Dr Tana Licsandru

Profile

Roles:

• Programme Director for MSc International Marketing and Consumer Psychology
• Senior Lecturer in Marketing
• Member of the Department of Marketing

Biography:

Dr Tana Licsandru (PhD, MA, BSc, FHEA) is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Marketing in the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London, where she also serves as the Programme Co-Director for the MSc International Marketing and Consumer Psychology. Prior to joining Queen Mary, Tana worked as a Lecturer in Marketing at Newcastle University London. Tana holds a PhD in Business and Management (Marketing) from Alliance Manchester Business School, the University of Manchester, a Masters degree in Marketing, Advertising and PR from the University of Sheffield and a BSc in Communication Science. 

 

Tana's primary research interests lie in the area of transformative consumer research, with specific focus on consumer diversity, inclusion and wellbeing within multicultural marketplaces. Her ongoing projects explore the ways in which historical and social hierarchies, power dynamics, privilege, and individual actions impact the consumption experiences and daily lives of marginalized and racially discriminated groups, particularly migrants and racialised minority communities. Her research spans various topics such as marketplace racism, discrimination and stigma, as well as consumer wellbeing, inclusive services, and inclusive marketing education. Tana is a mixed-methods researcher with recent work following an interpretive (qualitative) approach. Tana’s research contributions have been published in Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Industrial Marketing Management, as well as in edited books.  

 

Teaching

Undergraduate:

• BUSM095: Social and Political Marketing
• BUS345: Digital Marketing

 

Throughout her academic career, Tana has gained extensive teaching and dissertation supervision experience at undergraduate and postgraduate level. She has led and taught undergraduate courses on Digital Marketing, Global Marketing and Advertising, and postgraduate courses on Principles of Marketing, International Brand Management and Professional Analytics, for cohorts ranging from 30 to 400 students from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Tana is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds teaching certifications in Digital Marketing and Marketing Analytics.

Research

Research Interests:

Current and past research projects focus on:

• Inclusive marketing in Multicultural Marketplaces
• Transformative Consumer Research
• Consumer wellbeing
• Vulnerable consumers (immigrants, racialized minorities)
• Brands and cultural branding

Centre and Group Membership:

• Member of the Marketing Interactions & Digital Societies (MINDS) Research Group 
• Member of the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity (CRED)  

 

Publications

Journal articles

• Galalae, C., Kipnis, E., Cui, C.C., Johnson, E., Licsandru, T.C., Vorster, L. Demangeot, C., Kearney, S., Mari, C., Ruiz, V.M. and Pullig, C. (2023). A multi-contextual lens on racism and discrimination in the multicultural marketplace. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, Special Issue on Race and Discrimination in the Marketplace, 8(1), 95-106.

• Yan, Y., Gupta, S., Licsandru, T. & Schoefer, K. (2022). Integrating machine learning, modularity and supply chain integration for Branding 4.0. Industrial Marketing Management, 104, 136-149. 
• Chandrasapth, K., Yannopoulou, N., Schoefer, K., Licsandru, T.C. & Papadopoulos, T. (2021). Conflict in online consumption communities: A systematic literature review and directions for future research. International Marketing Review, 38(5), 900-926.  
• Kipnis, E., Demangeot, C., Pullig, C., Cross, S.N.N., Cui, C.C., Galalae, C., Kearney, S., Licsandru, T.C., Mari, C., Martin-Ruiz, V., Swanepoel, S., Vorster, L., Williams, J. (2021). Institutionalizing diversity and inclusion engaged marketing (DIEM) for multicultural marketplace wellbeing. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 40(2), 143-164. 
• Sharma, K., Licsandru, T. C., Gupta, S., Aggarwal, S., & Kanungo, R. (2020). An investigation into corporate trust and its linkages. Journal of Business Research, 117, 806-824. 
• Yan, Y., Gupta, S., Schoefer, K., & Licsandru, T. (2019). A Review of E-mass Customization as a Branding Strategy. Corporate Reputation Review, 1-9. 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2019). Ethnic marketing to the global millennial consumers: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Business Research, 103, 261-274. 
• Licsandru, T. C., & Cui, C. C. (2018). Subjective social inclusion: A conceptual critique for socially inclusive marketing. Journal of Business Research, 82, 330-339. Paper awarded at the Best Doctoral Paper Competition at the University of Manchester. 
• Licsandru, T.C., Szamosi, L., Papadopoulos, N. (2013). The Impact of Country-of-Origin, Ethnocentrism and Animosity on Product Evaluation: Evidence from Romania. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, 1(2), p. 259-277. 

