John Dawes is Professor in the UniSA Business School and School of Marketing and Associate Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. John conducts high-quality research into pricing and the effects of price changes; repeat-purchase behaviour and brand loyalty. His research on these phenomena emphasizes generalisability - consistent patterns in results across different contexts and time. Generalisability in results means that marketers can use the knowledge generated from this sort of research to make better decisions.
John has a Bachelor of Business degree (UniSA), a Masters by Research degree (UniSA), and a PhD from UniSA conferred in 1999. He was awarded an Australian... Read more
About me
John Dawes is Professor in the UniSA Business School and School of Marketing and Associate Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. John conducts high-quality research into pricing and the effects of price changes; repeat-purchase behaviour and brand loyalty. His research on these phenomena emphasizes generalisability - consistent patterns in results across different contexts and time. Generalisability in results means that marketers can use the knowledge generated from this sort of research to make better decisions.
John has a Bachelor of Business degree (UniSA), a Masters by Research degree (UniSA), and a PhD from UniSA conferred in 1999. He was awarded an Australian Postgraduate scholarship for his Master's degree after winning a host of prizes for excellence in the Bachelor of Business.
John regularly speaks at industry conferences in SA and the Eastern states and has published research in leading journals such as the Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research and Journal of Business Research. He conducts contract research for industry partners, in SA, Australia, as well as for the international corporations that support the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. Examples of the industry partners are Telstra, the NRMA, People's Choice Credit Union; and internationally, Gustav Paulig, Mars Inc, Glaxo Smith-Kline and HSBC.
John had a long background in industry before joining UniSA, working for various divisions of James Hardie Industries. His industry experience coupled with research expertise brings a unique blend of insights to the UniSA Business School.
About me
Doctor of Philosophy (Business and Management) University of South Australia
Master of Business University of South Australia
Bachelor of Business University of South Australia
Professor in Marketing, University of South Australia (2019 - present)
Associate Professor in Marketing, University of South Australia (2004-2018)
Senior Research Fellow, University of South Australia (1999 - 2004)
Sessional Staff Member, University of South Australia (1994 - 1999)
Full-time Student, University of South Australia (1991 - 1993)
Senior Architectural Representative, James Hardie Industries (incl period as State Manager SA, Crane Taps) (1988)
Sales Representative, James Hardie Industries (1979 - 1982)
Sales Associate, Comined Insurance Company of America (1978)
Effects of price promotions and price changes on demand. A recent finding I made in this regard is that when a consumer good (e.g. say, Crest 4 oz. toothpaste) is promoted, around 20% of the sales uplift is simply stolen from other variants of the same brand.
Market structure analysis - patterns in brand purchases, market partitions. Which brands gain and lose sales to which others ?
Brand performance measures such as repeat-purchase rates, share-of-wallet, brand penetration. A recent study by myself, Lars Meyer-Waarden and Carl Driesener in the Journal of Business Research using data across US and the UK found brand loyalty quite stable over periods between five and ten years.
Analysis of cigarette purchasing data from the... Read more
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2018 |
8
7
3
|
| 2015 |
67
63
1
|
| 2014 |
43
42
5
|
| 2012 |
23
20
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2010 |
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
|
| 2024 |
5
5
6
|
| 2024 |
|
| 2024 |
Open access
4
6
|
| 2024 |
Open access
4
3
22
|
| 2024 |
Open access
|
| 2024 |
Open access
2
35
|
| 2023 |
|
| 2023 |
Open access
7
7
|
| 2022 |
8
7
|
| 2022 |
Open access
|
| 2022 |
Open access
8
8
|
| 2022 |
1
1
1
|
| 2021 |
Open access
14
10
|
| 2021 |
Open access
21
19
36
|
| 2020 |
9
8
|
| 2020 |
Open access
10
8
3
|
| 2020 |
Open access
7
4
3
|
| 2020 |
13
12
3
|
| 2020 |
7
7
|
| 2018 |
Open access
10
7
16
|
| 2018 |
8
7
3
|
| 2018 |
19
16
|
| 2018 |
Open access
15
17
10
|
| 2017 |
9
6
1
|
| 2017 |
30
24
|
| 2017 |
|
| 2017 |
10
9
3
|
| 2016 |
Open access
95
86
5
|
| 2016 |
18
19
3
|
| 2016 |
20
18
2
|
| 2016 |
Open access
13
12
|
| 2015 |
67
63
1
|
| 2014 |
43
42
5
|
| 2014 |
10
6
|
| 2014 |
28
23
|
| 2014 |
Open access
22
18
|
| 2013 |
Open access
13
13
|
| 2013 |
61
37
|
| 2012 |
23
20
|
| 2012 |
25
22
|
| 2012 |
64
58
|
| 2011 |
61
51
|
| 2009 |
22
23
|
| 2009 |
71
59
|
| 2009 |
17
12
|
| 2009 |
14
12
|
| 2009 |
Open access
34
31
|
| 2009 |
18
12
|
| 2008 |
|
| 2008 |
1241
157
|
| 2008 |
30
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2023 |
Open access
|
| 2016 |
|
| 2012 |
Open access
|
| 2010 |
|
| 2009 |
Open access
|
| 2009 |
Open access
|
| 2009 |
Open access
|
| 2008 |
Open access
|
| 2008 |
Open access
|
| 2008 |
Open access
|
Reports for Government
"Pricing Practices: their Effects on Consumer Behaviour and Welfare" Prepared for the Office of Fair Trading, UK. 2010. In conjunction with Gorkan Ahmetoglou, Simon Fried, and Adrian Furnham.
