Monica Mendini
M. Mendini - Coltivare la curiosità per trasformarla in conoscenza
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Monica Mendini, lecturer and researcher at the DEASS Management and Entrepreneurship Competence Center, where she coordinates the Marketing, Communication, and Consumer Behavior research sector, talks about how she got involved in academic research and her career at SUPSI. Her story highlights how research can be a driver of change and a tool for connecting knowledge and society.
Can you tell us about your studies and what you do at SUPSI?
I currently work as a lecturer and researcher at the Center for Management and Entrepreneurship (CMI) at DEASS, where I coordinate the research area of marketing, communication, and consumer behavior. After completing a PhD in Communication with a focus on marketing at the University of Lugano (USI), I now conduct research and teach at various levels—Bachelor's, Master's, and continuing education—and I am also co-responsible for the Brown Bag research seminars (events aimed at SUPSI researchers in which projects are explored in depth and reflections on methodology and results are shared). My research projects range from market analysis and customer/consumer satisfaction to the development of marketing and communication strategies for companies and local authorities, as well as more experimental studies, such as the adoption of new foods (e.g., insect-based foods) through innovative tools such as Food Design Thinking and virtual reality.
How did you get into research?
I got into research almost by accident, during my Master's in Marketing at USI, when I started working as a student assistant on a Consumer Behavior project. It was a really exciting experience that made me realize how research can be a way to nurture curiosity and turn it into knowledge that's useful to others. Since then—apart from a few short breaks—I have never stopped working in this field: first with a PhD in consumer behavior and branding between USI and San Diego State University, and then in my current role as a lecturer-researcher at SUPSI's CMI.
What does being a researcher mean to you?
For me, being a researcher means cultivating curiosity and transforming it into knowledge that can have a real impact. It is also a role that has a strong dimension of sharing: on the one hand with students, to whom I can convey not only content but also the pleasure of questioning and investigating; on the other hand with companies and the community, because research acquires value when it can be translated into concrete projects that generate wellbeing (social, psychological, physical) and positive change.
What topics does your research focus on? Where have you published your research?
My research focuses on consumer behavior, with particular attention to brand relationships, co-branding strategies—such as collaborations between luxury and mass-market brands (e.g., Omega and Swatch or Versace and H&M)—and the use of immersive technologies such as virtual reality. I also deal with consumer well-being, studying both the acceptance of novel foods (such as insect-based foods) and sustainable practices, such as marketing linked to charitable causes or social initiatives. The results of my research have been published in international journals such as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Journal of Consumer Marketing, and others.
SUPSI's applied research activities are characterized by their strong practical application. Can you tell us about a project you have worked on and its impact on the local area and society?
After winning a Spark SNF grant (funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation for innovative and unconventional research), I devoted myself to novel foods, particularly the introduction of insect-based foods in the Western world. To explore the topic in greater depth, I collaborated with local chefs and companies that produce or sell these foods, launching initiatives such as a blog and joint participation in events. One aspect that I find very stimulating is that this project began as an academic endeavor, but then took on a practical dimension that is useful for the community, also becoming an opportunity for transfer between research and teaching. With the students, for example, we have carried out studies on entomophagy, combining immersive virtual reality experiences with tastings of insect-based foods provided by our partners. In the future, the idea is to expand these activities with informative evenings and tastings open to the public, to help raise awareness of this new ingredient among the community.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I see myself still immersed in the academic world, continuing to do what I am passionate about—a combination of research and teaching—but in the role of professor