Dr. Leah Watkins is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research interests lie in the area of marketing and society, specifically consumer lifestyles, ethical business/consumption, and children and marketing.
Leah’s current research projects include KidsCam, a project investigating the consumption environment and socialisation influences on children, and the New Zealand Consumer Lifestyles study, which examines ethical consumption practices, frugality, consumer well-being and consumer spending patterns. She is a founding member of the global Future Earth Knowledge Action Network focussing on the UN sustainable Development goal of Sustainable Production and Consumption. Leah has published in a number of leading journals including International Marketing Research, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, the Journal of Cleaner Production, the Journal of Consumer Affairs, and the International Journal of Consumer Studies.
Her current research focus is on applying her knowledge of behaviour change theory at the individual, organisational and community level to address the important goal of moving towards a sustainable consumption future.
Selected Papers of interest:
- Watkins, L., Aitken, R., Hinder, C., Lawson, R., Mather, D., Paul, A., Robertson, K., and Williams, J. (2015). The New Zealand Consumer Lifestyle Segments. New Zealand Sociology 30:1 pp111-130.
- Watkins, L., Aitken, R. and Mather, D. (2015) Conscientious Consumers: A Relationship between Moral Foundations, Political Orientation and Sustainable Consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol 134, 137-146.
- Aitken, A., Watkins, L. & Williams, J. (2017) The Role of Information in Encouraging Sustainable Consumption. Proceedings of the Macro Marketing Conference 2017
- Aitken, R. & Watkins, L. (2014) Sustainability, Silence and Social Responsibility. The Fourth Annual Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment, Osaka, Japan.
- Hoek, J., & Watkins, L. (2009). How do consumers understand and respond to sustainability labeling? [Von Allmen Center for Green Marketing Working Paper: 09-002]. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky. 21p. Retrieved from http://gattongreen.uky.edu/Content.asp?PageName=GMWorkingPapers.
- Todd, S., Lawson, R., & Watkins, L. (2004). “Understanding the social responsibility of New Zealand consumers”. In J. Wiley and P. Thirkell (Eds.), Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference 2004: Marketing Accountabilities and Responsibilities, [CD-ROM]. Wellington: Victoria University.
