Balaji Makam

Balaji Makam

Associate Professor, Marketing

Details

Open to

  • Masters Research or PhD student supervision
  • Collaborative projects
  • Industry Projects
  • Membership of an advisory committee
  • Mentoring (short-term)

About

Dr. M. S. Balaji is an Associate Professor of Marketing at RMIT University, researching services marketing, sustainability marketing, consumer behavior, and AI/Technology in marketing. His research focuses on services marketing, sustainability communication, and consumer behaviour, with a particular emphasis on how individuals respond to responsible and technology-enabled service environments. I have built a sustained research track record with publications in high-quality journals, including Journal of Retailing, Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, European Journal of Marketing, and Industrial Marketing Management, and have secured competitive research funding from national and international agencies

 

His research performance has developed alongside significant academic service and leadership roles, including department leadership, ethics governance, and program coordination across institutions in China and France. At RMIT, his focus is on strengthening collaborative research, supervising HDR candidates, and pursuing externally funded research in sustainability engagement and AI-mediated consumer behaviour. He intend to contribute to RMIT’s research priority areas in responsible management and sustainable development through high-impact publications, industry-linked research, and capacity-building within the research community.

Research fields

  • 350611 Service marketing
  • 350702 Corporate social responsibility
  • 350601 Consumer behaviour
  • 350605 Marketing management (incl. strategy and customer relations)
  • 350607 Marketing technology

UN sustainable development goals

  • 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 13 Climate Action
  • 3 Good Health and Well Being
  • 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Academic positions

  • Professor
  • Rennes School of Business
  • Marketing
  • Rennes, France
  • 1 Sep 2023 – 31 Jan 2025
  • Associate Professor
  • University of Nottingham Ningbo China
  • Marketing
  • Ningbo, China
  • 1 Sep 2017 – 30 Aug 2023
  • Assistant Professor
  • University of Nottingham Ningbo China
  • Marketing
  • Ningbo, China
  • 1 Sep 2015 – 30 Aug 2017
  • Lecturer (Research)
  • Taylor's University
  • Marketing
  • Subang Jaya, Malaysia
  • 1 Mar 2013 – 30 Jun 2015
  • Assistant Professor
  • IBS Hyderabad
  • Marketing
  • Hyderabad, India
  • 1 Aug 2008 – 25 Feb 2013

Non-academic positions

  • Senior Healthcare Executive
  • Apollo Hospitals
  • Marketing
  • Chennai, India
  • 1 Mar 2004 – 31 Jul 2005
  • Business Development Officer
  • Dentsply India Ltd
  • India
  • 1 Oct 2002 – 28 Feb 2004

Teaching interests

He has extensive teaching experience in consumer behavior, marketing analytics, services marketing, brand management, and critical marketing. He has designed and delivered courses across undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive levels. His approach emphasizes analytical thinking and real-world problem-solving. He is committed to engaging and impactful learning experiences.

 

Current teaching commitments

 

Marketing Analytics (Bachelor's level - Course Coordinator and Tutor)

Digitial Marketing (Bachelor's level - Course Coordinator and Tutor)

Research interests

His research focuses on the intersection of marketing, technology, and consumer behavior, with key interests in:

 

  • Services Marketing – Understanding customer-provider interactions and service experience.
  • Sustainability Marketing – Examining consumer responses to sustainability initiatives and effective communication strategies.
  • AI & Digital Technologies in Marketing – Investigating the impact of AI, recommendation systems, and service robots on consumer decision-making.
  • Customer Experience & Psychology – Exploring factors influencing customer engagement, trust, and perceptions in digital and physical environments.
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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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