![Rebecca Mardon BA (Hons), PhD, FHEA](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1344?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Rebecca Mardon
(she/her)
BA (Hons), PhD, FHEA
Reader (Associate Professor) in Marketing
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Dr Rebecca Mardon is a Reader in Marketing at Cardiff University. Her research explores consumption through a sociocultural lens, focusing on how digital technologies shape consumption practices and influence consumers' identities, relationships, and well-being.
Her current projects examine (1) how digital technologies impact ownership and sharing, (2) how social media influencers navigate complex relationships with their followers, (3) how ‘deviant’ consumption communities thrive despite external criticism, and (4) the persistence of seemingly irrational conflicts within online consumer collectives.
Rebecca’s research is published in leading academic journals in the field of marketing, including the Journal of Consumer Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research and Marketing Theory. Her work has been featured in outlets such as The Guardian, The Independent, Forbes, and Business Insider. She currently serves on the Editorial Review Board at the Journal of Business Research and is a member of the ESRC Peer Review College.
At Cardiff, she teaches advanced digital marketing modules that blend theoretical insights with industry best practices. Rebecca also serves as Director of the Business Management PhD Programme and is a member of Cardiff Business School's Shadow Management Board.
Publication
2024
- Cocker, H., Mardon, R. and Daunt, K. 2024. We’re not deviant, you are! How consumption communities neutralize accusations of deviance. Presented at: AM2024: Marketing: Fusing resilience and power for public value – igniting marketing’s social spirit, Cardiff, UK, 1 - 4 July 2024Academy Of Marketing Conference 2024 Paper Proceedings. Academy of Marketing pp. 254-255.
2023
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2023. How social media influencers impact consumer collectives: An embeddedness perspective. Journal of Consumer Research 50(3), pp. 617-644. (10.1093/jcr/ucad003)
- Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2023. “Kind of Mine, Kind of Not”: Digital possessions and affordance misalignment. Journal of Consumer Research 50(2), pp. 255-281. (10.1093/jcr/ucac057)
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2023. When parasocial relationships turn sour: Social media influencers, eroded and exploitative intimacies, and anti-fan communities. Journal of Marketing Management 39(11-12), pp. 1132-1162. (10.1080/0267257X.2022.2149609)
- Mardon, R., Maraj, V. and Bardhi, F. 2023. What’s mine isn’t necessarily yours: How digital technology affordances destabilise couples’ sharing practices. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Lund, Sweden, 27 – 30 June 2023.
- Molesworth, M., Grigore, G. and Mardon, R. 2023. The psychosocial relational dynamics of rescuer platforms. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Lund, Sweden, 27 – 30 June 2023.
2022
- Alkaffary, B., Koenig-Lewis, N., Bosangit, C. and Mardon, R. 2022. Psychological ownership in access-based services: The role of the virtual closet. Presented at: 12th SERVSIG Conference, Glasgow, UK, 16-18 June 2022.
- Mardon, R., Maraj, V. and Bardhi, F. 2022. What’s mine isn’t necessarily yours: How digital object affordances destabilise couples’ sharing practices. Presented at: 11th Interpretive Consumer Research Workshop, Liverpool, UK, 9 – 10 June 2022.
2021
- Cocker, H., Mardon, R. and Daunt, K. 2021. Social media influencers & transgressive celebrity endorsement in consumption community contexts. European Journal of Marketing 55(7), pp. 1841-1872. (10.1108/EJM-07-2019-0567)
2019
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2019. Community-embedded human brands and dysfunctional community role dynamics: A study of the YouTube beauty community. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada, 17-19 July 2019. pp. -.
- Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2019. Possessing digital objects: Affordances and agency in Possession. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada, 17-19 July 2019.
2018
- Mardon, R. and Belk, R. 2018. Materializing digital collecting: an extended view of digital materiality. Marketing Theory 18(4), pp. 543-570. (10.1177/1470593118767725)
- Mardon, R., Molesworth, M. and Grigore, G. 2018. YouTube beauty gurus and the emotional labour of tribal entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research 92, pp. 443-454. (10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.04.017)
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2018. Constructing and commodifying the tribal celebrity: A dramaturgical perspective. Presented at: Academy of Marketing Conference, Stirling, Scotland, 2-5 July 2018.
