Kirsten Cowan

I joined the Business School as a Lecturer in Marketing in November 2018. Before taking up my current post, I was an Assistant Professor of Marketing at NEOMA Business School (Grand Ecole) in France (2015 to 2018). In 2015, I earned a PhD in Marketing with an expertise in quantitative consumer research from the University of North Texas (United States). My research is predominantly phenoneon-based, and focussed on immersive technologies. More specifically, my research examines consumer judgement and decision-making in relation to consumer-brand interactions within digital and more immersive channels. While I have experience with and have published research using multiple research methodologies, I prefer to take experimental approaches. 

Currently, I am member of the Academy of Marketing Science and Society for Consumer Research. I am an Associate Editor for the Journal of Advertising Research as well as the Journal of Product & Brand Management. I am on the executive review board for the Journal of Business Research.

At the core of my teaching philosophy, I see myself as a learning guide. University represents a transition phase for students and I help guide them and prepare them for the next stage of their lives. Currently, I teorganise/teach the honours-level Interactive Retailing UG course. This is a course that I developed in 2019.

My current research investigates how consumers interact with brands using different immersive technologies, and how this affects information processing and decision-making. In taking a positivist approach, my research primarily consists of experiments focused within three domains, including: consumer-brand relationships, retailing, and heritage. My current research projects explore branding within the realm of augmented and virtual reality, website design, social media, and artificial intelligence.  

I have over 20 articles accepted in leading journals. My research can be found in several marketing-focussed and business journals, including Journal of Retailing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Psychology & Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of Business Research.

Additionally, I enjoy meeting up with colleagues at conferences. My annual conferences of typically include Academy of Marketing Science, Society for Consumer Psychology, Global Branding Conference, and others. I have 2 awards for best paper, 1 award for most innovative paper, and 1 honourable mention. 

Currently, I'm supervising six PhD students, two of which are in their final year. I am not accepting PhD inquiries for 2023/24 but have capacity for one PhD student in 2024/25. This PhD applicant must have a keen desire to research immersive technologies with a mixed method or quantiative approach.