Victoria Wells
Professor of Sustainable Management

Profile

Biography

Victoria Wells is Professor of Sustainable Management at the School for Business and Society. Prior to joining York, she held academic positions at Sheffield University Management School, Durham University Business School and Cardiff University Business School. She completed her PhD at Keele University and spent a number of years in industry and as an advertising account executive.

She is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA), a Certified Management & Business Educator and a Chartered Marketer.

She has previously been Head of Group (People, Operations and Marketing) and Deputy Dean (Operations) at the school and is on research sabbatical in 2022/23.

Research

Overview

Victoria’s research work falls in the general area of consumer behaviour and consumer responses to marketing actions. In particular, she is interested in the role the environment plays in consumers’ behaviour whether it is how the environment affects consumer choices or how consumers’ behaviour affects the physical environment. Her current work focuses on the pro- or anti-social behaviour of consumers in relation to the environment and in particular the behaviour of employees within organisations. In her work exploring employee environmental behaviour or organisational citizenship for the environment (OCBE) she works with London based charity Global Action Plan (GAP) as part of the Real-world Sustainability Research Team. This work focuses on the use of social marketing techniques to facilitate pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace. Other work that she is currently involved in includes consumption, marketing and identity aspects of consumer co-operative pub membership and perceptions of seaweed biofuels and hydrogen technologies. Additionally, she is interested in pub consumer behaviour and the role that pubs play in our communities.

She is interested in supervising research students on social marketing projects. “Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing alongside other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioural goals, for a social good” - French and Blair-Stevens, 2006. In particular, internal social marketing within organisations. She is also interested in supervising students with an interest in consumer co-operatives and pubs.

Publications

Selected publications

Journal Articles

Wells, V.K., Forbes, S., Powell, M., and O’Reilly, D (2022) Segmentation, Environmental Identity and Stages of Change: An application to a wildlife trust, Business Strategy and the Environment (CABS 3*), 31(3), 934-949. doi: 10.1002/bse.2927

Wells, V.K., Athwal, N., Nervino, E., and Carrigan, M. (2021) How legitimate are the environmental sustainability claims of luxury conglomerates?, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (CABS 1*), doi: 10.1108/JFMM-09-2020-0214

Davies, I., Oates, C., Tynan, C., Carrigan, M., Casey, K., Pereira-Heath, T., Henninger, C., Lichrou, M., McDonagh, P., McDonald, S., McKechnie, S., McLeay, F., O’Malley, L., & Wells, V.K. (2020) Seeking Sustainable Futures in marketing and consumer research, European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2911-2939 (CABS 3*)

Ciocirlan, C., Gregory-Smith, D., Manika, D and Wells, V.K. (All authors contributed equally to the manuscript and are listed alphabetically) (2020) Using Values, Beliefs, and Norms to Predict Conserving Behaviours in Organizations, European Management Review, 17(2), 543-558.  doi:  10.1111/emre.12388 (CABS 3*)

Gegg, P and Wells, V.K (2019) The development of seaweed biofuels via gasification in the UK: An analysis of stakeholder issues and public perceptions, Energy Policy, 133 (October), doi:  10.1016/j.enpol.2019.110924, https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0301421519305117, (CABS 2*)

Reynolds, C., Goucher, L., Quested, T., Bromley, S., Gillick, S., Wells, V.K, Evans, D., Koh, L., Kanyama, A.C., Katzeff, C., Svenfeklt, Å and Jackson, P. (2019) Consumption stage food waste reduction interventions – what works and how to do better, Food Policy, 83, 7-27.  https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1YlKh_6~e56I6k (CABS 3*)

Athwal, N., Wells, V.K., Carrigan, M., and Henninger, C.E. (2019) Sustainable Luxury Marketing:  A synthesis and research agenda, International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(4), 405-426. doi:  10.1111/ijmr.12195 (CABS 3*)

Manika, D, Gregory-Smith, D, Wells, V.K and Tombetti, E. (2019) ‘Student Switch Off!’: How do university students respond to a corporate-sponsored pro-environmental social marketing campaign? Studies in Higher Education, 44(9), 1691-1709, doi: 10.1080/03075079.2018.1474456  (CABS 3*)

Wells, V.K., Ellis, N.T., Slack, R., and Moufahim, M. (2019) “It’s us, you know, there’s a feeling of community”: Exploring notions of social sustainability in a consumer co-operative, Journal of Business Ethics, 158(3), 617-635.  doi:  10.1007/s10551-017-3747-4 (CABS 3*)

Koles, B., Wells, V.K., and Tadajewski, M. (2018) Compensatory Consumption and Consumer Compromises:  A state of the art literature review, Journal of Marketing Management, 34 (1-2), pp 96-133, doi:  10.1080/0267257X.2017.1373693

Gregory-Smith, D., Manika, D., Wells, V.K and Veitch, T. (2018) Examining the effect of an environmental social marketing intervention among university employees, Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), 2104-2120.  doi: 10.1080/03075079.2017.1309647. (ABS 3*)

Gregory-Smith, D., Wells, V.K., Manika, D., and McElroy, D.  (2017) An environmental social marketing intervention in cultural heritage tourism: a realist evaluation, Journal of Sustainable Tourism Special issue:  Marketing Issues in Sustainable Tourism, 25(7), 1042-1059. doi:  10.1080/09669582.2017.1288732

