Dr Suzanne Tan Ser Zian
- Senior Lecturer
- Programme Leader - Master of Marketing & Master of Marketing (ODL)
- 红杏视频 Business School
Biography
With over 16 years of combined experience in the advertising industry and higher education, Suzanne brings a distinctive blend of industry expertise and academic leadership to marketing and advertising education. She has held senior roles including Head of Department and Programme Director, where she led curriculum development, programme reviews, and research-driven initiatives. Her innovative teaching has been nationally recognized with a Bronze Medal at the AKRI competition and a Gold SPARK Award for transformative, student-centered assessment practices. Guided by the belief that meaningful learning is built on trust and authentic connections, she integrates sustainability and social impact into her pedagogy.
Suzanne鈥檚 research examines consumer emotions, advertising effectiveness, and green marketing, with a strong emphasis on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (SDG 10), promoting responsible consumption (SDG 12), and fostering partnerships for sustainable development (SDG 17). Her work has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Business Research, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Journal of Product & Brand Management, and Young Consumers. She has also presented at major international conferences including AMA and ANZMAC, contributing to global conversations on marketing, sustainability, and education.
Academic & Professional Qualifications
- PhD in Business (Marketing), Monash University, 2020
- MA International Communication, University of Nottingham, 2009
- Bachelor in Mass Communication (Hons) Advertising, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, 2007
- Diploma in Mass Communication (Hons) Graphic Design, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, 2005
Research Interests
- Consumer Psychology
- Advertising Effects
- Green marketing
Teaching Areas
- Marketing
Courses Taught
- Marketing Communication
- Consumer Behaviour
- Publicity & Media Writing
Notable Publications
Journal articles:
- Tan, S. Z., Yang, L., Loo, W. H., & Chalke, A. (2026), 鈥淪tories that matter: the effects of narrative transportation and influencer-message congruity on prosocial behavior鈥, Journal of Business Research, 208, 116051.
- Tan, S.Z., Yang, L., and Loo, W. H. (2026), 鈥淕reen Specificity: Igniting curiosity and arousing emotional ambivalence鈥, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 88, 104414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104414
- Paramitha, V., Tan, S.Z. and Lim, W.M. (2025), "Undoing greenwashing: the roles of greenwashing severity, consumer forgiveness, growth beliefs and apology sincerity", Journal of Product & Brand Management, 34(4), p. 433-449. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-11-2023-4846
- Koay, K.Y., Tan, S.Z., Idris, I., Leong, M.K. and Cheah, C.W. (2025), "The bubble tea phenomenon: understanding the role of servicescape in consumers' responses", Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 17(2), p. 469-490. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-01-2024-0015
- Tan, P.L., Tjiptono, F. and Tan, S.Z. (2024), "Fear more or fear no more: examining the emotional and behavioral consequences of FOMO and JOMO", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 37(6), p. 1627-1648. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-06-2024-0748
- Tan, S.Z., Tjiptono, F., Yang, L., Bandyopadhyay, A. and Thaichon, P. (2024), "Access mode of consumption and psychological ownership: exploring the role of self-product connection", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 37(4), p. 1089-1109. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-04-2024-0515
- Tan, S.Z., Chan, K. and Tan, P.L. (2023). Segmenting the Malaysian female young adolescent market based on gender roles and identities, Young Consumers, 24(6), 704-720.
- Tan, S. Z., Bandyopadhyay, A., & Septianto, F. (2023). Relationship (breakup) reminders drive online advertising effectiveness. Psychology & Marketing, 40(6), 1152-1161.
- Hassim, N., Tan, S. Z., and Jayasainan, S. Y. (2020). The influence of peer engagement on voting among Malaysian youths through social networking sites, SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research, 12(3), p.125-144. Online ISSN: 2672-7080.
- Lee, M.N., Gan, P. L., and Tan, S. Z. (2015). Globalization through community-based projects: Enhancing civic attitudes and competence skills through community-based projects, International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 5(12), pp. 1003-1008. ISSN:2010-3646.
