Tim Foster

Associate Professor of Marketing with a passion for crossing things of my "Bucket List"

Välkommen till min lilla del av cyberspace...

I am originally from the city of East Lansing, in the great state of Michigan, U.S.A., where I not only grew up, but I attended Michigan State University there as well. I received a B.A. in advertising in 1988 and ended up moving to Sweden in August 1989 to work with the Regional Development Fund ("Utvecklingsfonden). I started teaching as a guest lecturer at Luleå University of Technology (LTU) in April, 1992. I became a doctoral student and started here full-time in July 1994. My current work as an Associate Professor (Biträdande Professor/Docent") revolves around four areas, each of which I take great pride in:

TEACHING: I am generally teaching during each of the four terms (läsperiod) that make up our academic year at LTU. This includes courses in Strategic Brand Management (Lp1), International Business Environment (Lp1 + Lp4), and  Branding You (Lp3-4).  Other than these courses, I have also developed and/or taught courses in Basic Marketing, Internet Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Consumer Behaviror in Cybperspace, Strategies for e-Business, Customer Relationship Management, Creative Advertising, and Scientific Methods.  I have also supervised dozens of bachelor and master's thesis projects since starting at LTU in full-time 1994 and have been and am currently a co-supervisor or main supervisor to several doctoral students.

RESEARCH: My research primarily focuses on marketing communication, branding, and pedagogical issues within the business/marketing curriculum (see list of publication below). I have been published in such scholarly journals as the European Journal of Marketing; Journal of Business & Indsutrial Marketing; Supply Chain Management; Place Branding and Public Diplomacy; and the Journal of Financial Services Marketing. Co-author of the book, "Branding You: How to Market Yourself in a Competitive Environment."

STUDENT RETENTION: After 16 years of working with both student recruitment and retention strategies at my department, as of 2022 I am working only with student retention strategies. This is for over 20 programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels within design, engineering, business, music, theater, and the social sciences.

SERVICE: My service ("3:a uppgift") to society as well as business and industry includes providing speeches/workshops and consultancy services for several groups and organizations, both within and outside Luleå University of Technolgy. In addition, I provide talks several times per year to several different departments and groups, both inside and outside of LTU; in both the public and private sectors.

You can also find me online via Twitter, LinkedIn, or set up a meeting on Zoom or Teams. I also have a YouTube account that has a catalog of the videos/"guest lecturers" I have used in the classroom.