Inequality, self-worth, and the marketplace

Dr Shuting Liu has been Associate Lecturer in Marketing at the Department of Management since December 2023. Earlier that year, she received her PhD from St Andrews for a thesis titled, Examining how individuals perceive, comprehend, and respond to unequal social and organisational contexts. 

Dr Liu's thesis consists of two primary projects backed by eight empirical studies. The first project examined and demonstrated the detrimental effects of inequality on self-worth in societal and organisational contexts, while the second focused on a proof-of-concept intervention based on a 'fair work' label. Key findings of her thesis have been disseminated in national and international conferences, including the European Academy of Management Annual Conference and the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology.

She submitted her thesis and had an in-person viva in July 2023, examined by Dr Christin-Melanie Vauclair from Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE), and Management's Dr Fergus Neville. Her research was co-supervised by Dr Juliette Summers from the University of Stirling and Dr Boyka Bratanova.

Dr Liu was a taught postgraduate student in the MLitt Marketing programme at the School of Management in 2016/2017. She reports that this remarkable studying experience at St Andrews largely fostered her passion for research. Throughout her doctoral journey, she deeply valued the inclusive, collegiate, and supportive culture of the School's research community.