The 4th Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy (APMA), organized by the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing and hosted by the School of Business, Macau University of Science and Technology, was successfully held from June 5 to 8, 2026, across the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin under the “one conference, two locations” format. Under the theme “AI-Driven Market Collaboration & Marketing Innovation,” the conference attracted over 500 scholars from 15 countries and regions, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates, representing more than 150 universities and research institutions.

APMA 2026 Group Photo (Hengqin)

APMA 2026 Group Photo (Macao)

Part I: Hengqin International Hi-Tech Innovation Park

Opening Remarks

The conference held its opening ceremony at the Hengqin International Hi-Tech Innovation Park on June 6. Professor Chuan Pang, Vice President of Macau University of Science and Technology; Mr. Xinhua Chen, Chairman of Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Development Co., Ltd.; and Professor Haizhong Wang of Sun Yat-sen University, Chairperson of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing, delivered opening remarks in succession. Professor Ni Sheng, Dean of the School of Business at Macau University of Science and Technology, and Professor Chengkun Liu, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Development at Macau University of Science and Technology, attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony was chaired by Associate Professor Lei Zheng of Macau University of Science and Technology, Executive Chair of APMA 2026. The day featured a rich program of academic and industry keynote speeches.

In this remarks, Professor Chuan Pang observed that artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming the global economy and the marketing discipline. He stressed the need to raise public AI literacy and develop a pipeline of marketing professionals equipped for the AI era, as a foundation for high-quality growth across the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Xinhua Chen called for harnessing the distinctive strengths of the Macao–Hengqin partnership to connect academic research with industry application and cross-border marketing, deepen university–industry collaboration, and pioneer new models of technology-driven marketing innovation. Professor Haizhong Wang thanked the School of Business at Macau University of Science and Technology for hosting the conference, and commended Professor Lei Zheng, Executive Chair of APMA 2026, for his commitment to making academic substance the centerpiece of the program, which produced discussions of genuine scholarly depth. He offered special thanks to the delegates who traveled from 15 countries and regions to present their work. Reaffirming the conference’s core values of integrity, progressiveness, innovation, and openness, Professor Wang shared concrete examples of how colleagues across the region had contributed to building APMA over the past year. He urged scholars across the region and beyond to work together in taking the Asia-Pacific marketing scholarly community to new heights.

The first half of the opening ceremony keynote speeches was chaired by Professor Yacheng Sun of Tsinghua University and featured presentations by three experts.. Professor Yubo Chen of Tsinghua University shared insights on the relationship between digital platforms and data markets, exploring the crucial role of digital platforms in data resource allocation, market operations, and value creation. Professor Thomas Kramer of the University of California, Riverside, focused on individual decision-making processes, offering an in-depth analysis of how people draw on external cues, connective information, and contextual references to make judgments. Mr. Jun Guo, Technical Director of Tungee, drew on corporate practice to introduce the application scenarios, empowerment value, and development potential of the AI digital workforce in marketing intelligent transformation.

The second half of the opening ceremony keynote speeches was chaired by Professor Xingyu Chen of Shenzhen University, featuring presentations by three experts and scholars. Professor Leonard Lee of the National University of Singapore shared insights on emotional dynamics during the AI adoption process, exploring how emotional dynamics influence users' acceptance and usage behavior toward artificial intelligence technologies. Professor Sandeep Chandukala of Singapore Management University focused on image information in online search scenarios, offering an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms through which image distinctiveness shapes consumer search behavior and information attention. Mr. Kaibin He, Co-founder of Credamo, discussed the significance of open science in enhancing research transparency, promoting academic collaboration, and supporting high-quality journal research in the AI era.

Editorial Board Face-to-Face Sessions

APMA 2026 organized two Editorial Board Face-to-Face sessions with editors from leading international journals, facilitating in-depth exchanges between researchers and journal editors.

The first Editorial Board Face-to-Face session was chaired by Professor Ian Phau of Curtin University (Australia), with the theme of “Consumer Behavior Research.” Associate Editors Thomas Kramer, Julio Sevilla, and Leonard Lee of the Journal of Consumer Psychology shared insights on cutting-edge topics and publication strategies in consumer psychology and behavior research. They also discussed recent developments in consumer psychology, public policy, and marketing research, highlighting the new opportunities that technological advances have created for research topic selection, data utilization, and scholarly publication.

The second Editorial Board Face-to-Face session was chaired by Professor Shibo Li of Indiana University, with the theme of “Marketing Strategy and Modeling.” Professor Krista J. Li (Guest Associate Editor of Marketing Science and Associate Editor of Journal of Marketing), Professor Sandeep R. Chandukala (Developmental Editor of Journal of Marketing), and Professor Shijie Lv (Associate Editor of Journal of Marketing and Marketing Science) discussed key topics in marketing strategy and modeling research—including platform mechanisms and consumer choice modeling—in light of the positioning and publication standards of different journals. The speakers also explored new trends that AI technological development brings to marketing strategy research, consumer data analysis, and modeling methodology innovation.

