Chris Hand

Chris Hand is a Professor of Marketing at the Department of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation, Kingston University London, within the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences. He leads the Customer Insights Research Hub and has held academic leadership roles including Course Director for BSc International Business and BBA programs. His academic background includes a PhD in Economics from the University of Portsmouth (2001), with prior research in Television Audience Statistics at Bournemouth Media School and Royal Holloway.

Education

• BA(Hons) Economics
• MSc Business Economics
• MA Strategic Marketing Management
• PhD Economics (Thesis: Empirical Studies of the Demand for Cinema in the UK)
• PgC Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

Research Interests
Professor Hand’s work bridges economics and marketing, focusing on quantitative analysis of consumer behavior, entrepreneurship, and multichannel retailing. His research applies econometric methods to study self-employment impacts, digital media effects, and arts consumption patterns. Recent studies explore cyber aggression, random forest accuracy in modeling, and spatial influences on well-being.

Publications Trends
His 2020s research emphasizes entrepreneurship dynamics (self-employment well-being links), digital consumer behavior (social media compulsion effects), and spatial economics (regional convergence theories). Earlier work includes foundational studies on cinema demand modeling and arts audience behavior.

Awards

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Certified Member of the Market Research Society

Leadership & Impact
He has directed Kingston’s MRes Business and Management doctoral training program and contributed to curriculum development in strategic marketing. His research actively informs policy discussions on entrepreneurship and cultural economics through applied quantitative frameworks.

Research Hub
As head of the Customer Insights Research Hub, he fosters interdisciplinary work on consumer decision-making and data-driven marketing strategies.