Prof Charles Chi Cui

Prof Charles Chi Cui


Prof. Charles Chi Cui (PhD) is a Professor of Marketing at the School of Management and Marketing, Westminster Business School (WBS). He leads the Research Group for Inclusive and Sustainable Business (https://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/groups-and-centres/research-g...) and serves on the Editorial Board of University of Westminster Press. Prior to joining WBS, Charles was a Professor in Marketing and held the role of departmental Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange at Northumbria University. Before Northumbria, Charles was an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Marketing and International Management at Alliance Manchester Business School University of Manchester, where he held the roles of departmental Research Co-ordinator on the School Research Committee, Postgraduate Research Co-ordinator, Chair of Customer Research Academy, Programme Director of MSc in Marketing and MSc in Corporate Communications and Reputation Management, and recruitment officer for MSc programmes. Charles holds a PhD in International Business Management specialising on joint venture management, MA with Distinction in International Business Management, Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies, and a Certificate in Mechanical Manufacture. Prior to his academic career, Charles worked for twelve years in the manufacture industry, a municipal department for international trade and economic co-operations, and a Sino-British joint venture in China.


Prof. Charles Chi Cui’s research interests lie in international marketing, behavioural science, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and branding. His recent work includes brand addiction, consumer social inclusion and inclusive marketing, diversity and inclusion, cross-cultural values, digital and social media marketing, and marketing complexity of new-tech products. Charles pursues multidisciplinary research with scientific rigour and practical impact, using quantitative methods (e.g., structural equation modelling, experimental design), qualitative methods (e.g., focus groups, interviews, visual text/image analysis), and Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Charles serves on the editorial board of the journal International Marketing Review.  His work has been published in highly regarded major journals such as Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, among others.

PhD Supervision

Prof. Charles Chi Cui has vacancies for PhD applications on research topics in his research interest areas. He has over 20 years of experience in PhD supervision and encourages applications for PhD studies under his supervision. Under his sole/main supervision and co-supervision, eleven PhD students and two DBA students successfully completed their PhDs and DBAs within the required time at Alliance Manchester Business School. He led and taught “Social Research Methods”, “Critical Thinking”, “Survey Design”, and “Quantitative Research Methods” for doctoral  research methodology training when he was employed at Alliance Manchester Business School. Prof. Cui advocates scholarship quality and openminded and career nurturing approaches to doctoral students' individual learning styles. Prof. Cui fully commits to advising doctoral students on their rewarding journey of doctoral studies and mentoring and collaborating with former doctoral students in their early career research for further success.

Recent Publications:

Galalae, Cristina; Kipnis, Eva; Cui, Charles Chi; Johnson, Emma; Licsandru, Tana; Vorster, Lizette; Demangeot, Catherine; Kearney, Shauna; Mari, Carlo; Ruiz, Verónica Martín; Pullig, Chris; Lindesey-Warren, Tyrha M. (2022), “A multi-contextual lens on racism and discrimination in the multicultural marketplace”. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 8(1), Racism and Discrimination in the Marketplace - Jerom D. Williams Memorial Issue

Kipnis, Eva; Demangeot, Catherine; Pullig, Chris; Cross, Samantha; Cui, Charles; Galalae, Cristina; Kearney, Shauna; Licsandru, Tana; Mari, Carlo; Martin-Ruiz, Veronica; Swanepoel, Samantha; Vorster, Lizette; Williams, Jerome (2021), “Institutionalizing diversity and inclusion across the marketing research, education and practice fields for multicultural marketplace wellbeing”. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 40(2), 143-164.

Mrad, Mona; Majdalani, Joelle; Cui, Charles Chi; and Khansa, Zeinab El (2020), “Brand addiction in the contexts of luxury and fast-fashion brands”. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 55.

Mrad, Mona and Cui, Charles Chi (2020), “Comorbidity of compulsive buying and brand addiction: An examination of two types of addictive consumption”. Journal of Business Research, 113, 399-408.

Licsandru, Tana and Cui, Charles Chi (2019), “Ethnic marketing to the global millennial consumers: Challenges and opportunities”. Journal of Business Research, 103, 261-274.

Cui, Charles Chi; Mrad, Mona; and Hogg, Margaret (2018), “Brand addiction: Exploring the concept and its definition through an experiential lens”. Journal of Business Research, 87, 118-127.

Licsandru, Tana Cristina and Cui, Charles Chi (2018), “Subjective social inclusion: A conceptual critique for socially inclusive marketing”. Journal of Business Research, 82, 330-339.

Mrad, Mona and Cui, Charles Chi (2017), “Brand addiction: Conceptualization and scale development”. European Journal of Marketing, 51(11/12), 1938-1960.

Awanis, Sandra; Schlegelmilch, Bodo B.; and Cui, Charles Chi (2017), “Asia’s materialists: Reconciling collectivism and materialism”. Journal of International Business Studies, 48(8), 964-991.


  • Research Group for Inclusive and Sustainable Business

In brief

Research areas

consumer science, social cognition, cross-cultural psychology and behaviour, branding, digital marketing, international marketing.

Skills / expertise

Quantitative methods (e.g., structural equation modelling, experimental design), qualitative methods (e.g., focus groups, interviews, visual text/image analysis), Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), theoretical critique, critical thinking, causal analysis.

Supervision interests

Consumer psychology/behaviour, social cognition, cross-cultural psychology and behaviour, branding, digital marketing, international marketing, sustainable consumption and marketing, social inclusion.