<p> http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/current/advertising-prices
Research
Effects of price promotions and price changes on demand. A recent finding I made in this regard is that when a consumer good (e.g. say, Crest 4 oz. toothpaste) is promoted, around 20% of the sales uplift is simply stolen from other variants of the same brand.
Market structure analysis - patterns in brand purchases, market partitions. Which brands gain and lose sales to which others ?
Brand performance measures such as repeat-purchase rates, share-of-wallet, brand penetration. A recent study by myself, Lars Meyer-Waarden and Carl Driesener in the Journal of Business Research using data across US and the UK found brand loyalty quite stable over periods between five and ten years.
Analysis of cigarette purchasing data from the US showed that purchasing this product category surprisingly followed an 'NBD' distribution, with many more 'light' or infrequent buyers and far fewer very heavy purchasers. The implication of this finding is that survey-based approaches to measure smoking levels in the population may severely underestimate the full population of 'occasional' smokers.
Analysis of alcohol purchasing from consumer panel data in the US shows we can successfully model the proportion of households who transition from 'non' 'light' 'moderate' and 'heavy' levels of alcohol purchasing from one year to the next. This work is presently under review. This work and the cigarette purchasing work aligns with UniSA research theme of healthy futures. It applies knowledge and methods successfully used in marketing research to examine purchase patterns of products with health implications.
Won 2nd prize in the "Retail Game Changer Challenge" funded by the Precision Group, one of Australia's leading shopping centre operators. A team comprising Dr B Page, Vivien Chanana, Master's student Alicia Grasby and myself designed a dashboard of shopper metrics that store owners and operators can use to track shopper traffic, conversion ratios and inter-centre traffic sharing.
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| Flinders University | AUSTRALIA |
| Kingston University | UNITED KINGDOM |
| London South Bank University | UNITED KINGDOM |
| Massey University | NEW ZEALAND |
| Monash University | AUSTRALIA |
| Toulouse 1 Capitole University | FRANCE |
| University of Adelaide | AUSTRALIA |
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Strasbourg | FRANCE |
External engagement & recognition
| Engagement/recognition | Year |
|---|---|
Associate EditorEuropean Journal of Marketing |
2018 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2018 |
Editorial Board MemberCornell Hospitality Quarterly |
2018 |
Invited SpeakerMarcus Evans Conferences, Sydney |
2018 |
Associate EditorEuropean Journal of Marketing |
2017 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2017 |
Editorial Board MemberCornell Hospitality Quarterly |
2017 |
Associate EditorEuropean Journal of Marketing |
2016 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2016 |
Editorial Board MemberCornell Hospitality Quarterly |
2016 |
Invited SpeakerAccommodation Association of Australia, Sydney |
2016 |
Invited SpeakerMarcus Evans Conferences, Sydney |
2016 |
Invited SpeakerAustralian Marketing Institute (AMI) |
2016 |
Invited SpeakerMarcus Evans conferences, Pricing Analytics |
2016 |
Invited SpeakerPublic lecture, Singapore |
2016 |
Associate EditorEuropean Journal of Marketing |
2015 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2015 |
Invited SpeakerAccommodation Association of Australia, Adelaide |
2015 |
Associate EditorEuropean Journal of Marketing |
2014 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2014 |
Associate EditorEuropean Journal of Marketing |
2013 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2013 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2012 |
Invited SpeakerLocal Government Association of South Australia |
2012 |
EditorJournal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science |
2011 |
Invited SpeakerCriterion Conferences |
2011 |
Invited SpeakerMarcus Evans Conferences, Sydney |
2011 |
UniSA Knowledge Works series, Invited Speaker: ‘Is the Price Right,’ July 2013.
