Marketing Group
The Marketing Group leads and delivers world-class research, teaching, and business collaborations, aimed at developing a meaningful understanding of key marketing areas and their impact on business, consumers and society.
Team
Led by Professor Philippa Hunter-Jones, the Marketing Group brings together scholars, early career researchers and PhD students with an interest in marketing.
Subject group leads
- Subject group head - Professor Philippa Hunter-Jones
- Director of Education - Dr Treasa Kearney
- Director of Research - Dr Peter Guenther (Interim)
Staff
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Deputy Associate Dean: International |
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Reader in Marketing Deputy Associate Dean: Research |
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Associate Dean: MBA |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Global Opportunities Academic Lead |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Director of Studies MSc Marketing and MSc Online Digital Marketing Postgraduate Lead Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Associate Dean Knowledge Exchange and External Engagement |
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Chair in Marketing, Strategy and Analytics |
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Lecturer in Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Deputy Director of Studies BA Marketing |
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Reader in Marketing Director of Research: Marketing Group (Interim) |
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Chair in Responsible Research in Marketing |
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Subject Group Head: Marketing Group |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Director of Education: Marketing Group |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing Director of Studies MSc Advanced Marketing |
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Lecturer in Marketing |
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Deputy Director of Studies (and Admissions) BA Marketing Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
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Lecturer in Marketing |
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Professor of Marketing Director of Studies, Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (EDBA) |
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| Lecturer in Marketing |
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Reader in Marketing |
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Lecturer in Marketing |
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
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Deputy Director of Studies MSc Marketing and Online MSc Digital Marketing |
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Lecturer in Marketing Director of Studies BA Marketing |
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Director of Studies MSc Digital Marketing and Analytics |
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Chair in Marketing |
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Client Director Executive Education |
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| Lecturer in Marketing |
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Education
Aiming to equip students with the latest skills demanded by employers, our Group offers the Marketing BA and the Marketing with a Year in Industry BA, undergraduate programmes, as well as the Marketing MSc, Digital Marketing and Analytics MSc and Advanced Marketing MSc postgraduate programmes.
We also contribute to a wide range of modules as part of the School's general management academic offering at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with leading roles on the School's doctoral programmes.
Teaching is led by evidence-based research produced by our team of international experts, whose work is shaping world-class academic thought, and making a direct impact on a wide range of organisations and institutions.
The Imagine Scholarship Group
We are a team of scholarship marketers working together to enhance the higher education (HE) experience of our students and staff, by focusing on pedagogical scholarship, mentorship, sparking project generation and influencing policy, in the areas of:
- Design thinking approaches for higher education
- Playful learning
- Employability and skill development
- Technologies within HE
- HE as Service
- Wellbeing in HE
- Sustainability
- Value co-creation in HE
- Spaces in HE
- AI in education
Our Group brings together experts from a wide range of marketing backgrounds, with extensive experience working with industry and leading programme developments, whose contribution has been recognised via numerous student experience and teaching awards.
We have also published in key educational outlets (eg Times Higher Education, Journal of Marketing Education, Innovations in Education and Teaching International and Developing Academic Practice) and discipline-related publications (eg Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Sociology and Journal of Marketing Management).
Research
Our research has been published in some of the top journals in Marketing, including the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Strategic Management Journal, International Journal of Research in Marketing and Journal of Retailing.
The Group's academics also hold senior editorial positions in prestigious journals and sit on numerous editorial boards.
Selected recent publications
2025
Blythe, P. A., Kulis, C., McGraw, A. P., Haenlein, M., Hewett, K., Yoo, K., Wood, S, Morwitz, V. G., and Huber, J. (2025). 'Comments on 'AI and the advent of the cyborg behavioral scientist'. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 35(2), 316-328.
- DOI: 10.1002/jcpy.1453
Haenlein, M., & Jack, A. (2025). 'Measuring the long-term impact of business school research on academia, teaching, society and decision makers.' International Journal of Research in Marketing, 42(1), 1-12.
Lehmann, S. L., Beretta, M., Dao, H. M., & Ebersberger, B. (2025). 'Are you judging me or my idea? How feedback impacts future idea success in web‐based idea management systems.' Journal of Product Innovation Management.
