Staff profile

Markus is a professor in Marketing and International Business at Durham University Business School. He received his PhD in 2007 from University of Muenster (Germany). Markus worked as a professor of marketing at Aston University (UK), Newcastle University (UK), and TU Dortmund University (Germany). He was a visiting scholar at University of Alabama (USA), Curtin University (AUS), Florida Atlantic University (USA), and Ramkhamhaeng University (TH).

His research interests are focused on service marketing, retail management, and international business. He is particularly interested in new service technologies, international service marketing, retailing strategies, online retailing, consumer behavior, and relationship marketing. He works together with international firms on joint research and consulting projects, including BMW, Borussia Dortmund, Claas, Dr. Oetker, Henkel-Ecolab, KarstadtQuelle Bank, Karstadt Warenhaus, McDonald's, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, Procter & Gamble, Robert Bosch, Specsavers, and T-Mobile. Markus is regularly invited as a keynote speaker at international conferences.

Markus has published more than 210 articles in established journals, books, and proceedings, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Product Innovation Management, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Marketing Letters, European Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review, and Information and Management. He has published 26 articles in AJG 4- and 4*-rated journals, as well as in FT 50 journals. 

Markus serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Service Research and he is a member of the Editorial Review Boards of Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, and Journal of Business Research. He frequently reviews articles for journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Information Systems Research, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, International Journal of Research in Marketing, MIS Quarterly, and British Journal of Management. 

His research has received more than 50 recognitions, international awards, and nominations. Markus' research was nominated twice for the prestigious “Best Article Award” of the Journal of Service Research and he received the award for his research on self-service technology. His research was awarded the Best Short Paper Award of the International Conference on Information Systems. One of his articles was also voted the first runner-up of the Davidson Award for the best article published in the Journal of Retailing. His article on service robot anthropomorphism was a finalist for the JAMS Sheth Foundation Best Paper Award. Markus was ranked 9th in the retail ranking of leading retailing authors by Ketron et al. (2017). He has also been ranked in Stanford's Top 2% Scientists list and is among the top marketing scholars in the Marketing Big 15 Author Ranking. 

