RESEARCH INTERESTS

Destigmatization and Legitimization of Cannabis Consumption

Despite its legal status in several states and Washington D.C. cannabis is still illegal at the federal level in the United States and regardless of its partial-legal status cannabis consumption still has a stigma attached to it. Together with my co-authors, I explore the process of destigmatization in the context of cannabis consumption, particularly in legal markets.

  • Üçok Hughes, M., and Pehlivan E. (2024). Cultivating Change: Public Policy Implications in Destigmatizing Legal Cannabis in the United States. In Marketing and Public Policy Conference Proceedings. Washington DC.
  • Coskuner-Balli, G., Pehlivan Ekin, & Üçok Hughes, M. (2021). Institutional Work and Brand Strategy in the Contested Cannabis Market. Journal of Macromarketing, 41(4), 663-674. https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467211029243 [PDF]
  • Üçok Hughes, M., and Pehlivan, E. (2020, May). Destigmatization and Legitimization of Cannabis Consumption: A Semiotic Analysis of the Current Cannabis Market. AMA Marketing and Public Policy Conference, Marina del Rey, CA.
  • Üçok Hughes, M., Pehlivan, E., & Coskuner-Balli, G. (2019, June). Legitimization of Recreational Cannabis Consumption: Introduction of Market and Aesthetics Logics in the Field. Paper presented at nitmkg2: Bringing Institutional Theory to Marketing Conference, Paris, France.

Social Marketing and Sustainability

In recent years, my teaching and research interests have moved towards sustainable marketing and social marketing. I studied ecovillages, whose members live in intentional communities striving to practice and promote sustainable lifestyles. Situated in the margins of mainstream societies, both figuratively and literally, ecovillages pose alternative modes of living and consuming with often utopian undertones.

  • Üçok Hughes, M., Martin, D., Coskuner-Balli, G. (2023). Plural Logics in Marketing Systems: Managing Tensions within the Social Matrix in an Ecovillage. Journal of Macromarketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467231215775
  • Üçok Hughes, M., McConnell, W., & Groner, S. (2019). A Community-Based Social Marketing Anti-Littering Campaign: Be the Street You Want to See. In Basil, D., Gonzalo, M., D. (Eds.), Social Marketing in Action: Cases from Around the World. Springer.
  • Üçok Hughes, M., & Martin, D. (2018, July). When Utopian Ideologies Meet Marketplace Realities: Fairy Tale Dreams at Ecovillage Communities. Paper presented at Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Odense, Denmark. [web link]
  • Üçok Hughes, M. & McConnell, W. (2016, August). Alternative Lifestyles for a Sustainable Future: Issues, Dilemmas and Paradoxes of Ecovillages. Paper presented at International Society for Markets and Development Conference, Lima, Peru.
  • McConnell, W. & Üçok Hughes, M. (2016, August). Fissures of “Place” in the Globalization of Marketing: Leveraging Survival for Cabo Pulmo, North America’s Oldest Coral Reef. Paper presented at International Society for Markets and Development Conference, Lima, Peru.

Marketing Education

  • Upadhyaya, S., Üçok Hughes, M., & Houston, H. R. (2019). Using Sustainability as a Framework for Marketing Curricula and Pedagogy. The Journal of Sustainability Education, 20 (April).[web link] [PDF]
  • Üçok Hughes, M., Upadhyaya, S., & Houston, H. R. (2018). Educating Future Corporate Managers for a Sustainable World: Recommendations for a Paradigm Shift in Business Education. On the Horizon. [weblink] [pdf]
  • Üçok Hughes, M. (2015). Design and implementation recommendations for an undergraduate sustainable marketing course. In G. Black, & M. M. Nelson (Eds.), Teaching Marketing to New Generations and Non-Traditional Students. Proceedings of Marketing Educators’ Association Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 15-17 April (pp. 163-169). [pdf]
  • Üçok Hughes, M., & McConnell, W. (2015). A journey towards an interdisciplinary integrated marketing curriculum. In G. Black, & M. M. Nelson (Eds.), Teaching Marketing to New Generations and Non-Traditional Students. Proceedings of Marketing Educators’ Association Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 15-17 April (pp. 44-48). [pdf]

Digital Consumers: A Study of Pinterest

Taking Pinterest, an online image sharing site, as a context of study my research partner Kristen Schiele and I look into how consumers collect, organize, and categorize images to present their taste. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with female Pinterest users and visual analysis of their Pinterest boards we explore the ways in which people conspicuously consume and present their taste via a social media platform. Our preliminary findings indicate interesting possession rituals of the digital consumers.

  • Schiele, K., & Üçok Hughes, M. (2013). Possession Rituals of the Digital Consumer: A Study of Pinterest. In G. Cornelissen, E.  Reutskaja, & A. Valenzuela (Eds.), E- European Advances in Consumer Research (pp. 47-50). Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research. [full paper]

Digital Co-Creation: Storygiving

In this research, we looked into the concept of storygiving as a co-creation tool and provided a strategy guideline for marketing managers by using Tiffany & Co.’s “What Makes Love True” online campaign as the main example.

  • Üçok Hughes, M., Bendoni, W., & Pehlivan, E. (2016). Storygiving as a co-creation tool for luxury brands in the age of the internet : A love story by Tiffany and thousands of lovers. Journal of Product and Brand Management – Special Issue: Technology’s Transformation of People, Products and Brands, 24 (4). [web link]

Digital Consumers: Hispanics

Despite their growing numbers and concomitant increase in buying power, marketers increasingly fall short in their efforts to effectively target the Hispanic segment. By using current and historical analysis of marketing campaigns targeting this group accompanied by interviews with industry experts we propose digital marketing strategy opportunities and future managerial implications.

  • Üçok Hughes, M., Stovall, T., Pehlivan, E., & Cardona, R. (2018). Strategic Target Marketing Considerations and Implications for the U.S. Hispanic Market. Journal of Cultural Marketing Strategy, 3 (2), 152-171.
  • Üçok Hughes, M., Stovall, T., & Cardona, R. (2016, October). Digital Marketing and the Overlooked Hispanic 50+ Demographic. Presentation given at Marketing EDGE Direct/Interactive Marketing Research Summit Los Angeles, CA. [abstract]

Immigrant Consumer Research

For my doctoral thesis, I studied the consumption practices of Turkish transmigrants (transnational immigrants) whose lives stretch between Turkey and Denmark. Below are the publications based on this research:

  • Üçok Hughes, M. (2013). “Social Status Implications of Transmigrants’ Consumer Practices in Their Cultures of Origin”, in Advances in Consumer Research. Association for Consumer Research. [special session extended abstracts]
  • Üçok, M. (2011). “Consumption Practices of Transmigrants: A Multi-sited Ethnographic Study of Turkish Immigrants in Denmark”, published doctoral thesis, University of Southern Denmark University Press.