- DOI: 10.1111/jpim.12778
Libai, B., Rosario, A.B., Beichert, M., Donkers, B., Haenlein, M., Hofstetter, R., Kannan, P. K., van der Lans, R., Lanz, A., Li, H.A., Mayzlin, D., Muller, E., Shapira, D., Yang, J. and Zhang, L. (2025). 'Influencer marketing unlocked: Understanding the value chains driving the creator economy.' Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53(1), 4-28.
Weaver, J., Hunter-Jones, P., & Donnelly, R. (2025). 'Unlocking the Full Potential of Transformative Service Research by Embedding Collaboration Throughout the Research Process.' Journal of Service Research, 28(2), 262-277.
Welden, R., Haenlein, M., Hewett, K., Smith, K. M., & Hulland, J. (2025). 'Quest for insights: Leveraging data from the video game ecosystem in marketing.' Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Welden, R., Hewett, K., Yoo, K,. Haenlein, M., Smith, K.M., Pauwels, K., Kannan, P.K., Hulland, J. (2025). 'Leveling up retail: How retailers and brands thrive in the video game ecosystem.' Journal of Retailing.
Yoo, K., Haenlein, M., & Hewett, K. (2025). 'A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view: Charting unexplored territories in consumer research with generative artificial intelligence.' Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
2024
Alevizou, P., Michaelidou, N., Daskalopoulou, A., & Appiah-Campbell, R. (2024). 'Self-Tracking among Young People: Lived Experiences, Tensions and Bodily Outcomes.' Sociology, 58(4), 947-964.
Byrom, J., Light, D., Medway, D., Parker, C., & Zenker, S. (2024). 'Post-holiday memory work: Everyday encounters with fridge magnets.' Annals of Tourism Research, 105, 103724.
Guenther, P., Guenther, M., Lukas, B. A., & Homburg, C. (2024). 'Consequences of Marketing Asset Accountability—A Natural Experiment.' Journal of Marketing, 88(5), 24-45.
- DOI: 10.1177/00222429241236142
Skandalis, A., Banister, E., and Byrom, J. (2024). 'Spatial Authenticity and Extraordinary Experiences: Music Festivals and the Everyday Nature of Tourism Destinations', Journal of Travel Research, 63(2): 357-370.
Spence, R., Ashman, R., Patterson, A., & Hunter-Jones, P. (2024). 'Beyond the Body Productive: Exploring the Transformative Potential of Self-Tracking.' Sociology.
Stäbler, S., & Haenlein, M. (2024). 'The unheard voice of marketing research: Breaking through to news and social media.' Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Sudbury-Riley, L., Hunter-Jones, P., Al-Abdin, A., & Haenlein, M. (2024). 'When the road is rocky: Investigating the role of vulnerability in consumer journeys.' Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 52(4), 1045-1068.
2023
Colicev, A. (2023). 'How can non-fungible tokens bring value to brands', International Journal of Research in Marketing, 40(1): 30-37.
Colicev, A., Hakkarainen, T., and Pedersen, T. (2023). 'Multi-project work and project performance: Friends or foes?', Strategic Management Journal, 44(2): 610-636.
- DOI: 10.1002/smj.3443
Hunter-Jones, P., Sudbury-Riley, L., Chan, J., and Al-Abdin, A. (2023). 'Barriers to participation in tourism linked respite care', Annals of Tourism Research, 98.
Momeni, K., Raddats, C., and Martinsuo, M. (2023). 'Mechanisms for developing operational capabilities in digital servitization', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 43(13): 101-127.
Scheurenbrand, K., Schatzki, T., Parsons, E., and Patterson, A. (2023). 'How Do Unsustainable Practices Remain Dominant? A Practice Theory Reinterpretation of Gramsci', Sociology.
Yoo, K., Welden, R., Hewett, K. and Haenlein, M. (2023). 'The merchants of meta: A research agenda to understand the future of retailing in the metaverse', Journal of Retailing, 99(2): 173-192.
2022
Ashman, R., Radcliffe, L., Patterson, A. and Gatrell, C. (2022). 'Re-ordering Motherhood and Employment: Mobilizing 'Mums Everywhere' during Covid-19', British Journal of Management, 33: 1125-1143.