Book chapters
- Tan, S. Z., & Kenny, T.G.C. "Shaping Narratives in the Digital Age: Concepts, Applications, and Future Trends in Marketing Storytelling" In Encyclopedia of Marketing, Elsevier. Forthcoming
Conference proceedings:
- Chalke, A.S., Tjiptono, F., Tan, S.Z., and Cheng, B.L. (2024). "Trick or Trip: Deepfake in Destination Marketing", forthcoming ANZMAC proceedings, 2-4 December 2024, University of Tasmania, Australia.
- Tan, S. Z., Hassim, N., Jayasainan, S. Y., and Gan, C. K. (2018). Effects of Task-technology Fit and Learning Styles on continuance intention to use e-learning app. 17th European Conference of E-learning (ECEL) 2018, Athens 1-2 November 2018, p. 539-546.
- Tan, S. Z., Low, K. H., Watabe, M., Tjitono, F., and Lin, Y. (2018). Cutting through the advertising clutter: The influence of ad-context familiarity on attention and external search behavior. AMA Winter Marketing Educators鈥 Conference Proceedings 2018, New Orleans, 23-25 February 2018, p. E23-E29.
- Tan, S. Z., Inderjit, K., and Priscilla, M., and Kok, M. (2015). An exploratory study of Community of Inquiry (Col) constructs towards collaborative and reflective learning in the Edublogs, INTED 2015 Proceedings, Madrid, 2-4 MARCH 2015. ISBN:978-84-606-5763-7.
- Lee, M.N., Tan, S. Z., and Woo, S. (2015). Happiness and meaningful engagement through teaching and learning english workshop: A UNHCR community-based project. Proceedings of USM International Conference on Social Science 2015, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 27-28 August 2015, p. 58-65.
- Lee, M., Gan, P. L., and Tan, S. Z. (2014). Globalization through community-based projects: Enhancing civic attitudes and competence skills through community-based projects, 4th International Conference on Humanities, Society and Culture, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ISBN:2010-3646
- Lee, M., Tan, S. Z., and Gan, P. L. (2014). The relationship between youth鈥檚 civic attitudes and competence skills, 2014 International Conference on Social Science and Management, Kyoto, Japan, 7-9 May 2014. ISBN:978-986-89536-9-7.
- Inderjit, K., Lee, M.N., and Tan, S.Z. (2012). Acceptance of blog: The engagement of students towards positive learning in higher learning institution, The Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on e-Learning, University of Groningen, Netherlands, 26-27 OCT 2012, p. 634-637.
Achievements & Accolades
- Awarded UTAR-Nottingham Scholarship for Postgraduate study, 2008
- UTAR Outstanding Teaching Performance, 2011-2012
- Awarded Best Paper (Early Stage) at Monash University 9th Doctoral Colloquium, 2015
- Awarded Bronze Award for Taylor鈥檚 University SPARK award for Excellence in Teaching, 2017
- Awarded Gold Award for Taylor鈥檚 University SPARK award for Excellence in Teaching, 2018
- Awarded Bronze Medal for International University Carnival on E-learning (IUCEL) 2018 Poster Presentation, 2018
- Awarded Best Poster Presentation at 2018 ECEL Conference at University of Groningen, 2018
- Awarded Bronze Award for the transformative teaching alternative assessment award at AKRI competition, 2018
- Student Appreciation of Teaching Award, 红杏视频 University, 2023
- Dean鈥檚 Commendation for Research, 红杏视频 Business School, 2023
- Dean鈥檚 Commendation for Service, 红杏视频 Business School, 2023
- Dean鈥檚 Award for Education Excellence, 红杏视频 Business School, 2024
- Dean鈥檚 Award for Education Excellence, 红杏视频 Business School, 2025
Professional Associations
- Member of American Marketing Association (AMA), 2017-2023
- Member, Teaching and Learning Committee