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Dr Tana Licsandru

Tana

Senior Lecturer; Programme Co-Director for MSc International Marketing and Consumer Psychology; Co-Director of MINDS Research Group

Email: t.licsandru@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

Roles:

  • Programme Co-Director for MSc International Marketing and Consumer Psychology
  • Co-Director of MINDS Research Group
  • 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 at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, where she also serves as Programme Co-Director for the MSc International Marketing and Consumer Psychology. Before joining Queen Mary, she was a Lecturer in Marketing at Newcastle University London. She holds a PhD in Business and Management (Marketing) from Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, an MA 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 British Journal of Management, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Public Administration, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, 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

  • BUS345: Digital Marketing

Postgraduate

  • BUSM183: Services Management

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, Social and Political Marketing, 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:

 

Publications

Journal publications

Licsandru, T.C., Mari, C., Kipnis, E., Galalae, C., Johnson, E., Cross, S.N.N., Cui, C.C., Kearney, S., Martin-Ruiz, V., Vorster, L., Yoruk, I. (2025) Integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Management Education: An Empathy Framework. In press in British Journal of Management.

Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2025). Researching with Discomfort: Using Affective Research Methodologies to Construct Knowledge about Marginalised Groups. In press in Journal of Marketing Management.

Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2025). The biography of a spoon. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 24(3), 167-185. 

Cross, S.N., Galalae, C., Licsandru, T.C., Ruiz, V.M., Cui, C., Mari, C., Vorster, L., Yoruk, I., Johnson, E. and Kearney, S., (2025). Co-creating Sustained Impact for Diversity and Inclusion Engaged Marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 59(6), 1458-1468.

Licsandru, T.C., Meliou, E., Steccolini, I.& Chang, S.  (2025). Citizens’ Inclusion in Public Services: a Systematic Review of the Literature and Reflection on Future Research Avenues. Early view in Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.13049

Licsandru, T.C. & Galalae, C. (2024). Between Recognition and Exoticisation via Marketing Practices and Market Structures: the Case of Roma in Romania. Sfera Politicii, 209-210.

Howes, A., Brokalaki, Z., Sharifonnasabi, Z. & Licsandru, T.C. (2024). The evolution of domestic practice as a form of homeworking. Journal of Marketing Management, 40(17-18), 1529-1569.

Galalae, C., Kipnis, E., Cui, C.C., Johnson, E., Licsandru, T.C., Vorster, L. et al. (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.C. & 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. Winner of the 2024 Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Award.

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. 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.

 

Selected conference proceedings/presentations

Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2025). Inclusive Exclusion and Marketplace Resistance: the Case of Roma Consumers in Romania. Accepted for presentation at the 2025 Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 24-27 June, London, UK.

Kipnis, E., Martin-Ruiz, V., Vorster, L., Cross, S.N.N., Cui, C.C., Galalae, C., Johnson, E., Kearney, S., Licsandru, T.C., Mari, C., Yoruk, I. “Rebuilding the Middle Ground for Reconnected Societies via Diversity and Inclusion Engaged Marketing (DIEM)” – accepted Track 3 (Impact Track) at the 2025 Transformative Consumer Research Conference in Washington DC (June 2025). More details here: https://www.marketimpacthub.org/track-3

Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2025). Inclusive Exclusion of Historical Racialized Minorities: Roma Consumers in the Marketplace. Accepted for presentation at the 2025 Race in the Marketplace (RIM) Research Forum, 7-9 January, Cape Town, South Africa.

Licsandru, T.C. & Galalae, C. (2024) Roma resistance: mobilising marketplace resources. Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Romani Studies “Gheorghianismul și fundamentele națiunii rome”, 8-9 November, Bucharest, Romania.

Licsandru, T.C. & Galalae, C. (2024). Included, yet excluded: An encounter with the Roma. Artwork presented at the Association for Consumer Research 2024 Arts Festival.

Huang, Z. & Licsandru, T.C. (2024). Investigating young LGBTQIA+ consumers’ perception of Authenticity in LGBTQIA+ advertising. Presented at the 2024 Academy of Marketing Conference, 2-4 July, Cardiff, UK.

Licsandru, T.C. & Galalae, C. (2024) Resisting Assimilation: The Plight of Historic Ethnic Minorities. Presented at the 2024 Academy of Marketing Conference, 2-4 July, Cardiff, UK.

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.

Licsandru, T.C. & Galalae, C. (2023) Roma identity in marketing representations. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Romani Studies “Gheorghianismul și fundamentele națiunii rome”, 11-12 November, Bucharest, Romania.

Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2023) Marginalized identities in market representations – a non-colonized perspective. In proceedings of 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. In F. Kerrigan (Ed.), Proceedings of Academy of Marketing 2023 Annual Conference and Doctoral Colloquium: From Revolution to Revolutions, 4-6 July, University of Birmingham, UK.

Galalae, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2023) Racism and discrimination in the marketplace: the case of Roma consumers in Romania. In proceedings of 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. In proceedings of 2023 Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 27-30 June, Lund, Sweden.

Cross, S.N.N., Galalae, C., Licsandru, T.C. (track co-chairs), Cui, C.C., Johnson, E., Kearney, S., Mari, C., Martin-Ruiz, V., Yoruk, I. (2023). Growing diversity and inclusion-engaged marketing (DIEM) Research, Practice and Education for consumer well-being in multicultural marketplaces. 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. Presentation at Marketing Science: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference @ SMU Cox, 24-25 March, SMU Cox – USA.

Mal, C. & Licsandru, T.C. (2022) The role of British brands in reshaping Romanian immigrants’ identity. Accepted at the Association for Consumer Research 2022 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. In Proceedings of the 2020 American Marketing Association Summer Academic Conference.

Bhatt, R. & Licsandru, T.C. (2020). Standardization versus Adaptation of Brand Activism: The role of culture on millennial female consumers’ perception of Femvertising. In Proceedings of the 2020 American Marketing Association Summer Academic Conference.

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

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. (2019). Institutionalising diversity, inclusion and multicultural engagement across marketing education, research and practice. Project developed and presented at the 2019 Transformative Consumer Research Conference, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, US.

 

Recent invited research seminars and key-note presentations

“Inclusive exclusion and resistance in the marketplace: understanding the Roma through a postcolonial lens”: Invited talk at Royal Holloway University of London, 12th March 2025.

“Networking for impact-driven research – A roundtable forum”. Invited speaker at the University of Westminster Research Group for Inclusive and Sustainable Business. London, UK, 20th November 2024.

“Taking Action! – A Film Fashion Forum on Brand Activism”. Invited panellist at the Queen Mary University of London, Centre for Commercial Law Studies. London, UK, 4th July 2023.

“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Marketplace”. Invited panellist at the University of Leicester School of Business. An event supported by the British Academy. Leicester, UK, 23rd June 2023.

“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. 

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. 

 

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