 

Book chapters

• Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2024). A post-socialist reading of displaced images from the Global South: the case of Roma, Eastern Europe’s oriental Other. Just accepted in Das, A., Chauduri, H., Sandikci Turkdogan, O. (Eds.). Postcolonial Marketing Communication: Images from the Global South. Springer Nature, p. 137-158.   
• Licsandru, T.C. & Cui, C.C. (2022). Ethnic Marketing: the good, the bad and the unknown. In Brodowsky, G., Perren, R. & Schuster, C. (eds.), Handbook of Research on Ethnic and Intra-cultural Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 29-42.  
• Licsandru, T.C. (2022). Brand and value. In Owusu-Barnaby, A (Ed.), Revel Principles of Marketing, 1e UK Version, Pearson. 

 

Most recent conference proceedings and presentations

• Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2024) Being Outside, and yet Belonging: The Case of Historic Ethnic Minorities. Presented at the 12th EIASM Interpretive Consumer Research Workshop, 18-19 April, Malaga, Spain.  
• Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2023) Marginalized identities in market representations – a non-colonized perspective. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2023 European Association for Consumer Research Conference, 6-8 July, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2023) Ethno-racial Representations in Non-colonized Territories: the Case of Roma Consumers in Romania. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2023 Academy of Marketing Conference, 4-6 July, University of Birmingham, UK.
• Licsandru, T.C. & Galalae, C. (2023) Patterns of marginalisation in Non-Colonized territories: An analysis of Roma consumer representations in the media. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2023 Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 27-30 June, Lund, Sweden.
• Mal, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2023) Acculturation strategies of stigmatized groups: a case of Romanian immigrants in the UK. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2033 Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 27-30 June, Lund, Sweden.
• Cross, S.N.N., Galalae, C., Licsandru, T.C. (co-track chairs) et al. (2023). Growing diversity and inclusion-engaged marketing (DIEM) Research, Practice and Education for consumer well-being in multicultural marketplaces. Accepted Track 2 at the 2023 Transformative Consumer Research Dialogical Conference, hosted by Royal Holloway, University of London, 18-20 June 2023.
• Licsandru, T.C., Kipnis, E., Galalae, C., Johnson, E., Mari, C., Cui, C.C., Cross, S.N.N., Kearney, S., Martín Ruiz, V., Vorster, L., and Yoruk, I. (2023) Building Marketing DEI Competence: University Faculty View on Student Training. Paper presented at the Marketing Science: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference @ SMU Cox, 24-25 March, SMU Cox – USA.
• Galalae, C. et.al. (2023) A multi-contextual lens on racism and discrimination in the multicultural marketplace. Invited keynote presentation at the JACR Webinar on Racism and Discrimination in the Marketplace. Online. 12th January 2023.  
• Mal, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2022) The role of British brands in reshaping Romanian immigrants’ identity. In Proceedings of the 2022 Association for Consumer Research Conference, 20-23 October, Denver, CO.  
• Cross, S.N.N., Cui, C.C., Demangeot, C., Galalae, C., Johnson, E, Kearney, S., Kipnis, E., Licsandru, T.C., Mari, C., Martin-Ruiz, V., Vorster, L. (2022). Leveraging Diversity for Innovative Outcomes. Plenary Session on Managing Long-Term Teams for Impact in Research, Education or Practice. At 2022 TCR-AMA Impact Festival, Chicago, IL. 
• Licsandru, T.C., Meliou, E., & Steccolini, I.  (2022). Citizens’ preferences for digital vs human enabled public services: the role of ethnicity. In Proceedings of the 2022 Frontiers in Service Conference, 23-26 June 2022, Babson College, MA.  
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2022). Brand-Triggered Inclusion – A Theoretical Framework. In Proceedings of the 2022 Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference, 25-27 May 2022, Monterey CA.  
• Millard, R., Licsandru, T.C., Manika, D. & Gregory-Smith, D. (2022). Surprise gift giving subscription services: understanding influences on well-being of both senders and receivers. In: Humphreys, A., Packard, G. & Gielens, K. (eds.) Proceedings of the 2022 American Marketing Association Winter Academic Conference, Vol. 33, virtual. 
