Professor James Cronin
Professor in Marketing and Consumer Culture StudiesResearch Interests
I am a Professor in Consumer Culture Studies with the Department of Marketing at 51福利 Management School and Director of the LUMS Centre for Consumption Insights. My principal research focuses on the social and cultural aspects of consumer behaviour including collective and symbolic forms of consumption, marketplace ideologies, consumer escapism, and the cultural politics of marketing. I am also interested in consumer health & well-being, food cultures, and the parasocial relationships that consumers forge with celebrity brands. Much of my current research activities focus on how social structures, ideologies, and interactions between people shape and ground their consumption experiences. To explore these areas, I have used a variety of qualitative research methods and theoretical formulations from philosophy, sociology, and cultural theory.
My work has appeared in international peer-reviewed journals including Marketing Theory, European Journal of Marketing, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Marketing Management, Consumption, Markets & Culture, Sociology of Health & Illness, and Journal of Business Research. I co-edited a Special Issue for the Journal of Marketing Management entitled '' (2022, Vol. 38 Iss 1-2) and am an Associate Editor for Consumption, Markets & Culture.
I am a co-chair and organiser for the upcoming , an interdisciplinary event hosted by the Centre for Consumption Insights, Security Lancaster, and RISCS. Surrounding this workshop, I am involved in research that explores digitalisation and its relationships with political economy, consumer culture, crime, radicalisation, and new mechanisms of exclusion.
Previously, I was involved as a co-investigator on the UKRI NERC-funded 'Plastic Packaging in People's Lives' (PPiPL) interdisciplinary project (2020-2024). The PPiPL project set out to produce a critical, nuanced, and comprehensive overview of the ideological, socio-cultural, historical, and industrial conditions, circular supply chain logistics, and post-consumer pathways that contribute to the perceived legitimacy of plastic packaging materials in the UK. I have drawn from philosophy and cultural theory to approach plastic as a that furtively accompanies consumers on their various experiential journeys. I am the lead author of .
I regularly present my work at the Interpretive Consumer Research (ICR) Workshops and Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) conferences and won the Best Paper Award at the 2016 CCT conference in Lille, France.
Research Grants
1. 'Plastic Packaging in Peoples’ Lives (PPiPL): Understanding attitudes and behaviour around plastic food packaging' (Nov 2020-Oct 2023). Awarded by Natural Environment Research Council, UKRI. Amount awarded: ?760,257
Awarded to: Professor Maria Piacentini (Co PI), Dr Alison Stowell (Co PI), Professor James Cronin (CI), Dr Alex Skandalis (CI), Professor Linda Hendry (CI), Dr John Hardy (CI)
2. Public experiences of service change in primary care: Focusing on the spaces and places of service delivery (Oct 2023- Oct 2026). Competitive PhD CASE Studentship awarded by NWSSDTP Economic and Social Research Council, UKRI.
Awarded to: co-supervisors Professor Maria Piacentini & Professor James Cronin
3. Resisting bureau-medicalisation: The integration of ‘Spaces of Compassion’ with the Biomedical Healthcare Environment (Oct 2023- Oct 2026). Competitive PhD CASE Studentship awarded by NWSSDTP Economic and Social Research Council, UKRI.
Awarded to: co-supervisors Professor James Cronin and Dr Leighanne Higgins
Additional Information
Select Media Publications
- Cronin, J. (2018), The Conversation, 12th April.
- Cronin, J. (2017), The Conversation, 22nd December.
- Cronin, J. (2017), The Grocer, 23rd February.
- Cronin, J. (2016), The Conversation, 27th June.
- Cronin, J. (2016), The Conversation, 15th June.
- Cronin, J. (2016), , 11th May.
- Cronin, J. (2016), , 19th April.
Current Teaching
I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. I have expertise in research-led teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, specialising in consumer behaviour, brand management, brand strategy, and issues pertaining to consumer culture. My teaching takes a critical and cultural approach to the brand-related activities of organisations and seeks to encourage a more mindful, socially-aware understanding of the role of brands in contemporary consumer culture.
I was awarded the Management School Teaching Prize at the 2018 Dean’s Awards and was 'Highly Commended' for my teaching at the University-wide 2022 Staff Awards.