Dean, A.K., Ellis, N.T., and Wells, V.K. (2017) Science ‘fact’ and science ‘fiction’? Homophilous communication in high-technology B2B selling, Journal of Marketing Management (Academy of Marketing Conference 2016 special issue), 33(9-10), 764-788.  doi:  10.1080/0267257X.2017.1324895

Gegg, P and Wells, V.K. (2017) UK Macro-algae biofuels: a strategic management review and future research agenda, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 5(3), 32.  doi:  10.3390/jmse5030032 (Special issue:  Algal Biofuels)

Manika, D, Gregory-Smith, D, Wells, V.K., Comerford, L and Aldrich-Smith, L (2017) Linking Environmental Sustainability and Healthcare: The Effects of an Energy Saving Intervention in Two Hospitals, International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 11(1), 32-55. http://business-and-management.org/paper.php?id=115

Wells, V.K., Taheri, B., Gregory-Smith, D., and Manika, D. (2016) The Role of Generativity in Employee Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours, Tourism Management, 56, 63-74.doi:  10.1016/j.tourman.2016.03.027

Wells, V.K, Gregory-Smith, D, Taheri, B Manika, D & McCowlen, C. (2016). An exploration of CSR development in heritage tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 58, 1-17.  doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2016.01.007

Wells, V.K & Daunt, K.R (2016). Eduscape:  The effects of servicescapes and emotions in academic learning environments.  Journal of Higher and Further Education, 40(4), 486-508. doi: 10.1080/0309877X.2014.984599

Manika, D, Wells, V.K, Gregory-Smith, D & Gentry, M. (2015). The impact of individual attitudinal and organisational variables on workplace environmentally friendly behaviours. Journal of Business Ethics, 126(4), 663- 684.  doi:   10.1007/s10551-013-1978-6

Wells, V.K, Manika, D, Gregory-Smith, D, Taheri, B & McCowlen, C. (2015). Heritage tourism CSR and the role of employee environmental behaviour, Tourism Management, 48, 399-413. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.12.015

Gregory-Smith, D, Wells, V.K, Manika, D & Graham, S. (2015). An environmental social marketing intervention among employees: Assessing attitude and behaviour change. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(3-4), 336-377.  doi:  10.1080/0267257X.2014.971045

Wells, V.K. (2014). The influence of behavioural psychology on consumer psychology and marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(11-12), 1119-1158. doi:  10.1080/0267257X.2014.929161

Editorials

Moufahim, M., Wells, V.K & Canniford, R (2018) The Consumption, Politics and Transformation of Community. Journal of Marketing Management.  doi: 10.1080/0267257X.2018.1479506

Wells, V.K & Martin, D (2017) Research Frontiers in Cognitive, Social-Cognitive, Behavioural, Social and Applied Psychology: Implications for Marketing Theory and Consumer Research.  Journal of Marketing Management, 33(11-12), 873-877. doi:  10.1080/0267257X.2017.1337668

Wells, V.K & Foxall, G.R (2011).  Consumer behaviour analysis and services.  Service Industries Journal, 31(15), 2507-2513.

Edited Books

Wells, V.K., Gregory-Smith, D & Manika, D. (eds)(2018) Research Handbook on Employee Pro-Environmental Behaviour. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Wells, V.K & Foxall, G.R (eds) (2012). Handbook of New Developments in Consumer Behaviour, Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN:  978-1-84980-244-4. (also paperback version 2014, ISBN:  978-1-78195-332-7).

Teaching

Undergraduate

Victoria’s teaching is research-led, and encourages students to develop an inquiry based approach to enhance skills in research, group work and collaboration. Her teaching is designed to be practical, allowing students to use academic research, theories and frameworks to solve real world problems and to practice the application of marketing and consumer behaviour research. She also tries to convey the importance of thinking of subjects from an interdisciplinary perspective and to consider the full impact that marketing and consumption has on society.

She has previously taught on the following modules at York:

• Research and Analytics in Marketing
• Marketing in Context
• Contemporary Consumer Behaviour
• UG Dissertation

External activities

Business engagement

Capabilities

• Chartered Marketer - Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), from 2013
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), from 2019 (fellow from 2008)
  
• Certified Business and Management Educator (CMBE), from 2022

My work encompasses social marketing, sustainability and environmental behaviour and I seek to find creative ways to understand and encourage sustainable behaviour that really works for businesses and individuals. I have worked extensively on employee environmental behaviour examining barriers and motivators as well as communications and other strategies that can be used to develop and encourage these behaviours. I have also looked at ways in which environmental donations and volunteering can be encouraged. Finally, I have also examined cooperative membership (consumer cooperatives such as pubs/shops etc).

Collaborators

I have worked on environmental behaviour interventions with Global Actions Plan and with Veris Strategies. Alongside them I have worked with a range of international clients to ensure efficient and accurate data collection, and data analysis for use in marketing strategies to enough employees to be more environmentally positive.

I have worked with the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust to develop a segmentation analysis of their members and positional members to ensure helpful communications and targeting decisions can be make within a context of limited resources.

I have worked with the Golden Ball Cooperative pub to examine the motivations of their membership and to examine why consumer cooperatives are attractive to some consumers, and how their involvement can be further encouraged.

I am currently working with the GRAB Trust in Oban to support and examine their campaigns to reduce littering and to encourage a reduction in use of single use coffee cups.

Social Media

More information about my Employee Environmental Behaviour work.