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Akon Ekpo

Assistant Professor of Marketing

Dr. Akon Ekpo is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. Her research focuses on digital culture, technology consumption, and transformative consumer behavior, particularly examining the intersection of digital culture and marginalization. She explores how these experiences influence power dynamics, consumer resistance, and market structures, ultimately shaping marketplace interactions. Her work has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Marketing Letters, Journal of Business Research, and Marketing Theory. Dr. Ekpo has received several prestigious honors, including the AMA/EBSCO Responsible Research in Marketing Award and the Thomas C. Kinnear/JPP&M Award. Before entering academia, she worked in the information technology sector, holding roles such as IT Project Manager, Software QA Analyst, and Software Design Engineer at Fortune 500 companies. Her industry experience informs both her research and teaching.

Education

  • PhD, Marketing, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • BS, Computer Science, DePaul University

Research Interests

  • Technology Usage by Marginalized Consumers
  • Racialized Marketplace Experiences
  • Marketplace Diversity and Inclusion
  • Consumer Well-being
  • Transformative consumer research
  • Digital culture & technology consumption

Professional/Community Affiliations

  • Editorial Review Board, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2021-present
  • Marketing Department Liaison, Chicago Interactive Marketing Association, 2020-present
  • Editorial Review Board, Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2018-present
  • Member, Chicago Consumer Culture Community, 2010-present
  • Member, Association for Consumer Research, 2010-present
  • Member, Consumer Culture Theory Consortium, 2010-present

Courses Taught

  • Mark 468: Digital Marketing
  • Digital Content Creation
  • Internet and Social Media Marketing
  • Advanced Internet Marketing
  • Introduction to Management Information Systems (MIS)
  • SCMG 480: Operations Management
  • Mark 310: Consumer Behavior
  • Mark 201: Principles of Marketing
  • Mark 460: Marketing Management
  • Mark 373: Integrated Marketing Communications
  • Search Engine Optimization

Publications/Research Listings

'Cross, Samantha N. N. & Akon E. Ekpo (2024), “When Marketplaces Fail: How Market Challenged Consumers Navigate the Marketplace,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, (forthcoming).

Thornton, LaDonna, Angela Jones, Akon E. Ekpo, Keith Story, & Pettis Kent (2024), “A Tale of Two Frontlines: Critically Assessing the Dynamics of Interracial Service Encounters,” Production & Operations Management, (forthcoming).

Kent, Pettis, LaDonna Thornton, and Akon E. Ekpo (2024), “U.S. Public Sector Supplier Diversity: An Intersectional Invisibility Perspective,” Production & Operations Management, (forthcoming).

Ekpo, Akon E. (2023), “The Double Edge of Diversity in a Digital World,” in Russell Belk and Rosa Llamas (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Digital Consumption 2nd ed., London, UK: Routledge, 413-424.

Ozanne, Julie, Brennan Davis, and Akon E. Ekpo (2022), “Research Pathways for Societal Impact: A Typology of Relational Engagements for Consumer Psychology Research,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 32(1), 127-144.

Ekpo, Akon E., Jenna Drenten, Pia A. Albinsson, Sophia Anong, Samuelson Appau, Lagnajita Chatterjee, Charlene A. Dadzie, Margaret Echelbarger, Adrienne Muldrow, Spencer M. Ross, Shelle Santana, & Michelle F. Weinberger (2022), “The Platformed Money Ecosystem: Digital Financial Platforms, Datafication, and Reimagining Financial Well-being,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 56(3), 1062-1078.

Podoshen, Jeffrey S., Akon E. Ekpo, and Oluwatoniloba Abiru (2021), “Diversity, Tokenism, and Comic Books: Crafting Better Strategies,” Business Horizons, 64(1), 131-140.

Poole, Sonja, Sonya Grier, Kevin Thomas, Francesca Sobande, Akon E. Ekpo, Lez Torres, Lynn Addington, Melinda Weekes-Laidlow, & Geraldine Rosa Henderson (2021), “Operationalizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the Marketplace,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 40(2), 126-142.

 

Awards

  • JPP&M Thomas C Kinnear Award, 2023
  • Quinlan Faculty Development Grant, 2022
  • AEF Visiting Professors Program, June 2022
  • AMA/EBSCO Responsible Research in Marketing Award, 2021
  • Quinlan Faculty Development Grant, 2021
  • Loyola University Chicago Summer Research Grant, 2021
  • Committee on Institutional Equity & Diversity Mini-Grant, Rutgers University Camden (campus-wide), 2016-19
  • Summer Research Grant, Rutgers School of Business Camden (college-wide), 2017
  • Research Council Grant, Rutgers University (university-wide), 2016
  • Digital Teaching Fellows, Rutgers University Camden (campus-wide), 2016
  • Haworth College of Business Professional Development Award, Western Michigan University (college-wide), 2012-2014
  • Haenicke Institute for International Education Faculty Development Fund, Western Michigan University (university-wide), 2013
  • Haworth College of Business Mini-Grant, Western Michigan University (college-wide), 2013
  • American Marketing Association (AMA) Foundation Valuing Diversity Scholarship, 2011
  • National Association of Black MBA H. Naylor Fitzhugh Doctoral Fellowship, 2010