- Lindgreen, A. et al. eds. 2018. Communicating corporate social responsibility in the digital era. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
2017
- Watkins, R., Molesworth, M. and Grigore, G. 2017. Selling without selling out: YouTube beauty gurus & the emotional labour of tribal entrepreneurship. Presented at: 9th Interpretivist Consumer Research Workshop (ICR), Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 April 2017.
- Watkins, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2017. A relational ontology of objects & possession. Presented at: 9th Interpretivist Consumer Research Workshop (ICR), Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 April 2017.
2016
- Watkins, R. 2016. Actor-network theory, consumer-object relations and method assemblage: methodological reflections from a study of digital possessions. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference 2016, Lille, France, 6-9 July 2016.
- Watkins, R. and Belk, R. 2016. Collections and collecting in a digital age. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference 2016, Lille, France, 6-9 July 2016.
- Molesworth, M. and Watkins, R. 2016. Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress. Journal of Consumer Culture 16(2), pp. 510-530. (10.1177/1469540514528195)
- Molesworth, M., Watkins, R. D. and Denegri-Knott, J. 2016. Possession work on hosted digital consumption objects as consumer ensnarement. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 1(2), pp. 246-261. (10.1086/685474)
- Watkins, R. D., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2016. The relationship between ownership and possession: observations from the context of digital virtual goods. Journal of Marketing Management 32(1-2), pp. 44-70. (10.1080/0267257X.2015.1089308)
- Grigore, G., Molesworth, M. and Watkins, R. 2016. New corporate responsibilities in the digital economy. In: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-Financial Crisis Era. Palgrave, pp. 41-62.
- Watkins, R. 2016. Conceptualising the ontology of digital consumption objects. Presented at: Association for Consumer Research North American Conference 2015, New Orleans, LA, 1-4 October 2015 Presented at Diehl, K., Yoon, C. and Duluth, M. N. eds.Advances in Consumer Research – North American Conference Proceedings, Vol. 43. Association for Consumer Research pp. 275-276.
2015
- Watkins, R., Sellen, A. and Lindley, S. E. 2015. Digital collections and digital collection practices. Presented at: SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 18 - 23 April, 2015Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: ACM pp. 3423-3432., (10.1145/2702123.2702380)
- Grigore, G., Molesworth, M. and Watkins, R. 2015. Conceptualising digital corporate social responsibility. Presented at: 4th International Conference on Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Business, Athens, 8-9 October 2015.
2014
- Watkins, R. 2014. Fragmented ownership and the fencing in of digital virtual possessions. Presented at: Connected Life, Oxford, 12 June 2014.
2013
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2013. The ongoing exploitation of consumers' possession work via the permanent deferral of DVG ownership. Presented at: 7th Workshop on Interpretive Consumer Research, Brussells, 11 - 12 April 2013.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2013. The biographies of digital goods. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory, Tucson, Az, 13-16 June 2013.
2012
- Denegri-Knott, J., Watkins, R. and Wood, J. 2012. Transforming digital virtual goods into meaningful possessions. In: Molesworth, M. and Denegri Knott, J. eds. Digital Virtual Consumption. Routledge Studies in Innovation, Organization and Technology Vol. 23. Oxford: Routledge, pp. 76-91.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2012. Attachment to digital virtual possessions in videogames. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Oxford, 16-19 August 2012.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2012. Attachment to digital virtual possessions in videogames. In: Belk, R. W., Scott, L. and Askegaard, S. eds. Research in Consumer Behaviour., Vol. 14. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing, pp. 153-171.
