ACR Workshop attracts international researchers

Three internationally recognised researchers will be keynote speakers at the international workshop on 'Enhancing the Status of Consumer Research in Non-Western Contexts' organised by Dr Aliakbar Jafari in the Department of Marketing.

He said, "The major objective of the workshop is to probe the enhancement of consumer research by providing evidence and theoretical inspiration from non-Western contexts for a more reliable and inclusive body of knowledge."

The workshop, running on July 5 and 6 within the Department of Dr Aliakbar JafariMarketing, seeks to create a platform for consumer researchers to exchange ideas and discuss the possibilities of encouraging non-Western researchers to introduce the less articulated, and sometime hidden, body of knowledge from their own contexts into the consumer culture debates.

The keynote speakers are Professor Alladi Venkatesh, University of California, Irvine, USA and Professor Nikhilesh Dholakia, University of Rhode Island, USA, both world class marketing scholars; and Professor Taghi Azadarmaki, University of Tehran, Iran, a prominent sociologist.

The event is partially sponsored by the Association for Consumer Research (ACR) after a successful grant application, and is fully supported by the head of marketing, Professor Alan Wilson.

Dr Jafari has organised the event with the co-operation of four renowned scholars - Professor Fuat Firat, University of Texas-Pan American, USA; Professor Ahmet Suerdem, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey; Professor Soren Askegaard, University of Southern Denmard, Denmark; and Professor Daniele Dalli, University of Pisa, Italy.

Dr Jafari and Professor Suerdem will edit a special issue of 'Marketing Theory' to reflect the key contributions of the workshop.