I am a Reader in the Department of Marketing where I have been based since 2008. My research interests are focused on exploring the role of networking and wider market practices of small and medium sized firms. Within this field I have particular interest in hybrid organisational structures and alternative and non-mainstream markets. I have a strong portfolio of leadership and management roles within SBS. I am currently Director of Teaching and Learning and also an elected member of the University Senate. I have extensive research expertise in the Food and Drink sector where I have worked with large and small companies, both nationally and internationally, examining issues related to relative competitiveness and growth strategies. I was appointed as expert budget adviser to the Scottish Government in 2017.

I have published in leading business journals including the International Journal of Management Reviews, Technological Forecasting and Social Change and International Small Business Journal. I have had research funding secured from the EU FP7 Regime, ESRC, ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, British Academy, Academy of Marketing, Scottish Universities Insight Institute and Curtin University.

I have acted as External Examiner at Heriot Watt University since 2016.

Outside work, I am a board member of Dunbartonshire Young Enterprise and an active member of the Marketing Society.

I have been nominated in the last eight consecutive years (2011-2018) by students as part of Strathclyde's Teaching Excellence awards across all categories (best overall, most passionate, most innovative, most supportive). In 2017, I won Best Teacher in Faculty and was shortlisted for most supportive teacher in the entire University.  

I teach at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. Most of my teaching is centred around Marketing Research, Research Methods and Dissertation Skills and I co-ordinate and deliver classes on these at all levels. I also co-ordinate the Marketing Dissertation at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. I helped develop the programme for our new Digital Masters in Marketing; and will be teaching on that and our new Small Business Marketing class from September 2019.

I have overseas teaching experience and taught at ESC Clermont over a number of years as an invited Professor as part of their International Week. I have been an invited speaker at the Scottish Entrepreneurship Research Seminar (2018); Royal Society of the Arts (2017); CoHERE Horizon 2020 Workshop (2017); International Colloquium on Relationship Marketing (2014); and the Scottish Colloquium on Food and Feeding (2011).

I have extensive supervisory experience at PhD, MSc and UG levels: I have supervised over 100 PhD/ MSc Masters’ student’s industry projects/ UG student dissertations and theses.

I have experience of leading action research workshops using entrepreneurship business models and frameworks.

I have strong quantitative and qualitative methods expertise.

My research interests are focused on exploring the role of networking and wider market practices of small and medium sized firms. Within this field I have particular interest in hybrid organisational structures and alternative and non-mainstream markets.  I have conducted research in a variety of specific sectors such as the creative industries, craft and artisanal sectors and food and farming. 

Current research projects include: innovation and growth in the craft beer sector; the feasibility of the social enterprise model in tackling health inequality; the role of festivals on the economic and social development of local communities and a project exploring the transformative impacts of everyday service encounters.

Highlights:

• In 2017, I led a Scottish Universities Insights Institute funded pan-European project with academic and industry partners from 9 European Countries on networking practices in the craft beer sector.     
• Lead Author of White Paper: Crafting Growth; Exploring the Emerging Potential and Challenges for Scotland’s Craft Beer Sector, IPPI (2018).
• Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Awards for Best Paper 2012 and 2016.

My work has been published in the International Journal of Management Reviews, the Journal of Technological Forecasting and Social Change, International Small Business Journal, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Thunderbird International Business Review, Consumption, Markets and Culture, Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Channels, International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, and the British Food Journal.

I am an editorial board member Industrial Marketing Management. I also review for the International Small Business Journal; European Journal of Marketing; Journal of Business Research; Technological Forecasting and Social Change; Journal of Sustainable Tourism; and the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Expertise in:

• Food and Drink Sector
• Small Business Marketing
• Strategic alliances
• Network Studies
• Alternative and non-mainstream markets
• Hybrid organisations
• Green Marketing and sustainable consumption
• Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

I am currently supervising doctoral students in the following areas:

• The impact of social enterprise on individual and community well-being
• Green marketing
• Structural diversification in family farming businesses
• DIY cultures in the crime fiction scene
• Transformative service in everyday service encounters
• Collaborative models within organisations