Borah, A., Bahadir, S. C., Colicev, A. and Tellis, G. J. (2022). 'It pays to pay attention: How firm's and competitor's marketing levers affect investor attention and firm value', International Journal of Research in Marketing, 39(1): 227-246.
Haenlein, M., Bitner, M. J., Kohli, A. K., Lemon, K. N. and Reibstein, D. J. (2022). Guest Editorial: 'Responsible Research in Marketing', Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(1): 8-12.
Haenlein, M., Huang, M. -H. and Kaplan, A. (2022). Guest Editorial: 'Business Ethics in the Era of Artificial Intelligence', Journal of Business Ethics, 178(4): 867-869.
Haenlein, M., Libai, B. and Muller, E. (2022). 'Satiation and cross promotion: Selling and swapping users in mobile games', International Journal of Research in Marketing, 40(2): 342-361.
Hunter-Jones, P., Sudbury-Riley, L. and Al-Abdin, A. (2022). 'Understanding the relationship between terminal illness and tourism: An exploratory study', Tourism Management, 88.
McHale, I.G. and Holmes, B. (2022). 'Estimating transfer fees of professional footballers using advanced performance metrics and machine learning'. European Journal of Operational Research, 306(1): 389-399.
Varadarajan, R., Welden, R. B., Arunachalam, S., Haenlein, M. and Gupta, S. (2022). 'Digital product innovations for the greater good and digital marketing innovations in communications and channels: Evolution, emerging issues, and future research directions', International Journal of Research in Marketing, 39(2): 482-501.
2021
Guenther, M., & Guenther, P. (2021). 'The complex firm financial effects of customer satisfaction improvements.' International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(3), 639-662.
Guha, A., Grewal, D., Kopalle, P. K., Haenlein, M., Schneider, M. J., Jung, H., Moustafa, R., Hegde, D.R. and Hawkins, G. (2021). 'How artificial intelligence will affect the future of retailing', Journal of Retailing, 97(1): 28-41.
Kohli, A. K., & Haenlein, M. (2021). 'Factors affecting the study of important marketing issues: Implications and recommendations', International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(1): 1-11.
Kohli, A. K., and Haenlein, M. (2021). 'Factors Affecting the Study of Important Marketing Issues: Additional Thoughts and Clarifications', International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(1): 29-31.
Raki, A., Nayer, D., Nazifi, A., Alexander, M., & Seyfi, S. (2021). 'Tourism recovery strategies during major crises: The role of proactivity.' Annals of tourism research, 90.
Zhang, Y. and Hezarkhani, B. (2021). 'Competition in dual-channel supply chains: The manufacturers' channel selection', European Journal of Operational Research, 291(1): 244-262.
Research themes
The Marketing Group researches issues of significance to academics, businesses, consumers and society, with and special emphasis on five main themes:
Vulnerable consumers and responsible research in marketing
The study of marketing needs to include the perspectives of different groups and societies that may be considered vulnerable, or in some way at risk from market and technological change.
This theme includes research on:
- Customer journeys through palliative and end-of-life care
- Patient experience and service design
- Primary and acute healthcare
- Tourism consumer behaviour and health
- The impact of new technologies on firms and consumers, including video gaming, mobile gaming, and artificial intelligence
- Lived experiences of people bereaved by COVID-19
- Digital health literacy and associated behaviours
- Consumption in emerging economies and vulnerable/war-torn societies, health services research
- Transformative service research (TSR)
- The intersection of service design, consumer vulnerability and wellbeing.
Marketing strategy and analytics
As a discipline, marketing needs to demonstrate value to organisational stakeholders, in particular the financial return on investment.
This theme includes research on:
- The role of the marketing-finance interface for investors and analysts
- The impact of social media content on consumer perceptions, brand equity, consumer mindsets and investors
- Strategic management addressing societal issues
- Statistics in sports and the analysis of gambling markets and issues relating to gambling
- Using mathematical and statistical models to analyse various aspects of sports
- Professional sports and high-technology environments
- Business management, policy, and social and economic networks in sport
- Developing innovative forecasting techniques and investigating potential inefficiencies in sports gambling markets
- The role of marketing assets for firm performance
- The management and reporting of marketing assets
- Marketing’s financial performance impact
- Digital marketing and social network analysis
- Online community participation and social media influencer campaign analyses.