I currently teach Marketing Strategy and Planning in the Master of Marketing (coursework) degree; and Marketing Principles in the Bachelor's degree. I constantly obtain newsworthy examples from the business world to bring to class discussions, so we're talking about things that are important, topical, interesting and actually happening in the world.
In 2016 I introduced an exciting, immersive case study called Tru_Bank for Marketing Strategy and Planning. Students find it extremely challenging but very educational. The Case is based on my experience in working for clients in the Banking sector over a period of 15 years. Students have to dissect the case, work with real data, interpret real market research results and make decisions about their marketing spending. I have now also written a Primer on marketing planning which is made available at no charge to students enrolled in the course.
In 2019 I'm also involved in the exciting 'Marketing Clinic' with my colleague Vivien Chanana. In this course, small teams of students listen to real problems from local small businesses and not-for-profits, and map out an initial series of recommendations. Clients pay no fee. This is a great way that UniSA Business School contributes to the success of South Australian small business.
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
| Thesis title | Student status |
|---|---|
| Are consumers aware to care? An investigation into consumer awareness of brand purpose | Current |
| How market-leading brands grow | Current |
| Purchase likelihoods & brand usage. Revisiting a 60 year old relationship | Current |
| When are brand's sales more or less responsive to price changes? | Current |
| A replication and extension of unbearable lightness of buying | Completed |
| A review of offline and online brand presence measures | Completed |
| An examination of buyer behaviour and market structures in a seafood auction context | Completed |
| Better together? An examination of price promotion and advertising interaction effects | Completed |
| Did you get the message? Exploring the effects of advertising brand perceptions on mental availability | Completed |
| Do commercial brand equity metrics provide useful information? | Completed |
| Do younger category buyers buy brands and consume media differently from other category buyers? | Completed |
| Does size matter? Assessing brand portfolio size and its relationship with penetration and sales | Completed |
| From paddock to plate: an investigation of the local food supply chain in Australia | Completed |
| How bands grow: an examination of patterns of competition in listening behaviour | Completed |
| How do consumers respond to price changes? an examination of competitive context and prior purchase experience effects | Completed |
| How do disruptions to physical and mental availability of brands affect consumer behaviour? | Completed |
| How do mental availability metrics respond to advertising? | Completed |
| How online shoppers behave: describing and comparing patterns in online supermarket shopper behaviour | Completed |
| Investigating price elasticity for high-priced brands | Completed |
| Investigating the cross-category purchasing between brand extensions | Completed |
| Is anyone listening? Audience and media factors influencing radio ad avoidance | Completed |
| Modelling changes in buyer purchasing behaviour | Completed |
| Sisters, not twins: an investigation of visual brand identity cohesion across a product portfolio | Completed |
| The devil wears Prada...and Chanel...and Calvin Klein. Uncovering the patterns of luxury brand competition | Completed |
| The formation of loyalty, how natural is it? | Completed |
| The impact of data collection method on service quality and satisfaction scores | Completed |
| The impact of shelf space on brand choice: an experiment comparing store brands and national brands | Completed |
| To what extent does cross category loyalty exist for brand extensions? | Completed |
| Understanding and predicting new line extension success | Completed |
| Understanding new product performance: a descriptive investigation across multiple categories and two countries | Completed |
| Understanding the value of memory metrics in brand health tracking research | Completed |
| What matters in media? An investigation of media decision makers' perceptions of value | Completed |
| What¿s in your basket? Documenting fundamental buying patterns across shopping baskets | Completed |
| What's the category got to do with it: investigation of retailer performance at the category level in the UK market | Completed |
| Where does the bucket leak the most? Are light buyers more vulnerable? | Completed |
