Neeli Bendapudi received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and joined The Ohio State University in 1996.  Professor Bendapudi specializes in the study of consumer behavior in service contexts. Her current research deals with customers' willingness and ability to maintain long-term relationships with firms and with the brands and employees that represent them. She also studies the impact of perceptions of service quality, service failure and recovery on employee and customer relationships. 

Dr. Bendapudi's research has been published in the "Harvard Business Review," "Journal of Marketing," "Journal of Marketing Research," "Journal of Retailing," and in the proceedings of various national and international conferences. She has served on the editorial boards of the "Journal of Marketing" and the "Journal of Consumer Psychology" and as an elected member of the American Marketing Association’s Academic Council Executive Committee. Professor Bendapudi’s work has been featured in many media outlets including CNBC, CNN, FOX MSNBC, The New York Times and WebMD.

Professor Bendapudi has received numerous teaching awards at the national level (The Academy of Marketing Science’s National Outstanding Marketing Teacher Award, 2003), the University level (The Ohio State University 2001 Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest award bestowed by the University) and in every single degree program from undergraduate (the OSU Fisher College of Business Pace Setters Undergraduate Teaching Award for 1998; the OSU AMA Chapter Marketing Professor of the Year award for 1998, 1999, and 2000), to MBA (The Fisher College Outstanding Core MBA Professor Award in 2005, the Fisher College Outstanding MBA Elective Professor Award for 2000 and 2001) and Executive MBA (Fisher College Outstanding Executive MBA Professor Award for 2004).  Professor Bendapudi’s MBA class on Services Marketing was cited in "Business Week" as one of the two most recommended courses in the Fisher program. She has been honored with the Marketing Educator of the Year award (2006) by the Columbus American Marketing Association and as one of "12 Women You Should Know" in the 2007 calendar issued by the Central Ohio Women for Economic and Leadership Development.

Dr. Bendapudi is the founding Director of the Fisher College of Business Initiative for Managing Services, (IMS).  IMS was created to help companies address the increasing importance of service issues in today’s competitive global economy.  Professor Bendapudi has been actively involved in business outreach through consulting and executive education programs. As a highly sought-after key note speaker, she has addressed national and international audiences for many companies, trade groups, and organizations including Alliance Data Systems, Cardinal Health, Deloitte & Touche, Dow Chemical, Limited Brands, Marriott, Mayo Clinic, National Association of Convenience Stores, Nationwide Insurance, OCLC, Ohio Department of Commerce, Retail Forward, Textron, and Yellow Roadways, among many others.  Professor Bendapudi sits on the Boards of Directors of publicly-held Lancaster Colony Corporation and privately-held, Sheetz, Inc.