̽»¨ÏµÁÐ

Dr Ellie Hickman

Job: Senior Lecturer

Faculty: Business and Law

School/department: Leicester Castle Business School

Address: ̽»¨ÏµÁÐ, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0)116 207 8242

E: ellie.hickman@dmu.ac.uk

W: www.dmu.ac.uk

 

Personal profile

Ellie is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Advertising with over 12 years of experience teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, underpinned by more than 20 years as a strategic marketing professional and consultant. Drawing on extensive industry expertise, she applies meaningful commercial metrics to support business growth, customer value, and profitability.

As a key enterprise lead within the Faculty of Business and Law, Ellie champions knowledge exchange and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships through her work in the Institute for Responsible Business and Social Justice. She plays a pivotal role in aligning business and law with commercial objectives, driving place-based impact, and advancing ̽»¨ÏµÁÐ’s engagement with external partners.

Ellie’s research focuses on customer experience, omnichannel strategy, service marketing, and the role of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, in shaping customer engagement. She is also exploring the intersection of AI and ageing, with a specific interest in digital inclusion and how technology can support healthier, age-friendly environments. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, contributing to both academic knowledge and industry best practice.

Dedicated to bridging academia and industry, Ellie ensures that her consultancy, teaching, and research remain grounded in real-world application, ensuring that marketing education at ̽»¨ÏµÁÐ is both relevant and impactful.

Research group affiliations

The Institute for Responsible Business and Social Justice 

Publications and outputs

  • Luong, H., Manthiou, A., Liu, Hickman, E & Klaus, P. (2024). Mini-me fashion sharenting: Drivers, consequences, and the role of market mavens. Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
  • Manthiou, A., Hickman, E., and Klaus, P. (2020). Beyond good and bad: Challenging the suggested role of emotions in customer experience (CX) research. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 57, 102218.
  • Kharouf, H., Biscaia, R., Garcia-Perez, A. & Hickman, E. (2020). Understanding Online Event Experience: The Importance of Communication, Engagement and Interaction. Journal of Business Research.
  • Hickman, E., Kharouf, H. and Sekhon, H. (2019). An omnichannel approach to retailing: demystifying and identifying the factors influencing an omnichannel experience. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research.
  • Pritchard, A., Cook, D., Jones, A., Bason, T., Salisbury, P, and Hickman, E.  (2018). Professional sports teams: Going beyond the core. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.
  • Kharouf, H., Sekhon, H., Fazal-e-Hasan, S. M., Hickman, E., & Mortimer, G. (2018). The role of effective communication and trustworthiness in determining guests’ loyalty. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 1-23.

Research interests/expertise

Customer experience and loyalty, Omnichannel retailing, Trust, Online experience

Areas of teaching

Integrated Marketing Communications, X-Culture Lead, Strategic E-Marketing, Digital & Social Media Context of Business, Executive Company Projects, Brand Management, Advertising & Communications.

Qualifications

PhD, MA Advertising & Marketing, PGCHE, SFHEA

Courses taught

BA Marketing, BA Advertising & Communications & BA Business & Marketing

Membership of external committees


X-Culture faculty lead

 The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network

APPG for Ageing and Older People (Age UK)

Academy of Marketing Society (AMS) 

Membership of professional associations and societies

Senior Fellow of HEA

CIM faculty lead and member

 Aurora (HEA)

Conference attendance

  • Hickman, E., Manthiou, A., Klaus, P. and Kharouf, H., (2023). Are positive customer emotions always good and negative always bad? The role of emotions and the consumption outcomes. AMS WMC Conference 2023 – Kent, UK.
  • Kharouf, H.,  Nurul Alam, M.,  Lund,  and Hickman, E., (2023).  Impact of Brand Coolness and Virtual Presence Following a Product Failure: An Abstract. AMS Annual Conference 2023, New Orleans, USA.
  • Hickman, E., Kharouf, H., Biscaia, R. & Garcia-Perez, A. (2019). Digital customer experience: identifying the drivers and outcomes of successful mega events. International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management (QUIS16) – Karlstaad, Sweden.
  • Jackson, O & Hickman, E (2017). Does brand familiarity have any impact on repairing trust between a company and customer in the time of crisis? BCUR conference, Bournemouth, April 2017.
  • Hickman, E (2015). Holistic hybrid (Omni-channel) approach to retailing and customer experience: A review, conceptual framework and future research directions. International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management (QUIS14) – Shanghai, China.
  • Hickman, E & Blackstock, K (2015). Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: Benefits of Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) projects. BES internal conference, Coventry, July 2015.
  • Hickman, E (2014). The conceptualisation of building and enhancing customer experience using an Omnichannel approach, Academy of Marketing, Bournemouth.

Consultancy work

Ellie is an active marketing consultant working with SMEs to deliver integrated marketing campaigns for clients.