Dr Caroline J Oates

BA, MSc, PhD

Management School

Visiting Reader in Responsible Management

Room D027, Sheffield University Management School

Full contact details

Dr Caroline J Oates
Management School
Room D027
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL

Profile: I gained a BA in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sheffield in 1993, an MSc in Marketing from Sheffield Hallam University in 2001 and a PhD from the University of Sheffield in 1997.

Research interests

I collaborate with colleagues to investigate the decision making processes consumers engage in when (non)consuming sustainable technologies.

I also work with colleagues in the Dept of Psychology at the University of Sheffield on marketing to children.

I have links with Fordham University, New York, where I collaborate with Professor Fran Blumberg on media consumption and young consumers.

I founded the Sustainability SIG for the Academy of Marketing network and continue to work closely with the new Directors, Dr Claudia Henninger (University of Manchester) and Dr Pallavi Singh (Sheffield Hallam University).

Publications

Books

Oates CJ & Alevizou PJ (2017) Conducting Focus Groups for Business and Management Students. London: SAGE Publications.
Gunter B, Oates C & Blades M (2005) Advertising to children on TV. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Edited books

Blades M, Oates C, Blumberg F & Gunter B (Eds.) (2014) Advertising to Children: New Directions, New Media. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal articles

Smith S, Oates CJ & McLeay F (2023) Slimy tactics: the covert commercialisation of child-targeted content. Journal of Strategic Marketing.
Singh P, Henninger CE, Oates CJ, Newman N & Alevizou PJ (2022) Children and young people: opportunities and tensions for sustainability marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 38(9-10), 831-843.
von Nordheim L, Blades M, Oates C & Buckland NJ (2022) Manipulated exposure to television-style healthy food advertising and children's healthy food intake in nurseries. Appetite, 168. View this article in WRRO
Verfuerth C, Gregory-Smith D, Oates CJ, Jones CR & Alevizou P (2021) Reducing meat consumption at work and at home : facilitators and barriers that influence contextual spillover. Journal of Marketing Management, 37(7-8), 671-702.
Davies I, Oates C, Tynan C, Carrigan M, Casey K, Heath T, Henninger C, Lichrou M, McDonagh P, McDonald S , McKechnie S et al (2020) Seeking sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research. European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2911-2939. View this article in WRRO
Singh P, Sahadev S, Oates C & Alevizou PJ (2020) Pro-environmental behavior in families: A reverse socialization perspective. Journal of Business Research, 115, 110-121. View this article in WRRO
Verfuerth C, Jones CR, Gregory-Smith D & Oates C (2019) Understanding contextual spillover: Using identity process theory as a lens for analyzing behavioral responses to a workplace dietary choice intervention. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. View this article in WRRO
Henninger CE, Alevizou PJ & Oates CJ (2017) IMC, social media, and UK fashion micro-organisations. European Journal of Marketing, 51(3), 668-691. View this article in WRRO
Li S, Ye J, Blades M & Oates C (2016) Foods shown on television in China. Chinese Sociological Dialogue, 1(2), 120-139.
Oates CJ, Watkins L & Thyne M (2016) The impact of marketing on children’s well-being in a digital age. European Journal of Marketing, 50(11), 1969-1974. View this article in WRRO
Henninger CE, Alevizou PJ & Oates CJ (2016) What is sustainable fashion?. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. View this article in WRRO
Oates C, Alevizou P & McDonald S (2016) Challenges for Marketers in Sustainable Production and Consumption. Sustainability, 8(1), 75-75. View this article in WRRO
Oates CJ, McDonald S, Thyne M, Timmis A & Carlile C (2015) Flying in the face of environmental concern. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(13-14), 1503-1528. View this article in WRRO
Alevizou PJ, Oates CJ & McDonald S (2015) The Well(s) of Knowledge: The Decoding of Sustainability Claims in the UK and in Greece. Sustainability, 7(7), 8729-8747. View this article in WRRO
Scott A, Oates CJ & Young CW (2015) A conceptual framework of the adoption and practice of environmental actions in households. Sustainability, 7(5), 5793-5818.
Newman N & Oates CJ (2014) Parental mediation of food marketing communications aimed at children. International Journal of Advertising, 33(3), 579-598. View this article in WRRO
Verhellen Y, Oates CJ, De Pelsmacker P & Dens N (2014) Children's responses to traditional versus hybrid advertising formats. Journal of Consumer Policy, 37(2), 235-255. View this article in WRRO
