| Project Supervisor | Anna Dubiel |
| Institution & Department | King’s College London – Marketing Department, King’s Business School |
| Research Area | RA 2: Business Analytics, Management, and Applied Economics |
| Project Start Date | Between end of June 2026 to 1st August 2026. |
| Project Duration | 3 months |
| Application Deadline | 4th June 2026 |
| Working Pattern | Full-time (5 days per week over 3 months) |
| Working Arrangements | Hybrid |
| The analysis of existing data such as trader interview transcripts and photos as well as many of the team meetings can be conducted remotely; likewise support for the planned photo exhibitions and trader toolkit development as well as any individual writing activities. The customer interviews on the street markets though have to be conducted on a few selected days in-person in Hackney. Some of the markets may take place on weekends only. We are though open to considering also a remote only internship if in-person presence in Hackney on a few selected market days is not feasible for the applicant. | |
| How to Apply | View Guidance Here |
Project Description
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The London Borough of Hackney (LBH) houses six markets and various street trading sites. Its street trading office (STO) manages the former, including the popular Chatsworth Road Market, and exerts statutory controls over the latter. The markets supply local communities and tourists with goods ranging from antiques, fruit and vegetables to street food. Many traders increasingly apply marketing practices aiming at conveying sustainability to customers. Such practices though remain largely unexplored in brick-and-mortar retail research.
To fill this gap, this project visualises the traders’ marketing practices and juxtaposes them with customer perceptions. Specifically, the project leverages Photovoice, a participant-generated visual research method, using a participatory design and an interpretive engagement framework. It combines photos taken by traders with brief photo-elicitation interviews enhanced by light-touch market customer interviews validating the conversations with traders about selected photos. It aims to create a knowledge base of marketing practices conveying sustainability to boost collective efforts to improve street trading and implement the LBH’s ambitious strategic market plan.
First, the project draws on photos generated by 15 traders across markets in Hackney highlighting their self-selected marketing practices. The trader-generated photos are complemented by additional stall photos taken by the research team. Second, the 15 traders were interviewed briefly to elicit stories about the practices shown in a limited subset of photos. Third the PhD researcher would approach customers and interview them (max. three questions) about their perceptions of sustainability practices exhibited at the participating stalls. The outcomes of both approaches, i.e. trader and customer perspectives, will then be combined and re-contextualised.
For that purpose, a digital photo exhibition showcasing the trader/researcher-generated photos in combination with quotes from the interviews with the traders/customers will be presented on selected LBH social media channels. A physical exhibition may also be considered in an LBH venue. These exhibitions aim to stimulate an ongoing conversation about the future of Hackney’s markets among those affecting and being affected by local street trading. From an academic point of view, the research team envisions an academic publication in a marketing or retailing journal.
Internship Details
To juxtapose the trader and customer perspectives on sustainability-focused marketing practices, the student will analyse existing data and collect supplementary data. In so doing, the student will contribute to the following goals:
• Showcasing and appreciating local traders’ lived experiences in the LBH’s street markets by mapping applied marketing practices aiming to promote sustainability
• Showcasing selected street market customers’ sustainability perceptions of the traders’ marketing practices
• Creating a knowledge base of sustainability-promoting marketing practices that the LBH street trading office can use to train new traders
The student will also be involved in the planning and organisation of a local exhibition of the photos and selected interview quotes. Moreover, they will support a digital photo exhibition on the LBH’s social media channels. Both initiatives require close collaboration with the supervisor (and their co-researchers) and the LBH’s STO. The student’s work will contribute to the following goals:
• Strengthening the University’s embeddedness in London’s economic, social and cultural life and making academic research meaningful to local communities
• Increasing awareness of the social and economic impact of street markets in the LBH’s local communities and among wider audiences
• Contributing to the national discourse about the future of retailing in the UK and the role of street markets in urban economic, social and cultural life
Finally, the student will contribute to the development of a marketing toolkit for street traders that will be shared with Hackney’s STO and aims to stimulate wider debates about street markets’ role in promoting sustainable consumption with relevant institutions, such as the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA), the National Market Traders’ Federation (NMFT) and the British Retail Consortium.
Anticipated Benefits for the Student
First, the student will have the unique opportunity to be involved in the internship supervisor’s ongoing research on local street markets in London, including collaboration with other researchers at other London-based universities and non-academic partner organisations, most notably, the LBH.
Second, guided by their internship supervisor, the student will learn how to apply Photovoice, a rarely used qualitative methodology in marketing research. Most notably, they will be involved in data collection (customer interviews), computer-aided visual and textual data analysis (thematic content analysis) with NVivo and AI-based tools, writing up the findings, and knowledge dissemination (physical and digital exhibition). These activities will foster essential employability skills, such as critical thinking, working collaboratively, and oral and written communication.
Third, the student will engage in research with impact. Their activities may contribute to an impact case study submitted by the supervisor for the REF2029. Impact entails but is not limited to the establishment of new relationships between King’s College London with local community groups and leaders, the development of a new toolkit for visual marketing research (including the participation of rarely studied groups) and helping the LBH’s STO to implement its ambitious strategic market plan. The findings are also envisioned to be published in an academic marketing or retailing journal.
Skills, Experience and Knowledge Requirements
The student should have intermediate expertise in research methodology. We are particularly interested in qualitative data analysis (e.g., thematic content analysis using NVivo – potentially also with its plugin for visual data).
We would welcome basic insights into applying AI to content analyse larger amounts of visual data such as photos. Ideally, the student would also appreciate autonomously conducting customer interviews – along an existing guideline – at Hackney-based street markets, some of which may take place on weekends.