Staff profile

Mike Nicholson joined the Department full-time in 2001, following a previous career in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), including several years as a successful entrepreneur in this space.  A psychologist by background, his interests lie in the broad areas of influence and persuasion, applying insights from the behavioural sciences to craft more impactful marketing strategies.

 

Much of Mike’s current research focuses on the growing field of influencer and content marketing.  Specifically, he draws upon work from behavioural economics to explore the hidden biases in our decision-making.  A particular theme of this work has been the choice architecture of content creation and ways in which creators can leverage decision biases in order to nudge the consumer toward a desired action.  Mike collaborates with a number of influencers in this area, as well as leading brands within the FMCG sector.

 

As a visually impaired academic, Mike’s work extends into the area of inclusivity in marketing.  One notable stream of is exploring the experiences of creators as they progress through their own sight loss journeys, unpacking the extent to which the content they produce and their interactions with audiences evolve over time, reflecting a reshaping of social identity.

 

A multi-award-winning teacher, Mike makes contributions across the department’s undergraduate and postgraduate portfolios, together with executive education, focusing mainly on consumer psychology, strategic marketing, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods.  He is an External Examiner for business schools such as Warwick and Regents, as well as a long-standing educational advisor to the Ombudsman for United Nations Funds and Programmes. 

 

A passionate disability advocate, Mike is also a regular writer, commentator and speaker on accessibility-related issues.

• The Psychology of Persuasion
• Influencer Marketing and Content Creation
• The Behavioural Economics of Consumer Choice
• The Presentation of Self in Social Media Life
• Disability, Accessibility and Inclusive Marketing

Conference Paper

• Xiao, S., Iyer, G., & Nicholson, M. (2013, December). Impulsivity and Impulse Buying: A Cross-National Examination. Paper presented at EMAC 2013 Conference, ITU., Istanbul, Turkey
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2009, June). Social Marketing: Contributions from Evolutionary Psychology. Paper presented at International Symposium on Social Marketing and Behavioural Change, Durham University
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2008, September). Symposium: Old Wine in New Bottles? Social Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Analysis. Paper presented at British Academy of Management Conference, Harrogate, UK
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2007, September). Evolutionary Psychology and the Behavioural Perspective Model. Paper presented at 1st International Symposium on Consumer Behaviour Analysis, Cardiff, UK
• Xiao, S., & Nicholson, M. (2007, July). in a Non-deceptive Counterfeit Marketplace. Paper presented at 5th International Conference on Business, Economics, Management & Marketing., Athens, Greece
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2007, July). Consumer Channel Choice as an Operant Process. Paper presented at 5th International Conference on Business, Economics, Management & Marketing., Athens, Greece
• Xiao, S., & Nicholson, M. (2007, December). Luxury for the Masses: An Exploratory Study on New Luxury Brands Consumption in China. Paper presented at 3rd Annual Colloquium of the Academy of Marketing's Brand, Corporate Identity and Reputation Special Interest Group., London, UK
• Xiao, S., & Nicholson, M. (2004, July). Faking It! Consumer Behaviour towards Counterfeit Goods in China. Paper presented at 2nd International Conference on Business, Economics, Management & Marketing., Athens, Greece
• Hindmarsh, S., & Nicholson, M. (2004, December). Toys for Boys and the Girl Game Jinx: Sex differences in computer gaming. Paper presented at 2nd International Conference on Business, Economics, Management & Marketing., Athens, Greece
• Nicholson, M., Clarke, I., & Blakemore, M. (2001, June). Multichannel Consumer Behaviour in the Retail Fashion Sector. Paper presented at 11th International Conference on Research in the Distributive Trades., Tilburg, NL

Journal Article

• Obeidat, Z., Xiao, S., Iyer, G., & Nicholson, M. (2017). Consumer Revenge Using the Internet and Social Media: An Examination of the Role of Service Failure Types and Cognitive Appraisal Processes. Psychology and Marketing, 34(4), 496-515. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21002
• Iyer, G., Xiao, S., Sharma, A., & Nicholson, M. (2015). Behavioral issues in price setting in business-to-business marketing: a framework for analysis. Industrial Marketing Management, 47, 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.001
• Xiao, S., & Nicholson, M. (2011). Mapping impulse buying: a behaviour analysis framework for services marketing and consumer research. The Service Industries Journal, 31(15), 2515-2528. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2011.531123
• Xiao, S., & Nicholson, M. (2011). Consumer consideration of non-deceptive counterfeit goods: a contingency matrix approach. The Service Industries Journal, 31(15), 2617-2631. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2011.529608
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2011). Consumer behaviour analysis and social marketing practice. The Service Industries Journal, 31(15), 2529-2542. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2011.531124
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2010). On the Evolutionary Bases of Consumer Reinforcement. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 30(2), 127-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/01608061003756356
• Xiao, S., & Nicholson, M. (2010). Trick or Treat? An Examination of Marketing Relationships in a Non-deceptive Counterfeit Market. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 30(3), 247-270
• Gee, R., Coates, G., & Nicholson, M. (2008). Understanding and profitably managing customer loyalty. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 26(4), 359-374. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500810879278
• Nicholson, M., Clarke, I., & Blakemore, M. (2002). One brand, three ways to shop: Situational variables and multichannel consumer behaviour. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 12(2), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593960210127691

Working Paper

• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2007). Darwin’s ghost : evolutionary psychology and consumer behaviour analysis
• Nicholson, M., & Xiao, S. (2007). Darwin's Ghost: Evolutionary Psychology and Consumer Behaviour Analysis