• Kipnis, E., Demangeot, C., Pullig, C., Cross, S.N.N., Cui, C.C., Galalae, C., Johnson, E., Kearney, S., Licsandru, T.C., Lindsey-Warren, T., Mari, C., Martin-Ruiz, V., Vorster, L., Williams, J. (2021). Growing diversity and inclusion-engaged marketing (DIEM) Research, Practice and Education for consumer well-being in multicultural marketplaces. Accepted Track 2 at the 2021 Transformative Consumer Research Dialogical Conference, hosted by the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, 28-30th June 2021, virtual. 
• Kipnis, E., Demangeot, C., Pullig, C., Cross, S.N.N., Cui, C.C., Galalae, C., Kearney, S., Licsandru, T.C., Mari, C., Martin-Ruiz, V., Swanepoel, S., Vorster, L., Williams, J. (2021). Institutionalizing diversity and inclusion engaged marketing (DIEM) for multicultural marketplace wellbeing. Paper invited for keynote presentation at the Marketing and Public Policy Conference Plenary Session titled "Transformative Consumer Research and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", 25th June 2021, virtual. 
• Galalae, C., Kipnis, E., Cui, C.C., Johnson, E., Licsandru, T.C., Vorster, L. et al. (2021). A multi-contextual lens on racism and discrimination in the multicultural marketplace. Paper presented at the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research Boutique Conference on “Racism and Discrimination in the Marketplace”, 17-18th June 2021, virtual. 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2020). Inclusive Branding – An Examination of Antecedents Using fsQCA. To be presented at American Marketing Association Summer Academic Conference, San Francisco, US. 
• Bhatt, R. & Licsandru, T.C. (2020). Standardization versus Adaptation of Brand Activism: The role of culture on millennial female consumers’ perception of Femvertising. To be presented at 2020 American Marketing Association Summer Academic Conference, San Francisco, US. 
• Licsandru T.C., Cui C.C. (2020). Towards a Model of Inclusive Ethnic Advertising: An Abstract. In: Wu S., Pantoja F., Krey N. (eds) Marketing Opportunities and Challenges in a Changing Global Marketplace. AMSAC 2019, Vancouver, Canada. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham 
• Nakata C., Demangeot C., Kipnis E., Cui C.C., Pullig C., Licsandru T.C. (2019) Special Session: Cultural Identity and Adaptation in Global Marketplaces: Methodological, Conceptual, and Empirical Insights: An Abstract. In: Rossi P., Krey N. (eds) Finding New Ways to Engage and Satisfy Global Customers. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress 2018. Springer, Cham 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2018). Finding Values in Diversity: Exploring the Effectiveness of Mono- and Multi-Ethnic Marketing Communications. In Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Conference, Stirling, UK. 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2018). Acculturation, enculturation and belongingness as predictors of ethnic consumption choices: conceptualization and model testing. Special session. Presented at the 2018 Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress (Special session), Porto, Portugal. 
• Cui, C.C., & Licsandru, T.C. (2018). Mono-ethnic marketing communications: enhancing ethnic congruence or manipulative intent? Presented at the 2018 Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress (Special session), Porto, Portugal. 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2017). Inclusive marketing communications: An investigation of ethnic consumer wellbeing in the multicultural marketplace. In Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Conference, Hull, UK. 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2017). An Exploratory Study of the Language Effect on Cross-Cultural Marketing: An Abstract. In: Stieler M. (eds) Creating Marketing Magic and Innovative Future Marketing Trends. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida. Springer, Cham. 
• Licsandru, T.C., & Cui, C.C. (2017). An Exploratory Study on Consumers’ Perceptions of Mono- and Multi-ethnic Marketing: An Abstract. In: Rossi P. (eds) Marketing at the Confluence between Entertainment and Analytics. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress, Paris, France. Springer, Cham. 

