Dr Sungjun (Steven) Park

Profile

Sungjun (Steven) Park is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) and Co-Programme Director of the MSc in Marketing & Digital Communications at Queen Mary University of London, UK. 

Before entering academia, he worked at the headquarters of Samsung Electronics in South Korea as a marketing data scientist. This industry background continues to shape his research and teaching, enabling him to bridge academic theory with real-world practice.

Drawing on this industry experience, his research specialises in digital communication, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven advertising, and high-tech service platforms. His research has been published in internationally recognised journals, including the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, European Journal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Services Marketing, and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, among others.

As an educator, his mission is to teach and mentor students to become future marketing leaders. Prior to joining Queen Mary, he was a tenured Associate Professor at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. He holds a certification in experiential learning and case method teaching from Harvard Business School (2024).

Teaching

His teaching is grounded in research-led education, experiential learning, and case-based pedagogy. He has taught a wide range of modules across undergraduate, MBA, and PhD programmes, including Digital Marketing, Marketing Research, Business Quantitative Methods, and Research Methods.

Currently, he serves as Module Organiser for the following two modules in Semester A:

• BUSM 205: Digital Economy, Big Data, and Platformization, where students apply statistical software (e.g., JASP) to make data-driven marketing decisions related to emerging digital platforms, such as AI-driven marketing.
• BUSM 255: Marketing Strategy and Management Consulting, where students work on real company projects to develop marketing strategies.

Research

Research Interests:

• Digital Communication and Advertising (e.g., AI-driven advertising, virtual influencers, and social media)
• High-tech Service Platforms (e.g., AI service robots, chatbots, and digital twins)

Centre and Academic Membership:

• Member of the Marketing Insights & Digital Societies (MINDS) Research Group
• Member of the American Marketing Association (AMA)
• Member of the Association for Consumer Research (ACR)

Publications:

For a complete list of recent publications, please see Dr. Park’s Google Scholar profile.

• Chang, C. Y. M., Park, S. S., & Dinh, M. C. (2026). Advice by Algorithms: Dual Dimensions of Trust in AI Financial Service Adoption. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 88, 104537.
• Park, S. S., YT Chu, & JH Chung (2025). Designing AI agents for new product endorsement: Do human-like or cartoon-like AI-generated endorsers evoke more positive ad engagement from consumers? Journal of Advertising Research, 65 (2), 259–277.
• Hong, J., Im, I., & Park, S. S. (2024). It’s all about timing: Captive targeting through mobile ads. Journal of Advertising, 53(2), 242–261.
• Park, S. S., Wei, X., & Lee, H. (2024). Revisiting the elaboration likelihood model in the context of a virtual influencer: A comparison between high- and low‑involvement products. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 23(4), 1638–1652.
• Dinh, C.‑M., & Park, S. S. (2024). How to increase consumer intention to use chatbots? An empirical analysis of hedonic and utilitarian motivations on social presence and the moderating effects of fear across generations. Electronic Commerce Research, 24, 2427–2467.
• Park, S. S., Kang, J.‑S., & Markman, G. (2023). Can we serve both God and money? The role of indirect appeal and its limitation. European Journal of Marketing, 57(7), 1912–1938.
• Kim, J., Ma, H., & Park, S. S. (2023). Systematic differences in online reviews of hotel services between business and leisure travelers. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 29(2), 189–205.
• Kim, J., & Park, S. S. (2023). Does language shape the mind? Linguistic fluency and perception of service quality. Journal of Services Marketing, 37(1), 53–64.
• Park, S. S., Tung, C.‑D., & Lee, H. (2021). The adoption of AI service robots: A comparison between credence and experience service settings. Psychology & Marketing, 38(4), 691–703.
• Park, S. S., & Park, B. (2020). Advertising on mobile apps vs. mobile web: Which is better for ad recognition and willingness to buy new products? Journal of Advertising Research, 60(4), 381–393.
• Park, B., Chang, H., & Park, S. S. (2019). Adoption of digital devices for children education: Korean case. Telematics and Informatics, 38, 247-256.

