Rate My Professor Alicia Kulczynski

Associate Professor Alicia Kulczynski is a consumer behaviour researcher and Head of the Marketing and Tourism Discipline in the Newcastle Business School at the University of Newcastle. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Management (Marketing) in 2014 from the University of Newcastle, where her thesis examined 'Concert Attendee Behaviour: The Influence of Motivations, Fan Identification and Product Involvement'. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies) and a Bachelor of Science (Forensic) from the same university. Currently serving as Associate Professor of Marketing, she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate marketing research courses, incorporating real-world projects with organizations such as Newcastle Airport and Newcastle Pride. Alicia has supervised six PhD completions on topics including omnichannel consumer experiences, brand communities, and organizational responses to social media complaints.

Alicia Kulczynski's research investigates consumer processing and responses to branding, advertising, and marketing communications across traditional and digital media, drawing on psychology, linguistics, and behavioural science. Her expertise spans spokesperson characteristics influencing credibility (such as smiles and facial symmetry), psycholinguistic effects of sounds in brand names on product perceptions, and drivers of popular music concert attendance, with findings impacting strategies for Ultra Music Festival. She has published in leading journals including the Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, and Journal of Brand Management. Alicia serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Consumer Behaviour and has received the 2016 Vice-Chancellor's Faculty Teaching Excellence and Contribution to Student Learning Award (with Dr Stacey Baxter), along with other university teaching awards. She was part of the 2019 Academic Women in Leadership cohort and a 2025 Excellence Awards finalist.