Oates CJ & McDonald S (2014) The researcher role in the attitude-behaviour gap. Annals of Tourism Research.
Li S, Blades M & Oates C (2013) Investigation of children's ability to identify web advertisements. Journal of Huazhong Normal University, 52(5), 169-176.
Blades M, Blumberg FC & Oates CJ (2013) The Importance of Digital Games for Children and Young People. Zeitschrift fur Psychologie, 221(2), 65-66.
Blumberg FC, Blades M & Oates CJ (2013) Youth and new media: the appeal and educational ramifications of digital game play for children and adolescents.. Zeitschrift fur Psychologie, 221(2).
Oates CJ, McDonald S, Blades M & Laing A (2013) How green is children's television?. Social Business: an interdisciplinary journal, 3(1), 37-45.
Blades M, Oates CJ & Li S (2012) Children's recognition of advertisements on television and on web pages. Appetite.
McDonald S, Oates CJ, Alevizou PJ, Young CW & Hwang K (2012) Individual strategies for sustainable consumption. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(3-4), 445-468.
Blades M, Blumberg F & Oates C (2012) Call for Papers: “Young People and New Media”. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 220(1), 55-55.
Reis R, Oates C, McGuinness M & Elliott D (2010) Developing relationships through direct marketing in a business-to-business context: The training sector in Portugal. Proceedings of the European Conference on Knowledge Management, ECKM, 2, 814-821.
Oates CJ & Newman N (2010) Food on young children’s television in the UK. Young Consumers, 11(3), 160-169.
Oates CJ, Reis R, McGuinness M & Elliott D (2010) Developing relationships through direct marketing in a business-to-business context. International Journal of Engineering and Industrial Management, 1(2), 47-60.
Young W, Hwang K, McDonald S & Oates CJ (2010) Sustainable Consumption: Green Consumer Behaviour when Purchasing Products. SUSTAIN DEV, 18(1), 20-31.
Ali M, Blades M, Oates C & Blumberg F (2009) Young children's ability to recognize advertisements in web page designs. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27(1), 71-83.
Reis R, Oates C, McGuinness M & Elliott D (2009) Developing BTB relationships through direct marketing: customers' perceptions. Direct Marketing: An International Journal, 3(3), 203-221.
Oates CJ, McDonald S, Thyne M & Alevizou P (2009) Comparing sustainable consumption across product sectors. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33(2), 137-145.
Oates CJ, Blades M, Ali M & Blumberg FC (2009) Young children’s ability to recognize advertisements in web page designs. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27(1), 71-83.
Oates CJ, McDonald S, Alevizou, P , Young CW, Hwang K & McMorland L (2008) Marketing sustainability: Use of information sources and degrees of voluntary simplicity.. Journal of Marketing Communications, 14(5), 351-365.
Oates CJ & McDonald S (2006) Recycling and the domestic division of labour: Is green pink or blue?. SOCIOLOGY, 40(3), 417-433.
McDonald S & Oates CJ (2006) Sustainability: Consumer perceptions and marketing strategies. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15(3), 157-170.
McDonald S, Oates CJ, Young CW & Hwang K (2006) Toward sustainable consumption: Researching voluntary simplifiers. PSYCHOL MARKET, 23(6), 515-534.
McDonald S & Oates C (2003) Reasons for non-participation in a kerbside recycling scheme. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 39(4), 369-385.
Oates C, Blades M, Gunter B & Don J (2003) Children's understanding of television advertising: a qualitative approach. Journal of Marketing Communications, 9(2), 59-71.
Oates C, Blades M & Gunter B (2003) Editorial: Marketing to Children. Journal of Marketing Management, 19(3-4), 401-409.
Oates C, Blades M & Gunter B (2003) Marketing to Children. Journal of Marketing Management, 19(3), 401-409.
Oates CJ (2001) writing women's magazines. Popular Culture Review, 12(1), 19-32.
Oates C, Armstrong P & Tomes A (1998) Design as Negotiation and Reconciliation: A Case Study of Charity Affinity Credit Cards. The Design Journal, 1(1), 2-11.
Tomes A, Oates C & Armstrong P (1998) Talking design: negotiating the verbal–visual translation. Design Studies, 19(2), 127-142.
Salciuviene L, Dovalienė A, Gravelines Ž, Vilkas M, Oates CJ & Banytė J () Examining Moral Identity and Engagement with Sustainable Consumption at Home and in the Workplace. EuroMed Journal of Business.
Alevizou P () Sustainable Consumption Patterns in Different Product Sectors. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 2(33).
Alevizou P, Oates C & McDonald S () Environmental Information on Fast Moving Consumer Goods. Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, 13, 321-325.
McDonald S & Oates C () Reconceptualizing Recycling: Implications for Promotional Strategies. Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, 13, 336-340.

