ACU Researcher

Associate Professor Kate Letheren

Associate Professor of Marketing
Peter Faber Business School

Areas of expertise: Humanised technology (AI, Robotics, Smart home) – design, consumer responses, outcomes for individuals, society, service managers; Human-centred and ethical technology design and applications; Quantitative research: experiments, surveys; Service design/Co-design; Services marketing; Consumer psychology

Email: Kate.letheren@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Brisbane Campus

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: HDR Supervisor (Full)

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4299-2955

ORCID link: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4299-2955

Dr Kate Letheren is an Associate Professor with the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship within the Peter Faber Business School at Australian Catholic University (ACU). Kate is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at QUT Business School. Before joining ACU in May 2024, Kate was a researcher with the Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology at QUT. Kate works with academic and industry/government teams to uncover how people interact with humanised technology, and importantly, how such technology can be designed to enhance wellbeing at the individual and societal level.

Kate's research applies a human-centred lens to technology design, with her consumer psychology and services marketing expertise guiding experiments into how consumers trust and interact with humanised technologies like robots or AI. Kate's research investigates opportunities for humanised technologies to make consumer lives better - examining issues like how we will treat a robot that makes mistakes, or whether we want to talk to the robot making us dinner. These studies inform the design and implementation of humanised technologies to help us in our homes and cities.

A/Prof Letheren has worked with more than 20 government and industry partners including Queensland Health, Australian Retailer's Association and the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Her work has been published in journals such as the European Journal of Marketing and Tourism Management. She is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Services Marketing. Dr Letheren also holds a research interest in marketing education. She sits on the editorial board for the Marketing Education Review and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Potential PhD students with proposed projects in humanised technologies (i.e., human-like AI and social robots) and their application in services marketing contexts are encouraged to contact Kate via email.

Website

ResearchGate

Select publications

• Sigala, M., Ooi, K., Tan, G., Aw, E., Cham, H., Dwivedi, Y., Kunz, W., Letheren, K., Mishra, A., Russell-Bennett, R., and Wirtz, J. (2024). ChatGPT and the service industry: investigating opportunities, challenges, and future research directions. Journal of Service Theory and Practice

• Riedel, A., Mulcahy, R., Keating, B., Beatson, A., & Letheren, K. (2023). Avoiding Excessive AI Service Agent Anthropomorphism: Examining its Role in Delivering Bad News. Journal of Service Theory and Practice

• Whittaker, L., Russell-Bennett, R., Kietzman, J., Mulcahy, R., & Letheren, K. (2023). Mapping the deepfake landscape for innovation: A multidisciplinary systematic review. Technovation

• Phillips, C., Russell-Bennett, R., Odekerken, G., Mahr, D., & Letheren, K. (2023). The Robotic Service Trilemma: The dilemmas for human well-being within the service triad. Journal of Service Management

• Dootson, P., Greer, D., Letheren, K., & Daunt, K. (2022). Reducing deviant consumer behaviour with service robot guardians. Journal of Services Marketing

• Letheren, K., Jetten, J., Roberts, J., & Donovan, J. (2021). Robots should be seen and not heard…sometimes: Anthropomorphism and AI service robot interactions. Psychology and Marketing

• Letheren, K., Russell-Bennett, R., & Whittaker, L. (2020). Black, white or grey magic? Our future with AI. Journal of Marketing Management

Projects

• Too close for comfort? Smart retail technologies. Australian Retailers Association, 2022 (Lead Investigator)

• Clinician Engagement and Social Marketing Project, Clinical Excellence Queensland, 2022-2023 (Co-Lead Investigator).

• TMR's Customer Value Proposition (CVP) Re-evaluation 2020, Department of Transport and Main Roads, 2020-2022 (Associate Investigator).

• High Tech vs High Touch Support: Preventing Homelessness for Mature Women, Department of Housing and Public Works, 2020-2022 (Associate Investigator).

Awards

• 2024: Emerald Literati Highly Commended Paper Award, Journal of Services Marketing

• 2022: Best Academic Paper Award, International Social Marketing Conference

• 2021: Best Paper in Track Award - Social Marketing - Australian New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference

• 2021: Emerald Literati Award for Outstanding Paper, Journal of Service Management

• 2020: Robert Johnson Award for the best paper in journal, Journal of Service Management

• 2019: Best Paper Award - World Social Marketing Conference

• 2017: Vice Chancellor's Performance Award, Queensland University of Technology

Appointments and Affiliations

• Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy

• Australian Marketing Institute Member

• Adjunct Associate Professor (Queensland University of Technology)

• Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (Institutional Member)

Editorial roles

• Associate Editor, Journal of Services Marketing (2024-Present)

International journal review panels

• Marketing Education Review Board (2012-Present)

• Journal for the Advancement of Marketing Education (2012-Present)