Robert Cluley

Dr Robert Cluley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. He has previously held academic positions at the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham, where he was promoted to Associate Professor and held leadership roles including Director of Postgraduate Studies and membership on the School Management Group.

He is a leading scholar in the organization of marketing, the role of technology in marketing practice, and the application of critical and psychoanalytic theory to consumer behavior. His research integrates ethnography, advanced statistical analysis, and anthropological methods to explore how marketers and consumers engage with new technologies and data systems.

• PhD in Marketing and Organizations, University of Leicester, 2010
• MSc in Management Research, University of Leicester, 2008
• MA in Critical Theory, University of Nottingham, 2003
• BSc (Hons) in Management, Lancaster University, 2002

His research interests focus on marketing organization, marketing analytics, consumer behavior, and the ethical implications of data-driven marketing. He is particularly interested in how new technologies reshape marketing labor, consumer insight, and organizational performance.

His recent publications reflect a strong trend toward ethnographic and critical studies of marketing practice, especially in the areas of data science, facial coding, market research ethics, and the application of social theory. He frequently publishes in high-impact journals such as Marketing Theory, Human Relations, and Regulation & Governance.

He is currently writing a book titled Marketing Science Fictions based on an ethnographic study of a marketing analytics firm. He is also involved in collaborative research on decarbonizing supply chains and the use of social theory in marketing with Dr Stephen Dunne and Prof Will Green.

• Founding member, NLAB – Nottingham’s Centre for Business Analytics
• Founding Executive Board Member, Nottingham Energy Institute
• Active contributor to interdisciplinary research on ethics, technology, and sustainability in marketing

He has supervised and mentored students in critical marketing, organizational studies, and consumer research. His work is supported by grants and collaborations across the UK and internationally, particularly in the areas of responsible technology and sustainable marketing practices.