Journal Article

• Blut, M., & Wang, C. (online). Antecedents of Customer Participation on Sharing Platforms: A Meta‐analysis. British Journal of Management, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12871
• Schoefer, K., Wappling, A., Heirati, N., & Blut, M. (online). An Investigation of Culture’s Influence on New Technology Adoption: The Case of Mobile Payment. International Marketing Review,
• Wünderlich, N., Blut, M., Brock, C., Heirati, N., Jensen, M., Paluch, S., Rötzmeier-Keuper, J., & Tóth, Z. (2025). How to Use Emerging Service Technologies to Enhance Customer Centricity in Business-to-Business Contexts: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda. Journal of Business Research, 192, Article 115284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115284
• Pan, M., Blut, M., Ghiassaleh, A., & Lee, Z. W. Y. (2025). Influencer marketing effectiveness: A meta-analytic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53(1), 52-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-024-01052-7
• Dong, Y., He, X., & Blut, M. (2024). How and when does digitalization influence export performance? A meta-analysis of its consequences and contingencies. International Marketing Review, 41(6), 1388-1413. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-02-2024-0044
• Blut, M., Chaney, D., Lunardo, R., Mencarelli, R., & Grewal, D. (2024). Customer Perceived Value: A Comprehensive Meta-analysis. Journal of Service Research, 27(4), 501-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705231222295
• Blut, M., Wünderlich, N. V., & Brock, C. (2024). Facilitating retail customers’ use of AI-based virtual assistants: A meta-analysis. Journal of Retailing, 100(2), 293-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2024.04.001
• El-Manstrly, D., Herhausen, D., Guha, A., Blut, M., & Grewal, D. (2024). Should online retailers emphasize efficiency or experience? First insights on the evolution and heterogeneity of website attributes. Journal of Retailing, 100(2), 274-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2024.03.002
• Tóth, Z., & Blut, M. (2024). Ethical compass: The need for Corporate Digital Responsibility in the use of Artificial Intelligence in financial services. Organizational Dynamics, 53(2), Article 101041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2024.101041
• Holz, H. F., Becker, M., Blut, M., & Paluch, S. (2024). Eliminating customer experience pain points in complex customer journeys through smart service solutions. Psychology and Marketing, 41(3), 592-609. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21938
• Wünderlich, N., Blut, M., & Brock, C. (2024). Enhancing corporate brands through service robots: The impact of anthropomorphic design metaphors on corporate brand perceptions. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 41(5), 1022-1046. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12726
• Blut, M., Ghiassaleh, A., & Wang, C. (2023). Testing the performance of online recommendation agents: A meta-analysis. Journal of Retailing, 99(3), 440-459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2023.08.001
• Blut, M., Kulikovskaja, V., Hubert, M., Brock, C., & Grewal, D. (2023). Effectiveness of engagement initiatives across engagement platforms: A meta‑analysis. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 51, 941–965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-023-00925-7
• Mittal, V., Han, K., Frennea, C., Blut, M., Shaik, M., Bosukonda, N., & Sridhar, S. (2023). Customer satisfaction, loyalty behaviors, and firm financial performance: what 40 years of research tells us. Marketing Letters, 34, 171–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-023-09671-w
• Blut, M., Beatty, S. E., & Northington, W. M. (2022). Cultural Personal Values and Switching Costs Perceptions: Beyond Hofstede. Journal of Business Research, 150, 339-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.005
• Mencarelli, R., Lunardo, R., Lombart, C., Blut, M., & Henon, E. (2022). Perceiving Control over the Exchange on Peer-to-Peer Platforms: Measurement and Effects in the Second-Hand Market. Marketing Letters, 33(3), 523-541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-022-09619-6
• Chong, A., Blut, M., & Zheng, S. (2022). Factors Influencing the Acceptance of Healthcare Information Technologies: A Meta-Analysis. Information and Management, 59(3), Article 103604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2022.103604
• Blut, M., Chong, A., Tsiga, Z., & Venkatesh, V. (2022). Meta-Analysis of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): Challenging its Validity and Charting A Research Agenda in the Red Ocean. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 23(1), 13-95. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00719
• Yuan, R., Liu, M. J., & Blut, M. (2022). What’s in it for you? Examining the roles of consumption values and Thaler’s acquisition–transaction utility theory in Chinese consumers’ green purchase intentions. European Journal of Marketing, 56(4), 1065-1107. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm-08-2020-0609
• Blut, M., Wang, C., Wünderlich, N. V., & Brock, C. (2021). Understanding Anthropomorphism in Service Provision: A Meta-Analysis of Physical Robots, Chatbots, and other AI. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49, 632-658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00762-y
• Blut, M., & Wang, C. (2020). Technology readiness: a meta-analysis of conceptualizations of the construct and its impact on technology usage. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(4), 649-669. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00680-8
• Iyer, G., Blut, M., Xiao, S., & Grewal, D. (2020). Impulse buying : a meta-analytic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(3), 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00670-w
• Blut, M., Heirati, N., & Schofer, K. (2020). The Dark side of Customer Participation: When Customer Participation in Service Co-Development Leads to Role Stress. Journal of Service Research, 23(2), 156-173. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670519894643
• Blut, M., Teller, C., & Floh, A. (2018). Testing retail marketing-mix effects on patronage: A meta-analysis. Journal of Retailing, 94(2), 113-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2018.03.001
• Blut, M., Chowdhry, N., Mittal, V., & Brock, C. (2015). E-service quality: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Retailing, 91(4), 679-700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2015.05.004
• Blut, M., Frennea, C., Mittal, V., & Mothersbaugh, D. (2015). How procedural, financial and relational switching costs affect customer satisfaction, repurchase intentions, and repurchase behavior: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 32(2), 226-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2015.01.001
• Nagengast, L., Evanschitzky, H., Blut, M., & Rudolph, T. (2014). New Insights in The Moderating Effect of switching Costs on the Satisfaction-Repurchase Behaviour Link. Journal of Retailing, 90(3), 408-427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2014.04.001
• Blut, M., Beatty, S., Evanschitzky, H., & Brock, C. (2014). The impact of service characteristics on the switching costs–customer loyalty link. Journal of Retailing, 90(2), 275-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2014.04.003