Chapters

Jones CR, McCreesh N, Oates C & Storey H (2023) Cut from the same cloth? Understanding behavioural spillover between different retail contexts In Gatersleben B & Murtagh N (Ed.), Handbook on Pro-environmental Behaviour Change (pp. 142-162). Cheltenham: EE.
Oates C (2020) Sustainability marketing: products, fair trade and greenwashing In Eagle L, Dahl S, De Pelsmacker P & Taylor C (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Marketing Ethics (pp. 226-237). London: Sage Publications Limited.
Henninger CE & Oates CJ (2017) The role of social media in communicating CSR within fashion micro-organizations, Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Era (pp. 232-244). Routledge
McDonald S, Oates CJ & Alevizou PJ (2016) No Through Road: A critical examination of researcher assumptions and approaches to researching sustainability. In Malhotra NK (Ed.), Marketing in and for a Sustainable Society (pp. 139-168). Emerald View this article in WRRO
Henninger CE, Alevizou PJ, Oates CJ & Cheng R (2016) Communicating Sustainability: The Case of Slow-Fashion Micro-organizations, Sustainable Consumption (pp. 83-99). Springer International Publishing
Henninger CE, Oates CJ, Alevizou PJ & Cheng R (2015) Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Slow-Fashion Industry In Choi TM & Chen TC (Ed.), Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Management From Sourcing to Retailing (pp. 129-154). Springer
Blades M, Gunter B, Oates C & Blumberg F (2014) Introduction to advertising to children, Advertising to Children New Directions, New Media (pp. 1-16). Palgrave Macmillan
Ali M & Blades M (2014) Do very young children understand persuasive intent in advertisements?, Advertising to Children: New Directions, New Media (pp. 17-37).
Chu MT, Blades M & Herbert J (2014) The development of children's scepticism about advertising, Advertising to Children: New Directions, New Media (pp. 38-49).
Li S, Pickering M, Ali M, Blades M & Oates C (2014) Young children's ability to identify advertisements on television, web pages and search engine web pages, Advertising to Children: New Directions, New Media (pp. 199-217).
Oates C, Blumberg F, Gunter B & Blades M (2014) Conclusions, Advertising to Children (pp. 239-243). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Li S, Pickering M, Ali M, Blades M & Oates C (2014) Young Children’s Ability to Identify Advertisements on Television, Web Pages and Search Engine Web Pages, Advertising to Children (pp. 199-217). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Gunter B, Oates C, Blumberg F & Blades M (2014) Advertising to Children New Directions, New Media Introduction, ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN: NEW DIRECTIONS, NEW MEDIA (pp. 1-16).
Oates C, Blumberg F, Gunter B & Blades M (2014) Advertising to Children New Directions, New Media Conclusions, ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN: NEW DIRECTIONS, NEW MEDIA (pp. 239-243).
Oates C, Newman N & Tziortzi A (2014) Parents' beliefs about, and attitudes towards, marketing to children, Advertising to Children: New Directions, New Media (pp. 115-136).
Verhellen Y, Oates CJ, De Pelsmacker P & Dens N (2013) Children’s responses to traditional versus hybrid advertising: the moderating role of persuasion knowledge In Rosengren S, Dahlen M & Okazaki S (Ed.), Advances in Advertising Research: The Changing Roles of Advertising. Volume IV (pp. 379-390). EAA Springer
McDonald S, Oates CJ, Alevizou P, Young CW & Hwang K (2013) Individual strategies for sustainable consumption. In McEachern M (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Green and Ethical Marketing (pp. 250-272). Abingdon: Routledge.
Oates CJ, McDonald S & Young CW (2008) Choosing to be sustainable In Reddy S (Ed.), Green Consumerism - Approaches And Country Experiences Hyderabad: Icfai University Press.
Oates CJ & Blades M (2007) Advertising to children in China In Blumberg FC (Ed.), When East Meets West: Media research and practice in US and China (pp. 100-116). Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press.
McDonald S, Oates CJ & Alevizou P (2006) Decoding Governance: A study of purchase processes for sustainable technologies In Murphy J (Ed.), Governing Technology for Sustainability (pp. 25-40). London: Earthscan.
Oates CJ (2000) The use of focus groups in social science research In Burton D (Ed.), Research Training for Social Scientists: A handbook for postgraduate researchers (pp. 186-195). London: Sage.
Oates C, Henninger CE, Le Normand A & Sahab S () How is ‘sustainability’ translated? Language and fashion context In Armstrong K & Barnes L (Ed.), Transformative times for Fashion Marketing and Consumption: New Horizons Palgrave
Blumberg FC, Montgomery A, Graver CA, Oates C & Blades M () Gaming (pp. 1-8). Wiley
Blades M, Oates C, Blumberg FC & Sinclair M () Media Marketing to Children (pp. 1-11). Wiley
Li S, Pickering M, Ali M, Blades M & Oates C () Young Childrenâs Ability to Identify Advertisements on Television, Web Pages and Search Engine Web Pages, Advertising to Children Palgrave Macmillan

