Alex Thompson

Dr Alex Thompson is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing within the University of Exeter Business School. His research integrates anthropology and socio-cultural approaches to marketing, focusing on the interplay between consumer actions, marketplace dynamics, and cultural meanings.

• Education: BA in Anthropology from the College of Wooster (USA), MBA from Central Michigan University (USA), PhD from Imperial College London.

His research emphasizes embodied knowledge production, the production of culture perspectives, practice theory, and ritual in marketing. By employing interpretive methods such as videography, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and life story narratives, he explores how commercial ethnographers construct consumer knowledge and cultural meaning in marketplaces.

Key themes in his publications include consumer culture, practice theory, and socio-cultural dimensions of marketing. He has authored and co-authored articles in journals like the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Management, and International Small Business Journal, alongside co-authoring the textbook Essentials of Marketing.

Dr Thompson's professional engagements span commercial research projects with organizations such as GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Novartis, and the Public Broadcast System (PBS). He also serves as Director of the MSc in International Business Student Staff Liaison Committee, reflecting his commitment to academic leadership and mentorship.