Aliakbar Jafari

Dr. Aliakbar Jafari is a Reader in Marketing at the University of Strathclyde and a Visiting Professor at the UCLAN School of Business and Management in Cyprus. He holds a PhD from the University of Wolverhampton, an MSc from the University of Leeds, and advanced degrees from the University of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti University. His research focuses on market dynamics, branding, consumption cultures, and intersections of markets with religions/spiritualities. He has received prestigious awards including the Consumer Culture Theory Conference’s 2016 Best Special Session Award and multiple research fellowships. Jafari sits on editorial boards of journals such as Consumption, Markets & Culture and Marketing Theory, and has co-edited influential volumes like Islam, Marketing and Consumption (Routledge, 2016). His teaching spans strategic marketing and cross-cultural buyer behavior, consistently earning top student nominations for teaching excellence.

• Education:
  • PhD in Marketing, University of Wolverhampton (2008)
  • MSc in Marketing, University of Leeds (2004)
  • Master of Letters in Literature, University of Tehran (1999)
  • Bachelor of Literature, Shahid Beheshti University (1997)

His research employs interpretive methods to study market formation, consumer activism, and institutional influences. He has led projects like The Institutional Role of Imagination in the Halal Market, exploring global halal economy dynamics. Jafari’s work bridges academic and industry audiences, with keynote talks in the UAE, Malaysia, and beyond.

Awards & Recognition:

• Strathclyde Teaching Excellence Award Nominee/Recipient (2017–2025)
• British Academy Research Fellowship (2018)
• Emerald Citations of Excellence Award (2015)

Professional Activities:

• Editorial Board Member: Marketing Theory, Journal of Islamic Marketing
• Track Chair at International Conferences (Transformative Consumer Research, Macromarketing)