Dr Sarah Montano

Dr Sarah Montano

Business School
Deputy Director of Education (Digital)
Senior Lecturer in Marketing

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 8343
Email
s.e.montano@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Room G48, University House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Prior to working in academia Sarah worked in retail at a senior management level. She has taught at both an undergraduate and postgraduate level at the University of Birmingham for 10 years. Her research interests primarily lie in the area of ethnographic research in business and critical realist philosophy, she has presented several papers in this area. 

Sarah Montano on retail at Christmas

Qualifications

  • PhD – University of Birmingham - 2005
  • BSc (Hons) Social Policy and Administration – University of Hull - 1995

Biography

Sarah has done considerable research on consumers and retail, including the impacts of Covid-19 on the high street and what the cost-of-living crisis means for consumers.  This also includes consumers’ behavioural patterns. Dr Sarah is also available to comment on ethical consumption, fast fashion, second-hand fashion, retail advertising and the intersections of food, fashion and services.   

Her current role as Deputy Director of Digital Education has been to build on current practice and achievements and to become a leading provider in the use of digital education resources and distance learning programmes.  She is also available to comment on hybrid education and the current changes in the way students learn. 

Teaching

Sarah teaches the Services and Relationship Marketing undergraduate module and the Retail Marketing module on the MSc Marketing programme. She also teaches both Services Marketing and Retail Marketing on the Singapore based undergraduate degree programme. 

Sarah is responsible for managing the student company projects on the various MSc Marketing programmes. 

Publications

Recent publications

Paper

Montano, S & Szmigin, I 2006, 'Cross-Cultural Organisational Perspectives on Service Delivery', Paper presented at 5th Customer Research Academy Workshop, Manchester, 1/01/06.

Montano, S & Szmigin, I 2004, 'The Role of Employees in the Service Experience', Paper presented at Services Marketing Workshop, 1/01/04.

Montano, S & Szmigin, I 2003, 'The Organization, its service promises and the customer's self-perceived service role', Paper presented at AMA ServSIG ( American Marketing Association, Services Marketing Special Interest Group) Services Research Conference 2003, Chicago, USA, 1/01/03.

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Dr Montano’s interests primarily lie in the area of retail change and experiential retail. She often appears on national radio to discuss trends in retail and consumer behaviour such as the impact of pub closures on local communities and seasonal shifts including the pre-Christmas rush and retail Christmas adverts.

  • Retail trends 
  • The future of the high street 
  • The relationship between hospitality/retail businesses and the local community 
  • Consumer behaviour 
  • How retail changes such as price increases impact consumers 
  • Retail advertising 
  • The benefits and challenges of digital learning for students and universities