Selected Conferences:

• Lei, S. L. (Shown) & Park, S. S. (2026, February). Empathy Over Algorithms: How AI Empathy Counters Privacy Risk and Builds Content Credibility. American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Academic Conference, Spain.
• Lee, C.-C., Chang, C.-Y., & Park, S. S. (2025, June). Overconfident or Underprepared? The Knowledge Paradox and the Role of Financial Chatbots in Enhancing Consumer Financial Well-Being. Association for Consumer Research (ACR), Brazil.
• Chen, A. & Park, S. S. (2025, February). Would a Donation Campaign by a Virtual Human Be Effective? The Role of Perceived Authenticity and Congruence. American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Academic Conference, United States.
• Dinh, C.-M., & Park, S. S. (2024, August). Shaping consumer perception of healthcare service robots. American Marketing Association (AMA) Summer Academic Conference, United States.
• Dinh, C.-M., Chen, Y.-Y., Pham Xuan Ban, M., Liao, C.-W., & Park, S. S. (2024, February). Meta-analysis: Consumer adoption of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (AIoT). American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Academic Conference, United States.
• Chiang, Y. H. L., Chang, C.-Y., & Park, S. S. (2023, July). The role of subjective knowledge and financial self-efficacy in millennials’ adoption of WealthTech: An abstract. 24th AMS World Marketing Congress, Academy of Marketing Science (AMS), United Kingdom.
• Hsu, H.-J., & Park, S. S. (2023, July). Whom to trust? Collaboration between human and AI influencers in brand endorsement. American Marketing Association (AMA) Summer Academic Conference, United States.
• Tseng, L. K., & Park, S. S. (2021, August). Do we trust AI-based services using chatbots? The role of anthropomorphic design. American Marketing Association (AMA) Summer Academic Conference, United States.
• Tung, C. T., Yan, K.-F., & Park, S. S. (2020, August). The shift from human service providers to AI service robots: An empirical analysis of usability in the healthcare industry. American Marketing Association (AMA) Summer Academic Conference, United States.
• Park, S. S., Yoon, Y., & Hyun, Y. J. (2017, August). Digital self and personalized ads on social network sites. American Marketing Association (AMA) Summer Academic Conference, United States.
• Park, S. S., Hyun, Y. J., & Moreau, C. P. (2016, October). Does suspense spur or hamper consumer creativity? Association for Consumer Research (ACR), Germany.

Supervision

Current PhD students:

• Berlin Asong (co-supervised with Dr. Nastaran Hajiheydari)
• Rija Tariq Qureshi (co-supervised with Dr. Daniel Chaein Lee)

Completed Supervision:

• Minh Cong Dinh (PhD awarded in 2025; sole supervisor), now Assistant Professor at National Dong Hwa University (NDHU), Taiwan.
• Supervised 18 MBA students over the past five year

Areas of Supervision Expertise:

• Topics: AI-powered Advertising (or related areas)
• Theory: Emotion (or related)
• Methods: Quantitative methods (e.g., experiments, surveys, or secondary data analysis)

To prospective students, I welcome enquiries from highly motivated students who aspire to become future scholars. Please feel free to contact me by email to arrange an informal initial discussion.

Public Engagement

Academic Service:

• Editorial Service: Ad-hoc reviewer for the Journal of Advertising Research, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, IT & People, the American Marketing Association (AMA), and the Association for Consumer Research (ACR).
• Conference Committee: Organized and hosted the Doctoral Consortium at the ACR International Conference in Brazil (2025).
• Judge: Business case competitions, including the Hultz Prize Challenge (2022) and the AMA Case Competition (2021).

Media Engagement:

• Bloomberg (expert interview)

External affiliations:

• Visiting Associate Professor, IMBA Programme, National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taiwan
• Member, Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council 

Grants

Research Grants (as Principal Investigator)

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan

• Amount: NTD 2,679,000 (≈ £63,902)
• Duration: 2023–2026
• Project Title: AI and Metaverse Marketing
• Grant Number: 112-2410-H-004-036-MY3

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan

• Amount: NTD 2,688,000 (≈ £64,117)
• Duration: 2021–2023
• Project Title: Mobile Marketing
• Grant Number: 109-2410-H-004-066-MY3

Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan

• Amount: NTD 573,000 (≈ £13,668)
• Duration: 2020–2021
• Project Title: AI Service Robot Adoption
• Grant Number: 108-2410-H-004-226