Dr Ellie Hickman

Ellie is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Advertising with over 13 years’ experience teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, supported by more than 20 years of professional experience as a strategic marketing practitioner and consultant. Drawing on this industry background, she integrates commercial insight into teaching and research, focusing on how organisations create customer value, strengthen engagement and deliver sustainable growth.

Within the Faculty of Business and Law, Ellie plays a leading role in enterprise and knowledge exchange. She is Knowledge Exchange Champion and Enterprise Lead for the Inclusive Society Impact Hub within the Institute for Responsible Business and Social Justice, where she supports collaboration between DMU researchers, industry and public sector partners. Through this work she promotes Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and applied research that delivers practical impact for organisations and communities.

Ellie’s research focuses on customer experience (CX), service innovation and digital transformation. Her work increasingly explores the role of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, in shaping customer engagement and service delivery. More recently she has developed interdisciplinary research examining the intersection of AI, ageing and digital inclusion, exploring how technology can support wellbeing and independent living in later life.

Her research has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, contributing to both academic scholarship and industry practice.

Ellie also contributes to institutional leadership and inclusion at DMU. She is Co-Chair of DMU Women and Lead of the WISE Women network, where she supports mentoring initiatives, leadership development and activities that promote gender equality and career progression across the university.

Committed to bridging academia and industry, Ellie’s work combines research, enterprise activity and external partnerships to ensure that marketing education and research at DMU remain applied, relevant and impactful.

The Institute for Responsible Business and Social Justice 

• Klaus, P., Manthiou, A., Luong, H., & Hickman, E. (2026). Extending the TCQ Framework: Redesigning Digital Customer Experience in High-End Luxury Service Contexts. Journal of Services Marketing.
• Luong, H., Manthiou, A., Liu, Hickman, E & Klaus, P. (2024). Mini-me fashion sharenting: Drivers, consequences, and the role of market mavens. Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
• Manthiou, A., Hickman, E., and Klaus, P. (2020). Beyond good and bad: Challenging the suggested role of emotions in customer experience (CX) research. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 57, 102218.
• Kharouf, H., Biscaia, R., Garcia-Perez, A. & Hickman, E. (2020). Understanding Online Event Experience: The Importance of Communication, Engagement and Interaction. Journal of Business Research.
• Hickman, E., Kharouf, H. and Sekhon, H. (2019). An omnichannel approach to retailing: demystifying and identifying the factors influencing an omnichannel experience. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research.
• Pritchard, A., Cook, D., Jones, A., Bason, T., Salisbury, P, and Hickman, E.  (2018). Professional sports teams: Going beyond the core. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.
• Kharouf, H., Sekhon, H., Fazal-e-Hasan, S. M., Hickman, E., & Mortimer, G. (2018). The role of effective communication and trustworthiness in determining guests’ loyalty. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 1-23.

• Customer experience (CX) and customer loyalty

• Omnichannel retailing and digital service design

• Trust and customer engagement in digital environments

• Online customer experience and service interaction

• Artificial intelligence in service and customer engagement

• Digital inclusion and ageing

• Technology-enabled wellbeing and service innovation

Integrated Marketing Communications, X-Culture Lead, Strategic E-Marketing, Digital & Social Media Context of Business, Executive Company Projects, Brand Management, Advertising & Communications.

PhD, MA Advertising & Marketing, PGCHE, SFHEA

BA Marketing, BA Advertising & Communications & BA Business & Marketing

HEA Aurora mentor

X-Culture faculty lead

The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network

APPG for Ageing and Older People (Age UK)

Academy of Marketing Society (AMS) 

Senior Fellow of HEA

CIM faculty lead and member

 Aurora (HEA)

• Hickman, E., Manthiou, A., Klaus, P. and Kharouf, H., (2023). Are positive customer emotions always good and negative always bad? The role of emotions and the consumption outcomes. AMS WMC Conference 2023 – Kent, UK.
• Kharouf, H.,  Nurul Alam, M.,  Lund,  and Hickman, E., (2023).  Impact of Brand Coolness and Virtual Presence Following a Product Failure: An Abstract. AMS Annual Conference 2023, New Orleans, USA.
• Hickman, E., Kharouf, H., Biscaia, R. & Garcia-Perez, A. (2019). Digital customer experience: identifying the drivers and outcomes of successful mega events. International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management (QUIS16) – Karlstaad, Sweden.
• Jackson, O & Hickman, E (2017). Does brand familiarity have any impact on repairing trust between a company and customer in the time of crisis? BCUR conference, Bournemouth, April 2017.
• Hickman, E (2015). Holistic hybrid (Omni-channel) approach to retailing and customer experience: A review, conceptual framework and future research directions. International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management (QUIS14) – Shanghai, China.
• Hickman, E & Blackstock, K (2015). Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: Benefits of Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) projects. BES internal conference, Coventry, July 2015.
• Hickman, E (2014). The conceptualisation of building and enhancing customer experience using an Omnichannel approach, Academy of Marketing, Bournemouth.

Ellie is an active marketing consultant and enterprise mentor, working with SMEs and start-ups to develop integrated marketing strategies, customer engagement approaches and growth-focused campaigns. Through consultancy and mentoring she supports organisations in applying marketing insight, digital innovation and customer experience principles to deliver measurable commercial impact.

She also contributes to enterprise development through mentoring and knowledge exchange initiatives, supporting businesses and entrepreneurs to translate ideas into practical marketing solutions and sustainable growth.