To say that Professor Adjei is worldly is an understatement. She is fluent in six languages and “so-so in a seventh,” she said.

Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Adjei is an ocean away from home but she feels right at home in southern Illinois. “What I love most about SIU is its culture,” said Adjei who joined the College of Business faculty in 2006. “We have a very challenging but friendly atmosphere. Most schools are either academically challenging or friendly; hardly do you find one that strives to have both. In the short time that I have been here, I have formed some of the strongest friendships that I have ever made and I know these friendships will last for years to come.”

Adjei’s research focuses on the development and maintenance of marketing relationships in both traditional brick-and-mortar and internet environments, including how information technology can be used to enhance these relationships. A secondary research stream centers on strategies that can be used by service providers to increase customer retention in both the brick-and-mortar environment and on the internet.

Taking after family, Adjei is a third generation teacher. “My grandfather was a school principal and my mum is a high school teacher. My mum always had interesting stories about her students and after 37 years of teaching, it seems she meets former students everywhere we go. I just loved the way she interacted with her past and present students and seeing the difference she made in their lives, I knew I wanted to be a teacher too,” she said.

Adjei received a bachelor of science from University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a masters in management information systems from Georgia College and State University and a doctorate in business administration from The University of Mississippi.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Development and maintenance of marketing relationships
• Strategies that can be used by service of providers to increase customer retention in both the brik-and-mortar environment and on the internet

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Noble, Stephanie M., David Griffith, and Mavis T. Adjei, (2006) “Drivers of Local Merchant Loyalty: Understanding the Influence of Gender and Value Orientation,” Journal of Retailing, vol. 82 (3), 177 - 188.

Phillips, Joanna, Mavis Tandoh (Adjei), Stephanie M. Noble, and Victoria Bush (2004), “The Value of Relationship Strength in Segmenting Casino Patrons: An Exploratory Investigation,” Journal of Interactive Advertising, 5 (1).

AWARDS

Winner of the Society for Marketing Advances Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Award for 2006

Dissertation Fellowship Award from The University of Mississippi Graduate School (Spring 2006)

Summer Research Grant from The University of Mississippi Graduate School (2005)

Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) Doctoral Consortium Fellow (2004)

Graduate School Travel Grant to attend SMA Conference (2004)

Travel Grant from The University of Mississippi School of Business to attend SMA Conference and Doctoral Consortium (2004)