Consumer culture
Consumer culture views the consumption of products and services as ways to shape consumers’ identities, both internally and in relation to others.
This theme includes research on:
- The sociology of consumption, critical marketing and organisation
- Marketplace exclusion, gender and identity at work
- Food cultures
- The relationships that exist between organisations/consumers and their broader environments
- Locational planning, independent retailing and retail history
- Market dynamics
- Gender and arts marketing
- Sociological research on work
- Gendered consumption
- Historical marketing
- Sustainability and marketing ethics
- Consumer culture theory (CCT)
- The experiences of motherhood and family consumption.
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing
Although much less visible to the general public, marketing between businesses either in dyads or networks far exceeds that of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing.
This theme includes research on:
- The impact of branding in B2B context
- Servitisation (including digital), which refers to how manufacturers use services to create marketing differentiation
- Service innovation by manufacturers
- Social media marketing and customer experiences within B2B domains
- The dark side of business relationships.
Consumer behaviour and digital identity
An understanding of consumer behaviour underpins almost all modern advertising and marketing, with research using psychological and sociological traditions driving a deep understanding of consumers.
This theme includes research on:
- Consumer behaviour and consumer psychology
- The interface between digital modes of communication and consumers
- Consumer behaviour on digital platforms
- Sensory marketing and product design
- Numerical research and service marketing
- The manifestations of dehumanisation
- Effective marketing strategies and tactics for technology-based service
- Sustainability
- Posocial behaviour.
Research centres
Several members of our Group are actively involved in several research, consultancy and executive education projects at the Centre for Sports Business, as well as the other Research Centres at the Management School.
Find out more about the Management School's Research Centres
Upcoming seminars
Our Group regularly organises seminar series with international leading marketing experts, to present their latest research and ideas.
Monday 8 June 2026
Research Seminar 1
'The Different Impacts of Draft policy and Formal policy on Company Production Strategy: Evidence from the Chinese Electric Vehicle Industry'
Speaker: Professor Lixian Qian, International Business School (IBSS), Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU)
Time: 11am-12pm
In person: Management School, Seminar Room 5
Abstract:
Governments frequently use policies to influence company strategies, yet research has largely overlooked the policy formulation stage preceding implementation.
Drawing on institutional theory, we examine whether companies respond differently to government policies between the policy formulation and implementation stages, and how these responses vary for the companies with diverse levels of government ties.
The dual-credit policy for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) industry provides a quasi-natural experiment context for this study, in which Chinese central government released a draft policy for consultation in December 2016 and a final policy for formal implementation one year later.
Using a regression discontinuity in time design with 5-year production data of 100 car manufacturers, we find that the draft policy did not immediately increase car manufacturers’ EV production ratios, but gradually shifted their EV production trends upward, whereas the final policy significantly raised EV production ratios.
Heterogeneity analysis reveals that manufacturers with strong government ties increased their EV production ratios as early as the formulation stage, likely driven by informational advantages and government control.
In contrast, other manufacturers without such ties delayed adjustments until the final policy took effect.
This research contributes to the literature by expanding the theoretical understanding on the dynamic effects of policy formulation and implementation, as well as their heterogenous impacts on companies with different levels of government ties.
Our results offer valuable insights for both policymakers and managers.
Research Seminar 2
'Navigating NSFC Funding: Opportunities and Strategies for IBSS and ULMS Collaboration'
Speaker: Professor Lixian Qian, International Business School (IBSS), Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU)
Time: 12pm-1pm
In person: Management School, Seminar Room 5
Abstract:
Established in 1986, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is the country’s primary funding agency for basic and frontier research.
It supports a broad range of disciplines, including natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, health sciences, earth and information sciences, management, and interdisciplinary fields.
Faculty members at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and its International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) are strongly encouraged to apply for national research grants, particularly those from the NSFC.
In this seminar, Professor Lixian Qian from IBSS of XJTLU will provide an overview of the NSFC funding landscape, including its major funding programmes, past IBSS statistics on NSFC applications and success rates, and the IBSS initiatives designed to support grant applications.
The seminar will also explore potential joint application opportunities between IBSS faculty and the University of Liverpool Management School (ULMS) colleagues, along with suggested pathways for collaboration.
