of Advertising, 51(1), 95-106. (*First two authors contributed equally).
  16. Muralidharan, S., & La Ferle, C. (2022). Would shaming or instilling hope in Indian bystanders lead to positive reporting intentions? Examining the impact of emotional appeals and perceived social support in domestic violence prevention PSAs. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, 34(2), 228-246.
  17. Muralidharan, S., & Pookulangara, S. (2022). Exploring the functional distinction between Hindu religiosity and spirituality in direct and indirect domestic violence prevention PSAs: A study of bystander intervention in the era of COVID-19. International Journal of Advertising, 41(6), 1121-1142.
  18. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Howard, L. (2020). The role played by self-focused emotional ad appeals on the intentions to call a domestic violence helpline: Exploring guilt, hope, and the independent self-construal in the Indian Context. Social Marketing Quarterly, 26(4), 345-360.
  19. Muralidharan, S., Adams, T., & Pitasi, A. (2020). The forgotten few: Can trust, knowledge, and efficacy help the network-disenchanted and abate the digital divide? Central European Political Science Review, 21(79), 111-128.
  20. Muralidharan, S. & Kim, E. (2020). Can empathy offset low bystander efficacy? Effectiveness of domestic violence prevention narratives in India. Health Communication, 35(10), 1229-1238.
  21. Kim, E., & Muralidharan, S. (2020). The role of empathy and efficacy in public service announcements: Using narratives to induce bystander interventions in domestic violence. Journal of Advertising Research, 60(4), 452-466.
  22. La Ferle, C., Muralidharan, S.*, & Kim, E. (2019). Using guilt and shame appeals from an Eastern perspective to promote bystander intervention: A study of mitigating domestic violence in India. Journal of Advertising, 48(5), 555-568. (*First two authors contributed equally).
  23. La Ferle. C., & Muralidharan, S. (2019). Religion in domestic violence prevention PSAs: The role of religiosity in motivating Christian bystanders to intervene. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 58(4), 874-890.
  24. Muralidharan, S., & Kim, E. (2019). “I owe my life to the kind individual who called the helpline”: Exploring the interplay of self-views and social distance in narrative advertising on domestic violence prevention in India and the United States. International Journal of Advertising, 38(5), 704-730.
  25. Heo, J. & Muralidharan, S. (2019). What triggers young Millennials to purchase eco-friendly products? The interrelationships among knowledge, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern. Journal of Marketing Communications, 25(4), 421-437.
  26. Muralidharan, S., & La Ferle, C. (2018). Religious symbolism in the digital realm: A social advertising approach to motivate bystanders to aid victims of cyberbullying. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(6), 804-812.
  27. Muralidharan, S., & Sheehan, K. (2018). The role of guilt in influencing sustainable pro-environmental behaviors among shoppers: Differences in response by gender to messaging about England’s plastic-bag levy. Journal of Advertising Research, 58(3), 349-362.
  28. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Pookulangara, S. (2018). Studying the impact of religious symbols on domestic violence prevention in India: Applying the theory of reasoned action to bystanders’ reporting intentions. International Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 609-632.
  29. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Pookulangara, S. (2018). Can divine intervention aid in domestic violence prevention? An analysis of bystanders’ advertising attitudes and reporting intentions in India. Journal of Promotion Management, 24(1), 1-23.
  30. Muralidharan, S., & Sheehan, K. (2017). ‘Tax’ and ‘fee’ frames in green advertisements: The influence of self-transcendence in reusable bag usage. Journal of Promotion Management, 23(6), 852-872.
  31. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Sung, Y. (2017). Are we a product of our environment? Exploring culturally congruent green advertising appeals, novelty, and environmental concern in India and the United States. Asian Journal of Communication, 27(4), 396-414.
  32. Muralidharan, S., Yoon, H. J., Sung, Y., Miller, J., & Lee, A. (2017). Following the breadcrumbs: Analyzing online product review characteristics by online shoppers. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(2), 113-134.
  33. Men, R. L., & Muralidharan, S. (2017). Understanding social media peer communication and organization-public relationships: Evidence from China and the United States. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(1), 81-101.
  34. Muralidharan, S., & Xue, F. (2016). ‘Personal Networks’ as a precursor to a green future: A study of Millennials from India and China. Young Consumers, 17(3), 226-242.
  35. Muralidharan, S. (2016). Spoofing: Social commentary or effective marketing tool? Testing promotion vs. prevention message frames in college students’ fight against obesity. Social Influence, 11(3), 151-165.
  36. Muralidharan, S., & Sheehan, K. (2016). ‘Tax’ and ‘Fee’ Message Frames as Inhibitors of Plastic Bag Usage Among Shoppers: A Social Marketing Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Social Marketing Quarterly, 22(3), 200-217.
  37. Muralidharan, S., Rejón-Guardia, F., & Xue, F. (2016). Understanding the green buying behavior of Millennials from India and the United States: A structural equation modeling approach. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 54-72.
  38. Muralidharan, S., & Sung, Y. (2016). Direct and mediating effects of information efficacy on voting behavior: Political socialization of young adults in the 2012 U.S. Presidential elections. Communication Reports, 29(2), 100-114.
  39. Xue, F., & Muralidharan, S. (2015). A green picture is worth a thousand words? - Effects of visual and textual environmental appeals in advertising and the moderating role of product involvement. Journal of Promotion Management, 21(1), 82-106.
  40. Muralidharan, S., & Xue, F. (2015). Influence of TV endorser types on advertising attitudes and purchase intention among Indian rural women: An exploratory study. Asian Journal of Communication, 25(2), 213-231.
  41. Muralidharan, S., & Men, R. L. (2015). How peer communication and engagement motivations influence social media shopping behavior: Evidence from China and the United States. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(10), 595-601.
  42. Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Sung, Y. (2015). How culture influences ‘social’ in social media: Socializing and advertising on smartphones in India and the USA. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(6), 356-360.
  43. Muralidharan, S., Dillistone, K., & Shin, J. H. (2011). The Gulf Coast oil spill: Extending the theory of image restoration discourse to the realm of social media and beyond petroleum. Public Relations Review, 37(3), 226-232.
  44. Muralidharan, S., Rasmussen, L., Patterson, D., & Shin, J. H. (2011). Hope for Haiti: An analysis of Facebook and Twitter usage during the earthquake relief efforts. Public Relations Review, 37(2), 175-177.
  45. Narro, A. & Muralidharan, S. (2011). Local publishers have been ignored: An examination of publisher influence on content. Louisiana Communication Journal, 13, 29-48.

Book Chapters

Muralidharan, S. (2016). India: Insecurities of a nation on the rise. In C. P. Campbell (Ed.), The Routledge companion to media and race (pp. 276-288). New York, NY: Routledge.   

Editorial Review Board

Journal of Advertising
International Journal of Advertising
Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising
Management Decision
World Complexity Science Academy Journal

Course list

Survey of Advertising ADV 2374
Advertising, Society & Ethics ADV 2302
Strategic Brand Management-1 ADV 2342
Advertising as a Cultural Force ADV 6371
Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship ADV 6372
Sidarth Muralidharan