 

Invited presentations

• “Diversity and Inclusion in Business and Marketing”. Invited speaker at the American Institute for Foreign Study, London, UK, 11th April 2022.  
• “Let’s talk about… collaborative working: Some reflections from TCR”. Research seminar at University of Liverpool Management School, Liverpool, UK (online), 18th March 2022.  
• “Diversity and Inclusion in Business and Marketing”. Invited Guest Speaker at the SNSPA Online International Week, Bucharest, Romania (online), 9th December 2021. 
• “Towards a Model of Inclusive Ethnic Advertising”. Research seminar at Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK, 5th February 2020. 
• “Diversity & Inclusion in Marketing Education, Research and Practice”. Guest speaker at the World Marketing Summit, Harrogate, UK, 18th November 2019. 
• Open Class on “Internationalization of Chinese and Zhejiang Brands” organized by University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Guest speaker during video-conference, 17th May 2018, with Prof. Natalia Yannopoulou. 
• “Inclusive marketing communications: an exploratory inquiry on consumers’ perceptions of mono- and multi-ethnic marketing”. Research seminar at Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle, UK, 7th November 2017. 
• “Inclusive marketing for ethnic consumers’ felt inclusion”, Research seminar at Coventry Business School, Coventry, UK, 16th February 2017, with Prof. Charles Cui. 
• “Marketing to the Multicultural Consumer: Promoting Diversity to Build Stronger Brands”, Research seminar at The University of Sheffield International Faculty, City College, Thessaloniki, Greece, 29th  March 2016. 

Supervision

I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students. Broad areas of PhD supervision include:

• Consumer wellbeing and transformative consumer research
• Inclusive marketing interventions in multicultural marketplaces
• Inclusion in and through marketing activities
• Consumer response to multicultural advertising
• Acculturation studies.

 

Current PhD Students

• Mohd Adderly - FT 
• Md Al Amin - FT 
• Adele Howes - PT  

 

Public Engagement

Tana is a member of the Multicultural Marketplaces Network (MCMP), an international research team bringing together top academics from US, UK, France, Denmark, and Italy with expertise in different forms of marketplace diversity. Together, they co-founded the DIEM (Diversity & Inclusivity Engaged Marketing) Initiative, a collaborative platform bringing together researchers, industry and policy practitioners and educators working to advance Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in marketing discipline and actions. The initiative is supported by multiple funders including the Association for Consumer Research (USA), the University of Leicester ESRC Impact Accelerator, and IESEG School of Management (France).  The impact of the work Tana is conducting with the MCMP network, particularly in the area of multicultural inclusion and marketplace wellbeing, was recognised by the 2020 Women in Marketing ‘Marketing Scientist’ Award.  In 2022, their paper published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing (Kipnis et al., 2021) was adopted into the National Diversity Council member toolkit.  

In her research, Tana attempts to co-produce knowledge with non-academic partners, having developed and maintained relationships with an emerging network of organisations from the UK’s private and third sector. She has consulted marketing practitioners on topics such as embedding Diversity & Inclusion in marketing, enhancing consumer wellbeing and improving customer acquisition and retainment through a societal focus. 

Tana has been invited to present her research as a guest speaker at the World Marketing Summit and has given talks at various academic institutions, in the UK and abroad. In 2022, Tana was ‘Highly Commended’ for the Marketing Scientist Award at the Women in Marketing Awards, for her contributions to marketing research and education.  

Tana is a member of the Association for Consumer Research, American Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science and British Academy of Management and reviews for Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Service Management, among others. 

She is a member of the External Funding Sub-committee of the Transformative Consumer Research and acts as an External Examiner for the Marketing Subject Group and Business Clinic/Consultancy modules in the Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University.