Conference proceedings papers

Xharavina N, Kapoulas A & Oates CJ (2023) Implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in fashion small and medium-sized enterprises in Kosovo: managers’ perspective. Proceedings of the 16th Annual Conference of the EuroMed Academy of Business (pp 813-826). Vilnius, Lithuania, 27 September 2023 - 27 September 2023. View this article in WRRO
Oates C & Mollan S (2022) What are the pedagogical underpinnings of doctoral training in Management and Business Schools and why do they matter?. MArketing: The Fabric of Life, 5 July 2022 - 7 July 2022.
Fu Y, Blades M & Oates C (2019) Chinese children’s beliefs of information on homework, news and social media related websites/apps. MIERASS 2019 Proceedings (pp 49-53). Guilin, China, 21 April 2019 - 21 April 2019. View this article in WRRO
Circus V, Oates CJ, Blades M & Alevizou P (2018) From school to the family home: exploring reverse eco-socialisation from an environmental education programme. 25th IAPS Conference Proceedings, 9 July 2018 - 13 July 2018.
Oates CJ & McDonald S (2018) Mapping sustainability: How individuals approach greening. Marketing the Brave. Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Conference, 2 July 2018 - 5 July 2018.
Henninger C, Oates CJ & McDonald S (2018) What does it mean to be a sustainable business?. Marketing the Brave, 2 July 2018 - 5 July 2018.
Alevizou P, Oates CJ, McDonald S & Henninger C (2018) Signalling sustainability: Approaches to on-pack advertising and consumer responses.. American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference, 22 March 2018 - 25 March 2018.
Singh P, Oates CJ, Sahadev S & Alevizou P (2016) Understanding environmental socialisation of adolescents in India. 7th Child and Teen Consumption Conference, 27 April 2016 - 27 April 2016.
Oates CJ, McDonald S, Padmore J & Oke A (2015) Household behaviour and sustainability. Academy of Marketing Conference 2015 proceedings. University of Limerick, Ireland, 7 July 2015 - 7 July 2015. View this article in WRRO
Oates CJ, McDonald S & Padmore J (2015) Household behaviour and sustainability: from inactive to involved, and what lies in-between. Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Conference
Oates CJ, Li S & Blades M (2014) Becoming knowledgeable consumers: the ability of young children to recognise when they are being targeted by marketers. Proceedings of the 6th International Child and Teen Consumption conference
Oates CJ (2009) Food content in children's UK television programmes. Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing conference
Oates CJ & Tuck N (2009) Identifying the frequency and nature of food content in UK children's television. Proceedings of the 14th International Corporate and Marketing Communications conference
Oates CJ & McDonald S (2003) Sustainability: consumer perceptions and marketing strategies. Proceedings of the 32nd EMAC conference
Oates CJ, Blades M & Ross J (2003) Children's awareness and understanding of print and ambient advertising. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications
Oates CJ, Blades M, Gunter B & Ross J (2002) Children's understanding of television advertising: a qualitative approach. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications
Oates C, Blades M & Gunter B (2002) Children and television advertising: when do they understand persuasive intent?. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol. 1(3) (pp 238-245)
Alevizou PJA, Oates CJ, McDonald S & Henninger CE () But who is looking? Decoding on-pack sustainability claims in Greece, UK, France and Sweden. Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing 50th Annual Conference
Oates CJ & Henninger CE () The sensory retail experience -a customer focused approach to practitioner oriented goals. Sensory Branding, 26 April 2017 - 27 April 2017.

Research group: Behavioural Research for Inclusivity, Sustainability and Technological Transformation (BRISTT)

Grants

Title: How do consumers begin to be green?

Awarding body: Marketing Trust
Date: 2016-2018
People involved: Seonaidh McDonald (Co-I)
Amount: £9,600

Title: Reduce, reuse recycle: tackling the waste hierarchy through young children’s television.

Awarding body: Nuffield Foundation
Date: 2010-2011
People involved: Seonaidh McDonald, RGU (P.I.) & Mark Blades, Psychology Dept.
Amount: £7400

Title: Identifying & analysing the frequency & nature of food content in UK children’s television programmes.

Awarding body: Academy of Marketing
Date: 2008-2009
Amount: £2,500

Title: Decision making for sustainable technologies.

Awarding body: ESRC Sustainable Technologies Programme
Date: 2003-2005
People involved: Will Young (P.I.) School of the Environment, University of Leeds & Seonaidh McDonald, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.
Amount: £91,000

Teaching activities

Previously I taught modules on Integrated Marketing Communications. These involved looking at the different channels used by organizations to communicate their brand and how these channels are integrated, planned and evaluated. I used academic journal articles and case studies, together with guest speakers, to explore this topic. Students taking these modules contributed to discussions centred on real life examples and knowledge was tested at the end of the semester with an examination and coursework.

The modules closely reflected my research interests – I introduced ethics by relating lectures to my research on marketing to children and sustainable marketing.