Dr Varqa Shamsi Bahar

Biography	Varqa Shamsi Bahar is an Assistant Professor in Marketing at Durham University Business School, where he also serves in a leadership role as the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lead for the Department of Management & Marketing. Prior to joining Durham, he served as a Lecturer in Digital Marketing at Newcastle University, UK. He earned his PhD in Marketing from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in May 2022. Varqa’s intellectual project involves exploring the role of marketing and technology in solving business and social problems. His research has been published in the international journals Industrial Marketing Management, Information Systems Journal, Information Technology & People and Tourism Management. He is a recipient of the British Academy Small Research Grant in 2024. Varqa holds a Fellowship from the UK Higher Education Academy and has expertise and experience in teaching marketing at the postgraduate and undergraduate levels, including supervising students pursuing their PhD, MSc, and BSc degrees. His teaching involves innovative techniques including design thinking and marketing simulations. Before joining academia, Varqa worked in the fast-moving consumer goods and social media industry. He gained valuable experience in managing market leading and market challenging brands in a socially responsive, ethical and authentic way. These managerial experiences played a crucial role in shaping his values in research and teaching. Varqa is a strong advocate of responsible research in marketing. He believes that research must not only solve business problems but also address issues concerning society and the environment. Further, teaching must equip students with the skill sets to hit the ground running as they enter industry. More critically, teaching should guide students to develop the ability to make strategic decisions that consider the firm and its stakeholders and, moreover, society and the planet.
Research Interests	Disinformation research: Investigating how disinformation spreads on social media and exploring ways communities can build resilience against it. Crisis informatics: Examining the role of virtual communities on social media in addressing information chaos during natural disasters. Digital platform management: Exploring strategies for businesses to navigate and operate effectively within platform ecosystems. Social movement/activism research: Studying how consumer collectives mobilise on social media to create positive change in our world.
Teaching and Learning	Varqa Shamsi Bahar's main teaching expertise are: Design thinking Marketing simulations Team-based learning Online and blended learning Large and small class teaching At Durham University Business School, he is teaching the following two modules: marketing research methods and international marketing.