Dr Xuemei Bian is professor in Marketing at University of Northumbria. She is the Head of Marketing Subject Group and Convener of Behaviour, Branding, and Digital Insights Research Group. Prior to joining Northumbria, she worked for a number of universities, including University of Kent, University of Nottingham and University of Hull. She has an undergraduate degree in International Business, an MSc in Management Research, and a Ph.D. in Marketing. Her Ph.D. thesis focuses on consumer decision-making strategies concerning unethical/illegal counterfeit products and was supported by the Retail Organisation. She was awarded a Ph.D. with a result of no corrections after ‘viva voce’ and her thesis is held by the library of Eindhoven University of Technology as an example of an outstanding Ph.D. thesis on the request of her external examiner, Professor Harry Timmermans.

Her main research and teaching interests are in consumer behaviour, branding and advertising, with a focus on how judgments, evaluations and choice vary as a function of different decision-making strategies.  She has established an international reputation and recognition in two main research areas: 1) Consumption behaviour of counterfeit products; and, 2) advertising and consumer behaviour with a focus on the effects of model features (e.g., body size and facial expression) on brand/product judgment, consumer well-being, and behavioural tendency. Her research has appeared in many journals of international repute, such as Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, British Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Product and Brand Management, The Marketing Review, and Journal of Brand Management among others. Her paper titled “New Insights into Unethical Counterfeit Consumption” was selected and included in Elsevier’s Newsletter for Science Journalists (2016) and is the “Top Rated” paper in the Journal of Business Research.

Her research has attracted media attention in recent years and has featured in national and international popular outlets and trade magazines such as Huffington Post, Marie Claire, BBC Radio Kent, Refinery29, Fućsia (Colombia), The World Trademark Review, Luxury Daily (USA), and numerous online news websites. She is a regularly contributor to popular outlets (e.g., The Sunday Times and BBC Radio Kent) commenting on consumer related topics. Her research is also widely recognised by practitioners and was invited to present a commentary piece on a WTO trade dispute between two nations concerning impacts of plain packaging on counterfeiting. She served as a panel member of the plenary session (as a consumer behaviour expert) at the UK Trading Standards annual conference and has been invited to give keynote speeches at the IP Roadshow organised by the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) and the ACG Annual Conference. Most recently she was invited and participated in the research events organised by the UK IP Office (IPO), aiming to shape future research direction in study of counterfeit related activities, she was also invited and provided expert comments on two research project reports commissioned by IPO and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Anti-Counterfeiting Group has uploaded a selection of her articles in study of counterfeiting related consumption behaviour on the group’s website so their members could access.

She is a member of the ESRC’s GCRF Peer Review College and a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, European Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Marketing Communication, and acts as an ad hoc reviewer for many academic journals, including the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and Journal of Product and Brand Management etc. She currently holds a visiting professor post at Wuhan University of Technology.

Her main research interests are in consumer behaviour, branding, and advertising, with a focus on how judgments, evaluations and choice vary as a function of different decision-making strategies.  She has established an international reputation and recognition in two main research areas:

1) Consumption behaviour of counterfeit products.

2) advertising and consumer behaviour with a focus on the effects of model features (e.g., body size and facial expression) on brand/product judgment, consumer well-being, and behavioural tendency. 

Invited research seminars, plenary sessions, and specialist talks/training:

• Bian, X. Anti-counterfeiting World Law Summit, UK 2022, Panel Discussion Chair on Protecting and Engaging the Consumer. 

• Bian, X. Guanzhou Foreign Study University, China, 2020 – Management Response to Negative Comments, Psychological Distance, and Product: A Consumer Perspective.  

• Bian, X. Dalian University of Technology, China, 2019 – Effective Advertising Using Stimuli.

• Bian. X. Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, 2019 – Impact of Model Body Size on Brands.

• Bian. X. IP Enforcement Forum 2018, UK: Plenary session - The importance of effective enforcement for luxury and fashion brands.

• Bian. X. Anti-counterfeiting Group Annual Conference 2017, UK: Internet and counterfeiting – a challenge or opportunity.

• Bian. X. Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, 2017: Benefits of a focused research path.

• Bian. X. Michigan State University (Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection Centre), US, 2017:  Workshop – Counterfeits, brands, and consumers.

• Bian. X. South Dakota School of Mining and Technology (Security Printing and Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Centre), USA, 2017: Research seminar and Discussion on Consumers and Counterfeits.

• Bian. X. University of Glasgow, UK, 2016: PhD Training Workshop – Research instrument design.

• Bian. X. University of Newcastle, UK, 2016: Research seminar.

• Bian. X. University of Southampton, UK, 2015: Research seminar.

• Bian. X. Anti-Counterfeiting Group IP Roadshow 2015, UK: Closing event talk.

• Bian. X. Trading Standards Annual Conference 2014, UK: A panel member of the Plenary Session facilitated by TV Presenter Matt Allwight.

• Bian. X. Tianjin University, China, 2014: Workshop - B2B versus B2C Branding.

• Bian. X. Wuhan University of Technology, China, 2014: Workshop - Establish successful brands.

• Bian. X. Kent County Council, UK, 2013: Use of data and response to new challenges.

• Bian. X. University of Hull, UK, 2008: Workshop - Preparation and writing research funding proposals.