Dr Xia Zhu

Professional biography

Xia Zhu is a Lecturer in Marketing at the Open University. Previously, Xia worked at Keele University and Sheffield Hallam University. Xia obtained her MSc in Marketing from UMIST, and her Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Manchester. Before her academic career, she worked as a business development manager in a British company expanding its business in the Far East. Xia has been awarded by British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant examining social media engagement during museum visits. Xia is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She is also a Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE).

Research interests

Teaching interests

Xia has taught marketing across undergraduate and postgraduate levels at various universities. Examples of modules that Xia delivered include:

• Services Marketing
• Marketing Research
• Marketing Principles
• Business Marketing and Sales Skills
• Strategic Marketing Management
• Master Dissertation
• Master Consultancy Projects

Impact and engagement

Xia showcased her research at the Manchester Museum. She has also worked with York Museum Trusts, investigating social media enegagement during museum visits and fed back to their practice. Xia also engages external parties and provide research on community projects.

External collaborations

Xia has been working with academics internationally on funded projects. Xia serves at the editorial board for The Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing (formerly known as International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing). She is also a peer reviewer for a number of international journals and for funding bodies such as the British Academy.

Funding

• 2024-2025, Faculty Seedcorn funding (Principal Investigator) (£2450) with Prof. Sunil Sahadev (CI, Sheffield Hallam University)
• 2019-2020, Faculty Seedcorn funding (Co-Investigator) (£2805) with Dr. Yue Meng Lewis (PI), Hongfei Liu (CI, University of Southampton)
• 2017-2018, British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (Principal Investigator) (£9549.00) with Prof. Adrian Palmer (CI) and Prof. Noel Siu (CI, Hong Kong Baptist University).
• 2017-2018, Erasmus+ Mobility Grant (£957.58) at IESEG Management School, France.
• 2016, Hong Kong Baptist University Faculty Research Grant (Co-Investigator) (99880.00 Hong Kong Dollars, equivalent to £9811.00) with Prof. Noel Siu (PI, Hong Kong Baptist University).
• 2009-2010, FfWG, Funds for Women Graduates (£3800.00)

External examination

• University of Reading (2023 - present) MBA programme
• Bahrain Polytechnic (2024 - present)
• Anglia Ruskin University (2019-2022)
• DBA Examination - Sheffield Hallam University (2023)
• PhD Examination - University of Huddersfield (2019, 2020)