Dr. Enav Friedmann

​​Department of Business Administration
Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management

My life before ​BGU:

I was born in Beer-Sheva. We moved to Omer when I was a teenager and I have lived there since. I completed high school at Makif Gimmel in Beer-Sheva. My undergraduate degree was in behavioral sciences. I studied business administration with a specialization in marketing for my master's degree and doctorate. All three degrees are from BGU. Later I was a visiting scholar in the faculty of management at Ca' Foscari University in Venice, Italy. For the past four years, I was a faculty member at Bar-Ilan University. My research fields are consumer behavior, gender marketing and social marketing.

My research: ​​​​

I study how people make decisions, and one of the fascinating discoveries I made is that there is a difference between the considerations that people acknowledge are important to them in choosing, and the considerations that they actually use when selecting one brand from a number of brands. Mostly, the considerations that they acknowledge are stereotypically in accordance with the segment they belong to (gender, culture, etc.) but really – there are no significant differences between people. Another fascinating discovery is that advertisements offensive  to disadvantaged groups are effective and encourage sales, because the disadvantaged group wants to buy the product that represents the strong group, in order to avoid the feeling of belonging to the disadvantaged group. Additional research of mine deals with the promotion of women in scientific roles using marketing tools. Much of my research touches on stereotypes, segmentation and marketing.​

Wh​y BGU? 

I chose BGU because of the human material in the Faculty and also because the proximity to home and family especially appealed to me.

An insigh​​t from my research: 

Marketing is a significant and valuable tool that can help change perceptions, positions and promote behavior that can make the world a (much) better place.

Something that doesn't ap​pear on my resume: 

I have a great partner, three sons and a dog. My pace is exceptionally quick and Bisli Grill is my weakness.

A source of insp​iration: 

Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female rights, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, recovered and returned to her activities. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

When I gr​ow up: 

As a child I thought I would be a judge, I quickly understood that it's more suitable for me to research decision-making

If I was not a researcher, I would:​

Be a marketing manager in industry or the owner of a marketing research institute.

In Brief​:

» ​Facebook or Twitter? Facebook, it's more popular in Israel, I have a dormant Twitter account.

» Game of Thrones or the Simpsons? Game of Thrones – unconventional intrigue and surprise.

» Yoga or CrossFit? CrossFit. I freak out from yoga.

» Hapo'el or Maccabi? I have no idea.

» Chess or backgammon? Chess, because it's a game of strategy.

» Steak or tofu? Tofu, in order to do some good.

» Trekking or the spa? I find the spa much more enjoyable, as long as it's not a trek in Iceland.

» Car or train? Car – control is important

» X-Box or PlayStation? X-box because my children are on it 24/7.

» Fortis or Sakharov? Sakharov reminds me of my first year in behavioral sciences, when he performed at BGU's sports center.

» Classic Europe or India? Classic Europe. I enjoy the culture, the architecture and the esthetics.

» Ocean or the pool? I don't like either.

» Galgalatz or Podcast? Galgalatz has great music

» Morning or night? Morning – that's when there is the most energy.

» Winter or summer? Winter, the smell of the rain and the romantic atmosphere.

» Cat or dog? Dog, I'm allergic to cats.

» Movie or play? It depends. In general, I'm always up for a comedy.