On Nov. 29th, invited by RBS, Prof. Claes Fornell from the University of Michigan gave a lecture entitled "Findings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI): Implications for Healthy Economic Growth, Stock Returns, and China-US Trade." On behalf of the President of RUC, Dean Yi Zhihong of RBS awarded a certificate of Honorary Professorship to Prof. Fornell.

Prof. Fornell is from the well-known Ross Business School, University of Michigan, and he is also the Director of National Quality Research Center. He had been given the Best Paper Award by the American Marketing Association, and won the First Prize in Marketing Science Institute Research Competition. He had been a visiting professor in the Stockholm School of Economics, Northwestern University, and Duke University.

"American Customer Satisfaction Index" (ACSI) designed and managed by Prof. Fornell has a great influence in the US. It could predict not only the macro-economic development trends, but also the performance of a specific industry or company. In this way, it could also affect the direction of stocks and investment.

In the presentation, Prof. Fornell presented empirical results of ACSI and discussed the reasons behind them as well as their implications. He demonstrated the relevance of customer satisfaction (or experience utility) with respect to corporate earnings, consumer spending and national economic growth. He also discussed how these findings might be applied in the context of China-US trade - with substantial benefits for both countries. This lecture is well-received among students and faculty of RUC.