Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon
Skip to main content Skip to side navigation

BA, PGDip (Japanese), DipGrad (Marketing), PhD

Director for masters' programmes in the Department of Marketing

Room 4.40 Otago Business School
Tel +64 3 479 8168
Email leah.watkins@otago.ac.nz

watkins

Leah completed a cross-divisional PhD in Marketing and Japanese Studies at the University of Otago. Her doctoral research explored the influence of cultural values on tourism behaviour, and she continues to investigate how culture shapes consumption patterns, and the development of cross-cultural research methodologies.

Her current research interests lie in the critical role marketing plays in shaping society, including consumer values and lifestyles, ethical and sustainable consumption, advertising and materialism, and children’s consumer socialisation.

Leah is currently researching the links between voluntary simplicity and wellbeing, and the development of sustainable consumption literacy in young people. She is actively involved in the Kids’Cam Project, which investigates the consumption environment children are exposed to, and she leads the New Zealand Consumer Lifestyles Research Group.

Her work has been published in a number of leading journals, including The Lancet Planetary Health, The Journal of Macromarketing International Marketing Review, Journal of Cleaner Production, and the Journal of Consumer Affairs.

Leah also serves as the Associate Dean International for the Otago Business School, supporting international partnerships, student engagement, and global strategic initiatives.

Teaching responsibilities

Leah's teaching responsibilities include:

Office hours

Tuesdays 12:00pm-1:00pm

Publications

Watkins, L., & Aitken, R. (2026). Marketing's moral myopia: A normative critique of harmful product marketing through the lens of the AMA definition. Journal of Macromarketing. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/02761467261422142 Journal - Research Article

Popy, N. N., Watkins, L., & Aitken, R. (2025). Values behind refill pack use: A cross-cultural comparison. Proceedings of the Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference (ANZMAC): Riding the Waves: Navigating Marketing’s Dynamic Landscape. (pp. 708). Retrieved from https://anzmac.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Aitken, R., Watkins, L., & Li, L. P. (2025). Environmental values as mediators between moral positions and voluntary simplicity lifestyles. Proceedings of the 57th Academy of Marketing Conference (AM): Saints and Scholars. (pp. 75-76). Cork, Ireland: University College Cork. Retrieved from https://academyofmarketing.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Watkins, L., Aitken, R., Gage, R., & Signal, L. (2025). Recording children’s exposure to online advertising: Kids Online Aotearoa. Proceedings of the 57th Academy of Marketing Conference (AM): Saints and Scholars. (pp. 68-69). Cork, Ireland: University College Cork. Retrieved from https://academyofmarketing.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Popy, N., Watkins, L., & Aitken, R. (2025). Pre-loved and proud? Decoding second-hand clothing adoption in Bangladesh. Proceedings of the 57th Academy of Marketing Conference (AM): Saints and Scholars. (pp. 67). Cork, Ireland: University College Cork. Retrieved from https://academyofmarketing.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Back to top