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Denitsa Dineva   BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Dr Denitsa Dineva

(she/her)

BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Teams and roles for Denitsa Dineva

Overview

Dr Denitsa Dineva is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy at Cardiff Business School. She specialises in digital marketing, consumer behaviour, and brand strategy, with a particular interest in what brands really get up to online. Denitsa holds a BSc in Business and Management, an MSc in Marketing, and a PhD in Digital Marketing, and is a Fellow of Advance HE. Before stepping into academia, she worked in marketing across the commercial and non-profit sectors.

Her research focuses on the complexities of digital and social media. On one side, she explores the darker bits of online life such as user incivility, content moderation, and debunking misinformation. On the other, she examines how brands build digital presence and engage with audiences, from slick storytelling to sassy brand banter. 

Denitsa’s work has been published in interdisciplinary journals, and she frequently writes for The Conversation UK, making marketing research relevant and readable. She has received internal and external funding for projects addressing real-world marketing challenges.

🤝 Fun fact #1: My research shows that teasing or cheeky brand banter doesn’t always get the laughs or the likes. Audiences are more responsive to cooperative and respectful behaviours, especially when tensions run high.

🚫 Fun fact #2: When it comes to moderating toxic comments, staying “nice” isn’t always the best move. Brands that firmly remove aggressive users and clearly call out poor behaviour are actually seen as more competent.

Public Value Statement

At Cardiff Business School, public value means using research as a force for good. In my work, this means helping students and small businesses make sense of the digital world through research-led teaching and collaboration. If you're interested in applying academic insight to real-world challenges, I’d be happy to connect.

 

Publication

2025

2024

2023

2022

2020

2019

2017

Articles

Book sections

Other

Research

Research Interests

My work explores how brands and consumers navigate the messier sides of digital spaces. I study:

  • Uncivil C2C communication – How online rudeness, trolling and hostile exchanges between consumers shape brand perceptions.
  • Negative consumer engagement – Why people shame, boycott, or call out brands publicly, and how others respond.
  • Conflict management on social media – How brands handle digital disputes without escalating them or losing credibility.
  • Content moderation and platform strategy – How moderation choices impact engagement and brand trust.
  • Brand communication online – From storytelling to banter, what makes brand content resonate (or backfire) in fast-moving digital environments.

Research Methods

  • Mixed Methods – Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches for a comprehensive analysis.
  • Social Media Text Analysis – Extracting and interpreting insights from digital conversations.
  • Experiments – Testing hypotheses on consumer behaviour and engagement in controlled settings.

Teaching

Denitsa teaches on the following modules:

Other teaching commitments:

Biography

Qualifications

  • PhD in Business and Management (Digital Marketing), Aberystwyth University
  • MSc in Marketing, Aberystwyth University
  • BSc in Business and Management, Aberystwyth University

Honours and awards

Awards & Nominations

  • Best Full Paper Award, SIM (Società Italiana Marketing) Conference, 2024
  • ‘Most Uplifting Staff Member’ Nomination, Enriching Student Life Awards, 2023
  • Most Downloaded Paper of 2022, Psychology & Marketing, 2022
  • First Prize, 3 Minute Thesis Competition, Aberystwyth University, 2018
  • Best Paper in Track Award, Academy of Marketing Conference, Newcastle, 2016

Funding (Internal & External)

  • LTA Research Internship, Cardiff University, PI, 2025 – £2,000
  • Seedcorn Funding, Cardiff Business School, PI, 2025 £2,000
  • CRoSS (Commercialising Research out of Social Sciences) Fund, ESRC, PI, 2025/26 – £9,797
  • Public Value Student Internship, The Hodge Foundation, PI, 2024 – £2,000
  • Harmonised Impact Acceleration Account, ESRC, Co-I, 2023 – £23,878
  • LTA Research Internship, Cardiff University, PI, 2023 – £2,000
  • Management KTP, UKRI, Co-I, 2022 – £180,299
  • Public Value Student Internship, The Hodge Foundation, PI, 2022 – £2,000
  • Innovation for All, UKRI HE Innovation Funding, Co-I, 2022 – £62,785
  • Seedcorn Funding, Cardiff Business School, PI, 2020–22 £5,960

Professional memberships

  • Member, Academy of Marketing (2024 - present)
  • Member, Academy of Marketing Science (2022 – present)
  • Fellow, Advance HE (2020 – present)
  • Associate Fellow, Advance HE (2017 – 2020)

Academic positions

  • External Examiner, University of Glasgow (Jan 2025 – present)
  • Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff University (Aug 2023 – present)
  • External Examiner, University of Liverpool (Dec 2021 – present)
  • Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff University (Jan 2020 – Aug 2023)
  • Lecturer in Marketing, Edinburgh Napier University (Jan 2019 – Jan 2020)
  • Part-time Lecturer, Aberystwyth University (Sep 2016 – Dec 2018)

Speaking engagements

  • "The Power of AI for Your SME", Breakfast Briefing (Feb 2025)
  • Guest Lecture, COIL Exchange Programme, University of Liverpool (2022)
  • Keynote Speech – "The PhD Journey", Aberystwyth University PhD Conference (2021)

Committees and reviewing

  • Ad Hoc Journal Reviewer (Ongoing)
  • Senior Personal Tutor, Cardiff University (2024 – present)
  • Member, AHSS Research Grant Peer Review College (2022 – 2025)
  • Member, Cardiff Business School (CARBS) Research Ethics Committee (2021 – 2025)

 

Supervisions

I welcome applications from prospective PhD students interested in the following areas:

  • Online Dysfunctional Behaviours – Exploring negative consumer interactions such as incivility, flaming, negative word-of-mouth, the spread of misinformation, and disinformation sharing and mitigation on digital platforms.
  • Social Media Content Moderation – Investigating how platforms, brands, and communities implement and manage content moderation strategies, focusing on their effectiveness in curbing harmful behaviours and maintaining positive user engagement.
  • Social Media Engagement: Antecedents and Consequences – Examining the factors that drive consumer engagement with brands, influencers, and communities, as well as the outcomes of these interactions.
  • Brand-to-Brand Engagement – Studying how brands interact with each other in digital spaces, particularly in brand collaborations, competitive interactions, and online brand disputes.

I encourage prospective PhD candidates to send me a detailed research proposal, outlining their research topic, key objectives, and preferred methodology. I am particularly interested in qualitative and quantitative social media text analysis, experimental research, and mixed-methods approaches, but I am open to discussing other methodological perspectives depending on the research focus.

Due to the high volume of inquiries I receive, I can only respond to prospective students whose research topics align, even if loosely, with the areas outlined above.

Current supervision

Contact Details

Email DinevaD@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29208 76407
Campuses Aberconway Building, Floor 1, Room B17, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Digital Marketing