Creates a collaborative and inclusive space.
Professor Maree Thyne serves as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Commerce and Dean of the Otago Business School at the University of Otago, positions she assumed in February 2023 after serving as Head of the Department of Marketing. A Professor of Marketing in the Business & Economics discipline, she holds a BA, BTour, DipGrad, and PhD from the University of Otago. Thyne is a member of the University Senior Leadership Team and Senate. She supervises graduate students at the Masters and PhD levels and teaches courses such as Sports Marketing (MART 207), Consumer Behaviour (MART 210), and Business Projects (MART 355). In collaboration with businesses, she has led curriculum development to enable students to apply marketing theory to real-world problems. Thyne contributes to the Food Waste Innovation Research Theme at the University of Otago, which focuses on measuring food waste, developing reduction strategies, and modifying producer and consumer behaviour.
Thyne's research specializations centre on consumer behaviour, particularly tourist behaviour, including cruise tourism where she is recognized as an international expert. She has led international research projects on tourist interactions, the changing nature of cultural tourists, and cruise tourist motivations, advising organizations such as the Cruise New Zealand Association, national port authorities, regional tourism organizations, and individual operators. Her publications include 'Consumers’ capabilities, opportunities and motivations that drive single-use plastic (SUP) reduction: A qualitative study on the case of milk packaging' (2026, British Food Journal), 'Reducing single-use plastics (SUPs) consumption: A synthesis of I and S level approaches' (2025, Sustainable Futures), 'To be or not to be a cruise destination – residents’ support?' (2025), 'The impact of social isolation and loneliness on the well-being of carers of a person with dementia in Aotearoa New Zealand' (2024), and 'Normalising the “ugly” to reduce food waste: Exploring the socialisations that form appearance preferences for fresh fruits and vegetables' (2021). She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management Perspectives, and Australasian Marketing Journal. In October 2023, Thyne delivered her Inaugural Professorial Lecture titled 'The meaning of “social distance” in tourism research – before COVID-19.' She was elected President of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC), continuing a tradition from her department.
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