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Zoe Lee

Dr Zoe Lee

(she/her)

Reader (Associate Professor) in Marketing

Cardiff Business School

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Dr. Zoe Lee is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Marketing at Cardiff Business School.

She is an expert specialising in responsible and ethically driven branding. Her areas of expertise encompass brand purpose, rebranding and activism, sustainability communications, and nonprofit marketing strategy. She is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Marketing as well as the Programme Director for MSc Strategic Marketing. She serves as an Associate Editor at the esteemed Journal of Strategic Marketing and a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing (previously known as the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing).

Her scholarly research addresses contemporary issues, including corporate branding and firm performance, the management of internal assets, as well as consumer behaviour in digital branding marketplaces. A focal point of her work revolves around constructing purposeful and authentic brands through conscience and activism. Dr Zoe Lee has led numerous global projects in collaboration with international scholars from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Italy. Notably, she also contributed to a British Academy-funded project exploring the emergence of brand equity management.

Dr. Lee’s research findings offer valuable insights that can be effectively applied by managers seeking sustainable marketing strategies across diverse industries. Zoe has published in esteemed journals such as Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Brand Management. Zoe was awarded the Outstanding Article in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ) in 2018. In addition, she also received the best conference paper at the European Advertising Academy conference in London in 2015.

Recent media: The Body Shop shouldn’t have failed in an age when consumers want activism from their brands. What happened? (theconversation.com)

 

Publication

2024

2023

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

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Research

Research interests

  • Corporate branding and digital: Building brands with a conscience and impact of corporate brand activism in addressing grand challenges, employee brand champions, sustaining heritage, brand positioning on social media and brands in developing countries
  • Sustainability in Fashion: Relationship between social sustainability and inclusivity movement, effective sustainability communications
  • Nonprofit marketing: Charity rebranding, mission drift, brand activism and donor behaviours
     

Grants

  • Velindre NHS Trust: "Development of a flexible brand website and resources relating to Endometriosis" with Prof Jacky Boivin, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 2020
  • Hodge Foundation Public Value Programme Student Internships: “Brand-to-brand (B2B) praise on social media” with Dr Denitsa Dineva, Cardiff University, 2022
  • Xiamen-Cardiff Joint Fund: " Heritage brands rejuvenation: Help or Hindrance" with Dr Qun Tan, Xiamen University, 2019-2020
  • ESRC Festival of Social Sciences: “Brand activism in nonprofit organisations”, 2020
  • British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant, “Uncovering the history of the customer-based brand equity model: Lessons for industry-academic knowledge co-creation" with Prof Micheal Beverland (Sussex University) and Dr Haiming Hang (University of Bath), 2016
  • British Academy Small Grant: "Challenges in charity merger" with Dr Humphrey Bourne (University of Bristol), 2010
  • ESRC Seminar Series: "Innovation in public services: current trends and future prospects" with Prof Stephen Osbourne (University of Edinburgh)
     

Public Value and Impact

  • Co-editor, Special issue on 'Delivering Impact for Social Good,' in European Journal of Marketing, with Mitchell, S., Rundle-Thiele, S. and Hyde, F. (2023)
  • Co-editor, Special issue on 'Conscientious brands: Making sustainability and responsibility work,' in Journal of Brand Management, with Iglesias, O., Ind, N., Tjandra, N.C., Feri, A. and Guzman, F. (2024)
     

Conference Organisation and Track Chairs

  • Conference Co-chair of the "Online Global Brand Meeting of the AM's Brand, Identity and Corporate Reputation SIG", 27th May 2021 with Machado, J. C.,Roper, S., Iglesias, O., Guzman, F. and Andreani, D.
  • Track Chair "Branding in the Metaverse", 16th Global Brand Conference, 3rd-5th May, 2023 
     

Teaching

  • BSc - Buyer Behaviour
  • MSc - Integrated Marketing Communication
  • MSc - Brand Management
  • MBA - Business Project Supervision
  • Exec MBA dissertation supervisor

Biography

Qualifications:

  • PhD (Marketing) - University of the West of England, Bristol
  • MSc (Marketing) - University of Birmingham
  • BEng (Chemical Engineering) - University of Birmingham

Honours and awards

  • 2024 - Nominated for Most Impactful and Outstanding Use of Assessment as Learning in the Enriching Student Life Awards (ESLA)
  • 2023 - Nominated for Most Engaging Staff Member in the Enriching Student Life Awards (ESLA) 
  • 2021 - Cardiff Business School SMT recognition from the Pro-Dean Education and Students for excellent contribution to teaching
  • 2018 - Outstanding article in Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ)
  • 2017 - Dean's Award for Citizenships

 

Professional memberships

  • Fellow at Higher Education Academy
  • Member of Academy of Marketing Science
  • Member of Academy of Marketing
  • Member of International Association for Business and Society
  • Member of CharityComms

Academic positions

  • Academic
    • Lecturer in Marketing, University of Bath
    • Teaching Associate, University of Bristol
  • External examiners:
    • External examiner for taught UG Marketing, Leeds University (2020- present)
    • External examiner for taught UG Marketing, the University of Warwick (2023 - present)
  • PhD examiners:
    • PhD external examiner at the University of York (2024)
    • PhD external examiner at the University of Glasgow (2023)
    • PhD external examiner at Edinburgh Napier University (2023)
    • PhD external examiner at Cranfield University (2019)

Committees and reviewing

  • Associate Editor
    • Journal of Strategic Marketing
  • Editorial Board
    • Journal of Product & Brand Management
    • Journal of Philanthropy & Marketing
  • Journal Reviewer
    • European Journal of Marketing
    • Journal of Business Research
    • British Journal of Management
    • Journal of Marketing Management
    • Journal of Brand Management
    • Public Management Review
    • Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

Member of the Scientific Committee of the Academy of Marketing's Brand, Identity and Corporate Reputation (2020 to present)

Member of People Committee (2019-2022)

Member of Shadow Management Board (2020-2022)

Member of Regrow Borneo

Supervisions

  • I am interested in hearing from other PhD students who wish to research in the following areas:

    • Corporate brand purpose and communication
    • Sustainability communications in fashion
    • Brand activism strategy
    • Technology and brand (e.g social media, metaverse etc)
    • Nonprofit branding

Current supervision

Omar Jamal Mohammed

Omar Jamal Mohammed

Research student

Katie Lloyd

Katie Lloyd

Research student

Abdulrahman Almuajel

Abdulrahman Almuajel

Research student

Contact Details

Email LeeSH4@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29225 10885
Campuses Aberconway Building, Room Q05, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Brand identity and management
  • Sustainability
  • nonprofit marketing