About
Laura Reynolds is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. She completed her PhD in Marketing from Cardiff Business School in 2019 and has held positions as a Policy Analyst at the City-Region Economic and Development Institute (City-REDI) at the University of Birmingham and as a Research Associate for the Welsh Economic Research Unit. She recently completed an ESRC-funded Postdoctoral Fellowship within the Marketing Department at Cardiff.
Her research interests focus on stakeholder governance within decentralized place branding processes, exploring techniques for involving local residents, businesses, and visitor attractions in shaping places. She is particularly interested in engagement, negotiation, and collaboration between place stakeholders, as well as overcoming barriers to inclusive and sustainable approaches to place branding. Her work closely aligns with industry and community partners to investigate stakeholder inclusion.
Her publication record demonstrates expertise across place branding, stakeholder engagement, and urban marketing. Her recent articles show a progression from foundational work on place branding legitimacy and stakeholder dynamics toward exploring emerging areas like circular tourism and the intersection of digitalization with the foundational economy. Her research consistently bridges academic theory with practical policy implications.
- Commended Paper in the European Doctoral Association in Management and Business Administration (EDAMBA) Doctoral Thesis Competition, 2020
- Best conference paper at the Institute of Place Management 4th International Biennial Conference, Manchester, 2017
- Best Academic Performance on the Social Science Research Methods MSc, 2014
Reynolds has secured significant research funding including an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (£98,363) for her project "Rethinking place branding governance: the implications of stakeholder-orientated approach when managing the presentation of complex places." She is available for postgraduate supervision, particularly interested in PhD projects focusing on place branding, place marketing, applications of social theory to marketing processes, brand identity management, stakeholder engagement, and marketing of cultural heritage sites.
