519-888-4567, Ext. 41399
Office: HH 239
BA (Brock); MBA (Brock); PhD (Guelph)
Areas of specialization: Marketing; Sustainability; Stigmatized Consumption; HEI pedagogy.
Research interests
I currently have two research streams. My thesis work and subsequent manuscripts focus on understanding how marketing can mitigate consumer aversion to sustainable goods and services within stigmatized markets. My second research stream addresses pedagogical innovations for career preparedness in higher education institutions. To facilitate a holistic analysis of the research problem, I use a mixed methods approach in my research, blending data science with traditional quantitative and qualitative techniques. My research has been funded through various scholarships and grants.
Biography
I taught as a sessional lecturer at both the undergraduate and graduate levels before joining the faculty at the University of Waterloo. I am in the process of completing my PhD in Management at the University of Guelph. I hold an MBA and BA(Hons) in Political Science from Brock University.
My service to the academic community includes ad hoc reviewing for the American Marketing Association and Academy of Management Learning and Education. I am also serving a five-year term (2021-2025) as a Marketing Divisional Officer for the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada.
Before starting my career in academia, I was the proprietor of a successful marketing consulting firm that offered digital marketing solutions to clients across an array of industries. Previous to this, I held two senior leadership positions in a Fortune 500 firm. In the more recent role, I lead a sales and marketing division and in the former, I worked in corporate and property law.
Today, I use my industry knowledge and connections to give students hands-on experience working with clients by incorporating experiential learning in the classroom.
Selected publications
- Villers, S. & Oberholzer, J., Skills Nomenclature: What to Expect from College versus University Bachelor’s Degrees, Journal of Education & Work, 35(2), 210-226. (2022)
- Villers, S., Abrams, R., Anderson, S., Aung, M., & Sweeney, E., Marketing Insights: A Netnographic Study of the Fitbit Sleep Better Online Community. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 22(11), 153-165. (2022)