Dr Padmali Rodrigo

Associate Professor

School: Newcastle Business School

Dr Padmali Rodrigo is an Associate Professor in Marketing at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. She is the Marketing Research Group (MRG) lead, and her research explores how people make consumption choices in a world shaped by sustainability, social media, and inclusion, and how business schools can create real-world impact through knowledge exchange. Her current work sits at the frontier of digital marketing, examining how virtual influencers and immersive metaverse experiences are reshaping consumer engagement, and what this means for consumer well-being.

Her work spans three connected strands. In digital consumer behaviour, she studies virtual influencers, metaverse experiences and their effects on consumer engagement and well-being. In marketing, she examines sustainable consumption, hedonic products and services, and the experiences of marginalised consumers from diverse backgrounds. In higher education, she investigates disability inclusion, the doctoral student experience, and how knowledge exchange is understood and practised in business schools. Her research appears in leading ABS-3 journals, including Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Information Systems Frontiers and Personality & Individual Differences.

Padmali's research is supported by a growing portfolio of internal and external funding. She was Principal Investigator on a project funded by the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), and she currently serves as a co-Investigator on projects funded by the British Academy (Developing Regional Writing Capacity in Digital Transformation for Sustainable Tourism Development in Türkiye – DEWRCA, 2026 and the Marketing Trust (social media and knowledge exchange). She also completed a British Academy of Management-funded project on meaningful and meaningless work among disabled academics as a co-investigator.

Recognised by KEVRI (Knowledge, Entrepreneurship, Venture, Research and Innovation), a UK innovation and knowledge exchange platform for universities, as one of 15 women leading global innovation, Padmali is an active contributor to her academic community. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality and the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Consumer Studies, and reviews for journals in marketing, tourism and information systems. As a champion of equality, diversity and inclusion in academia and marketing practice, she sits on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the American Academy of Advertising (AAA).

Padmali brings substantial academic leadership experience. She served as Head of Postgraduate Education at Newcastle Business School (2024–2025) and sits on Northumbria University's Strategy Advisory Group, helping to shape institutional priorities in education, research and knowledge exchange. She has led undergraduate programmes in marketing, business and law; supervises doctoral, postgraduate and undergraduate students; mentors colleagues in teaching, learning and research; contributes to staff development and capacity-building; and is External Examiner for the University of Huddersfield.

She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a Chartered Marketer and Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM), a teaching specialist (APA) recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, and a member of the American Academy of Advertising. Before returning to Northumbria, where she earned her PhD in Marketing, an MSc with Distinction and a First-Class BA (Hons), she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Marketing and Sales at the University of Portsmouth (2015–2020).

Prospective doctoral students: Padmali welcomes PhD applications in digital consumer behaviour, virtual influencers, the metaverse and consumer well-being, sustainable consumer behaviour, religious travel and tourism, social media influencers, and marketing misinformation, fake news and brand deception. She is committed to giving doctoral researchers a supportive and rewarding experience.

Email Padmali

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My primary research interests are currently focused on areas such as digital consumer behaviour, consumer well-being, mindfulness, virtual influencers, marketing misinformation and disinformation on social media, sustainable consumption, and influencer marketing. I am competent in both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
How Metaverse Influencers Shape Electronic Word-of-Mouth: Credibility, Attractiveness, and Parasocial Relationships Across Cultures and Gender, Alraja, M., Khashab, B., Rodrigo, P., Djafarova, E. 5 Oct 2026, In: Technology in Society
Hedonism in tourism and hospitality: A bibliometric review of the arena and future research direction, Khan, M., Rodrigo, P., Din, S., Farid, H. 1 Aug 2026, In: International Journal of Hospitality Management
Business Schools and Knowledge Exchange: A Chartered ABS Comissioned Research Project, Rodrigo, P., Sutherland, D., Shorley, P. 16 Dec 2025
Can you be mindful? The effectiveness of mindfulness-driven interventions in enhancing the digital resilience to fake news on COVID-19, Rodrigo, P., Arakpogun, E., Vu, M., Olan, F., Djafarova, E. 1 Apr 2024, In: Information Systems Frontiers
Corporate social responsibility in the luxury sector: The role of moral foundations, Hang, H., Rodrigo, P., Ghaffari, M. 1 Dec 2021, In: Psychology and Marketing
Loss or gain? The role of message framing in hotel guests' recycling behaviour, Grazzini, L., Rodrigo, P., Aiello, G., Viglia, G. Nov 2018, In: Journal of Sustainable Tourism
Proactive personality: A bibliographic review of research trends and publications, Din, S., Khan, M., Farid, H., Rodrigo, P. 1 Apr 2023, In: Personality and Individual Differences
Knowledge Exchange and Business Schools – Hidden Gems?: Models of Interaction, Sutherland, D., Rodrigo, P., Shorley, J. 12 Jun 2025, University Industry Innovation Network Annual Conference 2025
The “magic lipstick”: luxury values in an economic downturn, Moisieiev, D., Ren, C., Rodrigo, P., Koussaifi, H., Chapman, S. 26 Aug 2025, In: Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal
Consumers’ motivations for adopting a vegan diet: A mixed-methods approach, Ghaffari, M., Rodrigo, P., Ekinci, Y., Pino, G. 1 Jul 2022, In: International Journal of Consumer Studies

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
CABS research into KEF, Rodrigo, P. (Principal Investigator), CABS, 01/01/23 - 31/12/23, £29,915.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Other: Funding Success: An exploratory study into business school knowledge exchange-(CABS Funded research)-Funding Value £29, 915,04 2023
Other: Funding Success:DEWRCA British Academy International Writing Workshops: Funding value; £29, 446 2026
Other: Funding Success: Contract to Contract: Facilitating engagement between academics and industry through Social Networking: Funding Value: £29,915.04 2026
Other: Funding Success: Developing Business-Aware Academics focus group exploring the barriers, enablers and motivators for doctoral and early-career researchers engaging beyond academia (Funding Value- £2483.34) 2025
Other: Programme validation: (External panel member) Reapproval of undergraduate School of Management courses: Anglia Ruskin University (July 2025) 2025

PGR Supervision

Luke Norris Adapting Inoculation Theory to Confer Broad-scale Resistance to Deception Strategies in Multidimensional Digital Environments Start Date: 01/10/2021 End Date: 26/04/2026
Luke Norris Adapting Inoculation Theory to Confer Broad-scale Resistance to Deception Strategies in Multidimensional Digital Environments Start Date: 01/10/2021 End Date: 17/10/2025
Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti An Investigation of Hedonic, Utilitarian and Perceived Values Towards Revisit Intentions and Word-of-Mouth: Tourist Shopping Experiences in Qatar Start Date: 25/10/2021 End Date: 23/04/2025
Conson Arokeyanayakam The Impact of Gamification in the Metaverse on Consumer Well-Being and Purchasing Intention Start Date: 01/10/2024
Conson Arokeyanayakam The Impact of Gamification in the Metaverse on Consumer Well-Being and Purchasing Intention Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025