PhD Supervisions Completed
(completed PhD part-time in 2021), Lecturer at Birmingham University
(completed PhD full-time in 2022), Lecturer at Leicester University
Dr Sophie James (completed PhD full-time in 2024), Lecturer at 51福利
PhD Supervision Interests
I am willing to supervise PhD students in the broad areas of interpretive consumer research, the sociology of consumption, and critical marketing studies.
Selected Publications
Cronin, J., James, S. 30/11/2024 In: Consumption, Markets and Culture. 27, 3, p. 251-268. 18 p.
Journal article
James, S., Cronin, J., Patterson, A. 1/05/2024 In: Annals of Tourism Research. 106
Journal article
Cronin, J., Fitchett, J., Coffin, J. 1/09/2024 In: Marketing Theory. 24, 3, p. 525-544. 20 p.
Journal article
James, S., Cronin, J., Patterson, A. 1/09/2024 In: Marketing Theory. 24, 3, p. 397-416. 20 p.
Journal article
Hoang Ngoc , Q., Cronin, J., Skandalis, A. 31/12/2023 In: Marketing Theory. 23, 4, p. 585 - 606.
Journal article
Jones, S., Cronin, J., Piacentini, M. 30/06/2022 In: Journal of Business Research. 145, p. 720-731. 12 p.
Journal article
Hoang, Q., Cronin, J., Skandalis, A. 1/03/2022 In: Marketing Theory. 22, 1, p. 85-104. 20 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J., Hadley, C., Skandalis, A. 30/09/2022 In: Consumption, Markets and Culture. 25, 5, p. 485-497. 13 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J., Fitchett, J. 31/01/2022 In: Journal of Marketing Management. 38, 1-2, p. 127-144. 18 p.
Journal article
Fitchett, J., Cronin, J. 31/03/2022 In: Journal of Marketing Management. 38, 1-2, 16 p.
Editorial
Cronin, J., Fitchett, J. 1/03/2021 In: Marketing Theory. 21, 1, p. 3-24. 22 p.
Journal article
Jones, S., Cronin, J., Piacentini, M. 1/12/2020 In: Marketing Theory. 20, 4, p. 459-480. 22 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J.M., Cocker, H.L. 1/09/2019 In: Marketing Theory. 19, 3, p. 281-299. 19 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J.M., Hopkinson, G.C. 09/2018 In: Marketing Theory. 18, 3, p. 269-286. 17 p.
Journal article
Jones, S., Cronin, J.M., Piacentini, M.G. 6/08/2018 In: Journal of Marketing Management. 34, 5-6, p. 497-508. 12 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J.M., Malone, S. 18/07/2018 In: Marketing Theory. 19, 2, p. 129-147. 19 p.
Journal article
Cocker, H.L., Cronin, J.M. 1/12/2017 In: Marketing Theory. 17, 4, p. 455-472. 18 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J., McCarthy, M., Delaney, M. 1/11/2015 In: European Journal of Marketing. 49, 11-12, p. 1902-1922. 21 p.
Journal article
Hopkinson, G., Cronin, J. 10/2015 In: Journal of Marketing Management. 31, 13-14, p. 1383-1402. 19 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J., McCarthy, M., Brennan, M., McCarthy, S. 2014 In: European Journal of Marketing. 48, 9/10, p. 1558-1778. 21 p.
Journal article
Cronin, J., McCarthy, M., Collins, A. 11/2014 In: Sociology of Health and Illness. 36, 8, p. 1125-1140. 16 p.
Journal article
All Publications
01/10/2023 → 01/11/2026
Research
01/10/2023 → 01/11/2026
Research
03/10/2022 → 30/09/2023
Research
01/11/2020 → 31/05/2024
Research
01/11/2020 → 31/10/2023
Research
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Editorial activity
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Other
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Oral presentation
Editorial activity
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Other
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Invited talk
Invited talk
Invited talk
Publication peer-review
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Editorial activity
Publication peer-review
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Prize (including medals and awards)
Prize (including medals and awards)
Prize (including medals and awards)
- Centre for Consumption Insights
- Networks, Knowledge and Strategy