Dr Paula Kearns

​Dr Paula Kearns teaching on a variety of marketing modules:

• Marketing Plan
• International and Global Marketing
• Contemporary Issues in Marketing
• Managing Marketing Performance
• Marketing Communications
• Sports and Event Marketing

​Dr Kearns was awarded her Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) in December 2013 with a thesis is entitled: ‘On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!’’ The Development of the Sport and Physical Activity Value (S&PAVAL) Model for use in the Leisure Industry.

Her research focus is motivated by wanting to understand why some adults live and breathe sport embracing it throughout their lives – whilst to others seems to have no value at all? In this regard my doctorial thesis adopts a social marketing perspective and views participation in sport and physical activity in the same vein as any other consumer behaviour, where a physically active adult is a consumer and exercise is an offering to be purchase and/or consumed.

Her research represents the first examination of the value construct as it pertains to the consumption of sport and physical activity opportunities. Specifically, it examines ‘consumption values’ that underpin adult’s participation in sport and physical activity. Leisure service providers, need to know what ‘it’ is that customers value from their consumption experience in order for ‘it’ to be included into the design and implementation of campaigns aimed at enticing and motivating individuals to become more physically active. It is only through investigating what ‘it’ is, what the dimensions of consumer value underpinning the consumption of sport and physical activity are, will practitioners be able to design products, services and offerings that add value and make sense in individual’s everyday life.

​Doctorial thesis:

‘On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!’ The Development of the Sport and Physical Activity Value (S&PAVAL) Model for use in the Leisure Industry.

Peer reviewed publications:

Williams-Burnett, N.J and Kearns, P (2018) “A new perspective: consumer values and the consumption of physical activity”, Education + Training, https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-01-2018-0004

Submitted on 12th April 2013: European Sports Management Quarterly (ESMQ), Value Co-Creation in sport Management Special Issues 2014: ‘Conceptualisation and Measurement of Consumer Value in a Sport and Physical Activity Context’.

Conference abstracts – accepted:

Academy of Marketing Conference 2020 paper accepted entailed ‘The Value of ‘Free’ Understanding the value of taster sessions in a physical activity setting’ (conference cancelled due to COVID-19).

World Social Marketing Conference 2019: ‘Bringing it into the community: A community based social marketing programme’.

Academy of Marketing Conference 2013: ‘Conceptualising customer value in a leisure service setting: value is in the eye of the beholder’.

WISERD 2013 Conference: “The whole idea behind it is to get people away from going to doctors”

Policy & Politics 40th Anniversary Conference 2012: ‘Why don’t people do what’s good for them? : an examination of the value(s) which affect physical activity’.

Academy of Marketing Conference 2012: ‘Towards developing understanding of the drivers, constraints from the consumption values underpinning participation in physical activity’.Emerging Themes in Business 2012 Conference Proceedings: ‘Value-in-exchange or value-in-use? Empirical insights into consumer perception’, pp 289-315 (Newport, 20 March 2012).

Emerging Themes in Business 2012 Conference Proceedings: ‘Value-in-exchange or value-in-use? Empirical insights into consumer perception’, pp 289-315 (Newport, 20 March 2012).