Rate My Professor Sonia Vilches-Montero

Dr. Sonia Vilches-Montero is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle, and serves as the Program Convenor for the MBA and WiMBA programs. She teaches postgraduate courses including Marketing Management and Planning, Brand Development and Marketing, and Consumer Behaviour, and supervises PhD, DBA, and Honours students within the Faculty of Business and Law. Her academic qualifications comprise a PhD from Bond University, a Master’s degree with coursework and research components, an Honours degree in consumer behaviour, and a Bachelor’s degree in business. Her career history includes Senior Research and Teaching Fellow in the Marketing Department at Bond University (2009–2012) and Assistant Professor in the Marketing Department at the Catholic University of Concepcion, Chile (2000–2008).

Vilches-Montero’s research focuses on consumer cognition and behaviour across marketing settings such as retailing, tourism, and advertising. She investigates drivers of consumers’ decisions and behavioural responses to marketing strategies, including omnichannel shopping, social media engagement, loyalty programs, sensory marketing, brand and packaging design, impulsive buying, and social marketing for behavioural change. Her work has been published in journals like the European Journal of Marketing, Marketing Letters, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. Key publications include “From digital touchpoints to digital journeys: How shopping mindsets influence appraisal of omnichannel journeys” (2024), “What drives higher active customer engagement in luxury brands’ social media? Measurement and contingencies” (2024), “Empowering retailers: A bounded rationality perspective to enhancing omnichannel journey satisfaction” (2023), “Using the senses to evaluate aesthetic products at the point of sale: The moderating role of consumers’ goals” (2018), and “What loyal women (and men) want: The role of gender and loyalty program characteristics in driving store loyalty” (2018). She has received the 2021 CHSF College Excellence Award for Excellence in Industry Engagement, 2021 University of Newcastle Excellence Awards finalist, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Merit Lists for Learning and Teaching Excellence (2019, 2020), Faculty Excellence in Teaching Awards (2014, 2018), Best Overall Poster Award (2014), and Best Paper Awards at CLADEA (2014), ANZMAC (2011), and others. Vilches-Montero presents regularly at international conferences including ACR, EMAC, ANZMAC, ICIMA, ICBMT, and CLADEA. Her research assists marketers in enhancing the impact of branding and retailing strategies.