Articles
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2023. How social media influencers impact consumer collectives: An embeddedness perspective. Journal of Consumer Research 50(3), pp. 617-644. (10.1093/jcr/ucad003)
- Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2023. “Kind of Mine, Kind of Not”: Digital possessions and affordance misalignment. Journal of Consumer Research 50(2), pp. 255-281. (10.1093/jcr/ucac057)
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2023. When parasocial relationships turn sour: Social media influencers, eroded and exploitative intimacies, and anti-fan communities. Journal of Marketing Management 39(11-12), pp. 1132-1162. (10.1080/0267257X.2022.2149609)
- Cocker, H., Mardon, R. and Daunt, K. 2021. Social media influencers & transgressive celebrity endorsement in consumption community contexts. European Journal of Marketing 55(7), pp. 1841-1872. (10.1108/EJM-07-2019-0567)
- Mardon, R. and Belk, R. 2018. Materializing digital collecting: an extended view of digital materiality. Marketing Theory 18(4), pp. 543-570. (10.1177/1470593118767725)
- Mardon, R., Molesworth, M. and Grigore, G. 2018. YouTube beauty gurus and the emotional labour of tribal entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research 92, pp. 443-454. (10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.04.017)
- Molesworth, M. and Watkins, R. 2016. Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress. Journal of Consumer Culture 16(2), pp. 510-530. (10.1177/1469540514528195)
- Molesworth, M., Watkins, R. D. and Denegri-Knott, J. 2016. Possession work on hosted digital consumption objects as consumer ensnarement. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 1(2), pp. 246-261. (10.1086/685474)
- Watkins, R. D., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2016. The relationship between ownership and possession: observations from the context of digital virtual goods. Journal of Marketing Management 32(1-2), pp. 44-70. (10.1080/0267257X.2015.1089308)
Book sections
- Grigore, G., Molesworth, M. and Watkins, R. 2016. New corporate responsibilities in the digital economy. In: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-Financial Crisis Era. Palgrave, pp. 41-62.
- Denegri-Knott, J., Watkins, R. and Wood, J. 2012. Transforming digital virtual goods into meaningful possessions. In: Molesworth, M. and Denegri Knott, J. eds. Digital Virtual Consumption. Routledge Studies in Innovation, Organization and Technology Vol. 23. Oxford: Routledge, pp. 76-91.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2012. Attachment to digital virtual possessions in videogames. In: Belk, R. W., Scott, L. and Askegaard, S. eds. Research in Consumer Behaviour., Vol. 14. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing, pp. 153-171.
Books
- Lindgreen, A. et al. eds. 2018. Communicating corporate social responsibility in the digital era. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Conferences
- Cocker, H., Mardon, R. and Daunt, K. 2024. We’re not deviant, you are! How consumption communities neutralize accusations of deviance. Presented at: AM2024: Marketing: Fusing resilience and power for public value – igniting marketing’s social spirit, Cardiff, UK, 1 - 4 July 2024Academy Of Marketing Conference 2024 Paper Proceedings. Academy of Marketing pp. 254-255.
- Mardon, R., Maraj, V. and Bardhi, F. 2023. What’s mine isn’t necessarily yours: How digital technology affordances destabilise couples’ sharing practices. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Lund, Sweden, 27 – 30 June 2023.
- Molesworth, M., Grigore, G. and Mardon, R. 2023. The psychosocial relational dynamics of rescuer platforms. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Lund, Sweden, 27 – 30 June 2023.
- Alkaffary, B., Koenig-Lewis, N., Bosangit, C. and Mardon, R. 2022. Psychological ownership in access-based services: The role of the virtual closet. Presented at: 12th SERVSIG Conference, Glasgow, UK, 16-18 June 2022.
- Mardon, R., Maraj, V. and Bardhi, F. 2022. What’s mine isn’t necessarily yours: How digital object affordances destabilise couples’ sharing practices. Presented at: 11th Interpretive Consumer Research Workshop, Liverpool, UK, 9 – 10 June 2022.
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2019. Community-embedded human brands and dysfunctional community role dynamics: A study of the YouTube beauty community. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada, 17-19 July 2019. pp. -.
- Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2019. Possessing digital objects: Affordances and agency in Possession. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada, 17-19 July 2019.
- Mardon, R., Cocker, H. and Daunt, K. 2018. Constructing and commodifying the tribal celebrity: A dramaturgical perspective. Presented at: Academy of Marketing Conference, Stirling, Scotland, 2-5 July 2018.
- Watkins, R., Molesworth, M. and Grigore, G. 2017. Selling without selling out: YouTube beauty gurus & the emotional labour of tribal entrepreneurship. Presented at: 9th Interpretivist Consumer Research Workshop (ICR), Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 April 2017.
- Watkins, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. 2017. A relational ontology of objects & possession. Presented at: 9th Interpretivist Consumer Research Workshop (ICR), Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 April 2017.