Speaker bio:
Professor Lixian Qian is a Professor in Marketing and Innovation at International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) of Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU).
He is currently serving as the Associate Dean for Research at IBSS and the Deputy Chair of University Research Committee.
He was the founding director of Smart Mobility Analytics Centre of IBSS.
He joined XJTLU in 2012 after obtaining his PhD degree at Lancaster University, UK.
He obtained his Bachelor and Master degrees from Fudan University, China. He had rich industry working experience in Furtune Global 500 companies (Intel and Emerson Electric) prior to his PhD study.
Professor Qian’s research focuses on innovation adoption and diffusion, data-driven marketing strategy, smart mobility, and sustainability.
His research has been published widely on leading international journals, such as Production and Operations Management, Risk Analysis, Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Transportation Research Part A, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Technological Forecasting Social Change, among others.
His research has been funded three times by the General Programme of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
He is the Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in the UK and the council member of China Marketing Association of Universities (CMAU).
He serves as the Section Editor of Sustainable Futures (ABS AJG-1, JCR-Q1), Editorial Board Member of Technological Forecasting & Social Change (ABS AJG-3, JCR-Q1), and ad-hoc reviewer for over 20 SCI/SSCI academic journals and international conferences.
Past seminars
2026
Carrying Andrew Ehrenberg’s Legacy: Research in Category and Brand Growth using Large Scale Household Panel Data
- Dr Arry Tanusindjaja, Adelaide University (AUSTRALIA)
- 12 May 2026
Thoughts on Publishing in 4* Marketing Outlets
- Professor Simone Wies, Goethe University Frankfurt (GERMANY)
- 29 April 2026
- Dr Gulay Guzel, Bucknell University (USA)
- 6 February 2026
2025
Marketing Program Decisions in Competitive Business Environments: Effective Recipes for Strong Financial Performance Over Time
- Dr Simos Chari, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester (UK)
- 24 November 2025
Generative AI and User-Generated Content: Evidence from Online Reviews
- Professor Yakov Bart, Northeastern University, Boston (USA)
- 2 October 2025
An Ecocentric Approach to ESG Principles for Achieving Strong Sustainability
- Professor Eric Arnould, Aalto University School of Business (Finland)
- 19 March 2025
2024
Research Update and Publishing talk focussing on JAMS
- Professor Gaia Rubera, Bocconi University (Italy)
- 16 May 2024
How Refugees Resource Hope through Anchoring Agentive Acts and Consumption
- Professor Linda Price, University of Wyoming (USA)
- 13 March 2024
Market Sensemaking for Consumers' Collective Political Agency
- Professor Lisa Peñaloza, Kedge Business School (France)
- 13 March 2024
2023
Executives, Investors, and Academics Assessments of Marketing Performance: Trade-offs between Metric Type, Uncertainty, and Performance
- Dr Ofer Mintz, University of Technology Sydney (Australia)
- 12 July 2023
From the Binary of Evolutionary Psychology to Neural Plasticity and Gender Fluidity – Implications for Marketing Research
- Professor Andy Prothero, University College Dublin (Ireland)
- 13 June 2023
We Own That!: Gratitude Transfer From the Frontline to the Firm
- Professor Tom Baker, University of Alabama (USA)
- 13 June 2023
From New York to Bangladesh: Anti-Slavery Movement and the Ethical Market of Fashion
- Dr Kanika Meshram, University of Melbourne (Australia)
- 10 May 2023
ULMS 20 Year Anniversary Seminars
The Group welcomed eight prestigious international visitors during this academic year, three of whom attended the Group’s 20th-anniversary activity at Tate Liverpool.
The event, alongside the visits of other international scholars, was organised by Dr Chris Raddats and became one of the highlights of the year for the Marketing group.
The international visitors gave presentations about their work, together with Professor Michael Haenlein.
- Professor Martin Schreier, Vienna University (Austria)
- Professor Lars Witell, Linkoping University (Sweden)
- Professor Jenny van Doorn, University of Groningen (The Netherlands)
- 18 April 2023
Strategic Inclusive Marketing: Lessons from Indie Brands
- Professor Marie-Agnes Parmentier, HEC Montreal (Canaa)
- 24 January 2023