Kirk's research revolves broadly around technology in marketing strategy and consumer behaviour. He has three main areas of specific research interest: consumer privacy, consumer engagement, and creative consumers. Kirk’s research into consumer privacy focuses on how consumer behaviour is affected by customer surveillance (e.g., information collection, big data storage systems, location-based ads, etc.) technologies both in online and offline environments. His research in engagement centres on engaging consumers through social media marketing strategies and also by using gamification techniques to change consumer behaviour or attitudes. Kirk is also interested in the consumer and management implications of consumers using or altering products in ways that the manufacturer or service-provider never intended.

Kirk’s research has been funded in the past by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Kirk has been published journals such as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sceince (JAMS), Journal of Retailing, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Information & Management, European Journal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Strategic Information Systems and Business Horizons. He holds editorial review board positions for the Journal of Advertisng, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Business Horizons, Journal of Wine Research and the Marketing Education Review. He also acts as an ad-hoc reviewer for a number of academic and practitioner journals and conferences.

Kirk Plangger is a tenured Reader (Senior Associate Professor) of Marketing at King's Business School and he joined King’s in early September 2013. During his PhD, he studied marketing and consumer behaviour at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) where he also has earned an MBA in general management. Kirk has a honours BA in economics from University of Western Ontario (London, Canada). He is currently teaching digital marketing on the MSc in International Marketing and consumer behaviour on the BSc in Management programmes. Moreover, Kirk is the Business School lead on local community and indusry engagement. 

False media; Consumer privacy; Consumer surveillance; Social media marketing; Consumer engagement; Gamification; Creative consumers.