- Watkins, R. 2016. Actor-network theory, consumer-object relations and method assemblage: methodological reflections from a study of digital possessions. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference 2016, Lille, France, 6-9 July 2016.
- Watkins, R. and Belk, R. 2016. Collections and collecting in a digital age. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference 2016, Lille, France, 6-9 July 2016.
- Watkins, R. 2016. Conceptualising the ontology of digital consumption objects. Presented at: Association for Consumer Research North American Conference 2015, New Orleans, LA, 1-4 October 2015 Presented at Diehl, K., Yoon, C. and Duluth, M. N. eds.Advances in Consumer Research – North American Conference Proceedings, Vol. 43. Association for Consumer Research pp. 275-276.
- Watkins, R., Sellen, A. and Lindley, S. E. 2015. Digital collections and digital collection practices. Presented at: SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 18 - 23 April, 2015Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: ACM pp. 3423-3432., (10.1145/2702123.2702380)
- Grigore, G., Molesworth, M. and Watkins, R. 2015. Conceptualising digital corporate social responsibility. Presented at: 4th International Conference on Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Business, Athens, 8-9 October 2015.
- Watkins, R. 2014. Fragmented ownership and the fencing in of digital virtual possessions. Presented at: Connected Life, Oxford, 12 June 2014.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2013. The ongoing exploitation of consumers' possession work via the permanent deferral of DVG ownership. Presented at: 7th Workshop on Interpretive Consumer Research, Brussells, 11 - 12 April 2013.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2013. The biographies of digital goods. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory, Tucson, Az, 13-16 June 2013.
- Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M. 2012. Attachment to digital virtual possessions in videogames. Presented at: Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Oxford, 16-19 August 2012.
Research
Primary research interests
- Materiality and digital materiality
- Ownership and sharing
- Online consumer collectives
- Social media influencers
- Fandom and anti-fandom
- Marketplace conflict
Teaching
Modules taught currently:
- BS3012 Digital Marketing, BSc Business Management, Yr 3 (Module Leader)
- BST240 Digital Marketing, MSc Strategic Marketing
- BST356 Digital Marketing, MSc Marketing
- BST212 Conducting Research in Marketing & Strategy, MSc Social Science Research Methods
Rebecca has previously taught a range of marketing modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as supervising undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and postgraduate consultancy projects.
Biography
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching & Learning, Cardiff University, 2019
- PhD in Marketing, University of Southampton, 2015
- BA (First Class Hons) Advertising and Marketing Communications, Bournemouth University, 2011
Honours and awards
- Sidney Levy Award Honourable Mention, 2024
- Editor's Choice, Journal of Consumer Research, 2023
- Research Award, Academy of Marketing, 2017
- Best Paper Award, Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 2016
- Editor's Choice, Journal of Marketing Management, 2016
- Best Paper Award, Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 2013
Professional memberships
- Member of the Association for Consumer Research
- Member of Consumer Culture Theory Consortium
- Member of the Academy of Marketing
- Fellow of Advance HE
Academic positions
- 2023 - present: Reader, Cardiff University
- 2019 - 2023: Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University
- 2014 - 2019: Lecturer, Cardiff University
- 2014: Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge
- 2012 - 2014: Lecturer (part-time), Bournemouth University
Committees and reviewing
- Member of the Cardiff Business School Shadow Management Board (2022 - present)
- Departmental representative, Cardiff Business School Research Ethics Committee (2018 - 2023)
- Admissions Tutor for MSc Strategic Marketing and MSc Marketing (2015 - 2023)
- School Representative, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Academic Innovation Network (2019 – 2020)
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising PhD students who are exploring sociocultural aspects of consumer culture using qualitative research methods. I am particularly interested in supervising projects relating to digital media/technologies
Current supervision
Wahura Kabutha
Research student
Past projects
Bader Alkaffary, Cardiff University, Project: ‘The Role of Psychological Ownership in Access-Based-Consumption: Insights from the Fashion Industry’ (completed 2022, 2nd supervisor)
James Davies, Cardiff University, Project: ‘Serendipity and the Silver Screen: Career Entryways and Worker Experiences in UK Television’ (completed 2021, 3rd supervisor)
Contact Details
MardonRD@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29208 75195
Aberconway Building, Room T33, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
+44 29208 75195
Aberconway Building, Room T33, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU