Prof. (Dr.) Laknath Jayasinghe

Prof. (Dr.) Laknath Jayasinghe is Professor & Vice Dean (International) at JGBS. He is also Associate Director at JGU’s Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS).

Australian born and raised, Laknath gained his PhD in consumer anthropology at the University of Melbourne after completing his MPhil research in cultural studies at the University of Queensland. He additionally holds a BBus degree (in marketing) from Queensland University of Technology and a BSc from the University of Melbourne.

Research

Laknath’s research examines the deep meanings and processes of consumer culture. He uses advanced qualitative techniques and applies a sociocultural lens to understand how and why people consume branded products and services. He examines this through the contexts of cultural identity and globalisation, social class, gender, sexuality, and family identity.

His research on television advertising engagement, published in the elite Journal of Consumer Research, was acclaimed by the renowned Marketing Science Institute as one of 16 “must read” scholarly marketing research articles published globally in 2013. In 2015, Laknath’s work on researcher reflexivity was the lead paper in a special issue of Australasian Marketing Journal; and his recent co-authored article on collective consumer reflexivity appears in the top-tier scholarly journal, Marketing Theory.

Teaching

Laknath’s core teaching strengths are in brand management and qualitative research methods. He also teaches courses on media and society, and gender and consumption; and he previously taught undergraduate and postgraduate students at well-regarded Australian universities such as Monash University, Macquarie University, and University of Newcastle.

Consulting career

Prior to his appointment at JGBS, Laknath was Research Director at 66south, a boutique research firm offering specialist qualitative consumer-brand insights to the healthcare sector in Australia; and he was also Research Manager at Ward6, Sydney, one of the Asia-Pacific’s leading advertising agencies serving the healthcare and medicines sector. He has been a R&D consultant in Melbourne to innovative and award-winning brand strategy firms such as Latitude Insights and Forethought Research. Before his research career, Laknath worked for several years as an advertising executive at the WPP-owned advertising media giants Zenithmedia (rebranded as Mediacom) and Mindshare.

Institution building

As an Australian working in Indian higher education, Laknath is passionate about internationalising higher education experiences. He is keen to further develop the bilateral partnership in education that exists between India and Australia, and he does this through his work at JGU’s CIAS and through his position as Vice Dean (International) at JGBS.

Laknath’s media commentary work has appeared in Australian marketing industry publications such as B&T and Marketing Magazine; in online public affairs portals such as New Matilda, and in leading international newspapers such as The Australian and The Age (Melbourne). His writing has also appeared in the iconic American literary monthly, Harper’s Magazine.

Away from his work, Laknath enjoys socialising over food, reading, and exercising. He ran his first full marathon in Melbourne at the age of 12 — and his second the year after. These days, he plays tennis, climbs stairs, and swims long distances.