Olivier Sibai — Birkbeck, University of London

Overview

Biography

Olivier Sibai joined Birkbeck in 2014 and completed his PhD at Aston University, Birmingham. His research interests revolve broadly around Consumer Culture and Transformative Consumer Research. He has a particular interest in consumer collectives and the exercise of power in the marketplace. His current research projects focus on brand activism, anti-racism consumer movements, market-place exclusion, violence in consumer communities, deviance in consumer communities, marginal consumption practices, and consumer isolation. While Olivier conducts mainly interpretivist research, he is interested in various methodologies and approaches. Olivier currently convenes postgraduate dissertations in the Management department. He teaches Strategic Brand Management and Digital Marketing.

Qualifications

PhD in Marketing, Aston Business School, UK , 2015
MSc Marketing, Aston Business School, UK, 2010
MA in Business management, Audencia Nantes, France, 2010

Administrative responsibilities

Postgraduate dissertation convenor

Visiting posts

Visiting Scholar , Cass Business School, 02-2019 to 06-2019
Visiting Scholar, EM Lyon, 01-2019 to 01-2019
Visiting Scholar , Cass Business School, 09-2013 to 08-2014
Visiting PhD, HEC Paris, 06-2012 to 12-2012
Teaching Assistant, Aston Business School, 09-2011 to 08-2014

Professional activities

Ad hoc academic journal reviewer

British Journal of Management (ABS 4*), Journal of Business Research, Psychology & Marketing, International Marketing Review (ABS 3*), Journal of Product & Brand Management, Recherche et Application en Marketing (ABS 2*)

Ad hoc conference reviewer

Association of Consumer Research (ACR), Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), Academy of Marketing Science (AMS), European Marketing Academy Conference (EMAC)

Professional memberships

Teaching Association
Higher Academy Fellow
Research Associations
The American Association for Consumer Research
The Consumer Culture Theory Consortium
The Academy of Marketing Science
The European Academy of Marketing

Research

Research interests

Consumer Culture Theory
Transformative Consumer Research
Branding
Digital Marketing
Interpretive methodologies

Research overview

Olivier’s research interests revolve broadly around Consumer Culture and Digital Marketing.

Olivier has a particular interest in (dis)harmony, (dis)order and power relations in consumption and the marketplace. In his projects, Olivier has investigated deviance in consumer collectives, community management, polarizing brands, isolation in the academic market. He has also published on market-based solutions to peace making.

Olivier also entertains a secondary interest for issues related games and gamification in the market, the role of the body in consumption and consumer self-presentation.

While Olivier enjoys various methodologies and approaches to research, he conducts mainly interpretivist research, with a particular focus on ethnographic methods.

Individuals interested in doing a PhD in the broad areas of Consumer Culture Theory and Transformative Consumer Research, or the domains of Qualitative Digital Marketing and Branding are welcome to email Olivier. In your email, please make sure you indicate why you would like to do a PhD, what you would like to research on (short summary of your intended research topic), and how your research fits with Olivier's research expertise or interests. Please make sure you also attach a copy of your CV. If you already wrote a first draft of a PhD proposal, you can also attach it to the email.

Msc students interested in doing their dissertations on branding topics such as brand misbehaviors, polarizing brands or human brand dynamics are also welcome.

Research clusters and groups

Member, The Scrutinizers

Research projects

The Brutalization of Online Consumer Communities

Authenticating Brand Activism through Controversy

#MyBlackReceipt: Fighting Racial Exclusion Through the Marketing Place

Marketplace exclusion

Supervision and teaching

Supervision

Individuals interested in doing a PhD in the broad areas of Consumer Culture Theory and Transformative Consumer Research, or the domains of Qualitative Digital Marketing and Branding are welcome to email Olivier. In your email, please make sure you indicate why you would like to do a PhD, what you would like to research on (short summary of your intended research topic), and how your research fits with Olivier's research expertise or interests. Please make sure you also attach a copy of your CV. If you already wrote a first draft of a PhD proposal, you can also attach it to the email.

Msc students interested in doing their dissertations on branding topics such as brand misbehaviors, polarizing brands or human brand dynamics are also welcome.

Teaching

Teaching modules

Brand Management (BUMN066H7)
Digital Marketing (BUMN104H5)
PG Dissertation Preparation (BUMN184Z7)

Publications

Article

Brouard, M. and Brunk, K. and Belkhir, M. and Campana, M. and Dalmoro, M. and Ferreira, M.C. and Figueiredo, B. and Scaraboto, D. and Sibai, Olivier and Smith, A.N. and Belkhir, M. (2023) "Upload Your Impact”: can digital enclaves enable participation in racialized markets?. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 42 (1), pp. 56-73. ISSN 0743-9156.
Sibai, Olivier and Brunk, K. and Belkhir, M. and Brouard, M. and Campana, M. and Dalmoro, M. and Ferreira, M.C. and Figueiredo, B. and Scaraboto, D. and Smith, A. (2022) Market-centric pathways for racial inclusion: the case of #MyBlackReceipt. Advances in Consumer Research ISSN 0098-9258. (In Press)
Sibai, Olivier and Mimoun, L. and Boukis, A. (2021) Authenticating brand activism: negotiating the boundaries of free speech to make a change. Psychology & Marketing 38 (10), pp. 1651-1669. ISSN 0742-6046.
Sibai, Olivier and Ferreira, M.C. and Bernardo, F. (2019) Overworked and isolated: the rising epidemic of loneliness in academia. The Conversation
Belkhir, M. and Brouard, M. and Brunk, K. and Dalmoro, M. and Dinnin Huff, A. and Ferreira, M.C. and Figueiredo, B. and Scaraboto, D. and Sibai, Olivier and Smith, A. (2018) Isolation in globalizing academic fields: a collaborative autoethnography of Early Career Researchers. Academy of Management Learning and Education 18 (2), ISSN 1537-260X.
Nunan, Daniel and Sibai, Olivier and Schivinski, Bruno and Christodoulides, George (2018) Reflections on “Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales” and a research agenda. Industrial Marketing Management 75, pp. 31-36. ISSN 0019-8501.
Barrios Fajardo, A. and De Valck, K. and Schultz, C. and Sibai, Olivier and Husemann, K. and Maxwell-Smith, M. and Luedicke, M. (2016) Marketing as a means to transformative social conflict resolution: lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian coffee marketing system. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 35 (2), pp. 185-197. ISSN 1547-7207.
Sibai, Olivier and de Valck, K. and Farrell, A.M. and Rudd, J.M. (2015) Social control in online communities of consumption: a framework for community management. Psychology & Marketing 32 (3), pp. 250-264. ISSN 0742-6046.

Business and community

I have media training.

Media

I am happy to receive enquiries from the media on the following topics:

Activist branding
Digital and social media marketing
Brutality in online communities
Deviance in consumer communities
Academic isolation
How consumers cope with racial exclusion
Consumer collectives