National High-Level Projects Forum

APMA 2026 organized experience-sharing sessions on applications for national high-level research projects, covering both the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC).

The NSFC high-level project application session was chaired by Professor Jiangang Du of Nankai University. Professor Yacheng Sun of Tsinghua University, Professor Liangyan Wang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Professor Jia Liu of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology were invited to share their project application experiences. Drawing on their own research accumulation and application practice, the three experts engaged in discussions on key stages such as topic justification, research plan design, presentation of innovation points, and proposal refinement.

The NSSFC high-level project session was chaired by Professor Lan Xu of Wuhan University. Professor Chunqing Li of Northwest University and Professor Xiaoling Li of Chongqing University were invited to share relevant experiences. Drawing on their own expertise and specific cases, the two experts analyzed key points and challenges in project applications.

Marketing Academic Job Market Forum

The APMA 2026 Marketing Academic Job Market Forum was co-chaired by Professor Zengxiang Chen of Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Sally Rao Hill of the University of Adelaide (Australia), and Professor Gongxing Guo of Shantou University. Doctoral graduates and early-career scholars from institutions including HEC Montréal, Peking University, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, and City University of Hong Kong presented their academic work, sharing their latest research findings and future research plans, fully showcasing the academic potential and research vitality of the new generation of marketing scholars. The forum attracted representatives from numerous universities—including China University of Mining and Technology, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangxi University, Guangzhou University, Huaqiao University, Hunan University, Jinan University, Macau University of Science and Technology, Nankai University, Shandong University, Shantou University, Shenzhen University, South China University of Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, and Tianjin University—providing opportunities for in-depth communication and precise matching between talent supply and demand.

APMA Extended Council Meeting

The APMA 2026 Extended Council Meeting was held at the Hengqin International Hi-Tech Innovation Park on the afternoon of June 6, 2026.The meeting aimed to facilitate information exchange between representatives of Alliance for Marketing member institutions and distinguished guests and scholars from home and abroad. Participants offered suggestions on key issues, including alliance development, annual conference organization, expansion of academic activities, and future development plans, jointly advancing the sustained development of APMA. Attendees included the leadership teams of the Alliance for Marketing and APMA, members of the APMA Executive Committee, invited guests from home and abroad, representatives of Alliance member institutions, representatives of key institutions at home and abroad, and administrative staff of the Alliance Secretariat.

Professor Zhimin Zhou of Shenzhen University chaired the APMA Development Review session.Professor Haizhong Wang of Sun Yat-sen University, Chairperson of the Alliance for Marketing, reported on the work progress of the Alliance for Marketing and APMA over the past year. Professor Lei Zheng of Macau University of Science and Technology presented the preparations, submission process, and organizational arrangements for APMA 2026. Subsequently, Professor Yacheng Sun of Tsinghua University and Professor Jun Pang of Sun Yat-sen University reported on the peer review process for APMA 2026 general conference submissions. Professor Zengxiang Chen of Sun Yat-sen University explained the review process for Doctoral Forum submissions. Professor Xiang (Robert) LI of The Chinese University of Hong Kong reported on the year's work of the APMA Tourism & Leisure Marketing Committee.

Thereafter, Professor Ruby Lee, Editor-in-Chief of JPIM; Professor Krista J. Li of Indiana University; Professor Jiangang Du of Nankai University; Professor Lan Xu of Wuhan University; Professor Ian Phau of Curtin University; and Professor Shibo Li of Indiana University reported on thematic initiatives including the JPIM and UTD Paper Development Workshop, the National High-Level Research Projects Forum, and the Editorial Board Face-to-Face sessions.

Professor Guicheng Shi of Macau University of Science and Technology chaired the APMA Future Affairs Outlook session. Professor Chen Yang of South China University of Technology reported on the preparation of the 2026 APMA Young Scholars Forum. Ms. Xuewen Wang of Tianjin University introduced Tianjin University and its College of Management and Economics to the APMA Extended Council Meeting and presented the preliminary plan for hosting APMA 2027.

Part II: Macau University of Science and Technology

From June 7 to 8, the conference continued at Macau University of Science and Technology (Taipa, Macao, China) to continue with thematic forums, workshops, parallel sessions, and other activities. The conference logistics team coordinated cross-border transportation and provided border-crossing guidance for participants for participants, connecting the principal conference venues and border checkpoints across the two locations to ensure seamless transitions between conference sessions, providing participants with a distinctive “one conference, two locations” experience.

Keynote Speeches

The keynote speeches on June 7 (Day 2 of APMA 2026) were chaired by Professor Danny Tan Wang of Hong Kong Baptist University. Professor Krista J. Li of Indiana University shared insights on the application and development trends of artificial intelligence in the marketing field. Professor Julio Sevilla of the University of Georgia focused on the relationship between racial diversity representation and consumers’ product preferences, exploring the market impact of diverse representation. Professor Shijie Lv of the University of Notre Dame, approaching from the perspectives of platform recommendation and competitive environments, analyzed the mechanisms and practical value of dynamic matching between brands and influencers.

Digital Marketing Industry Roundtable Session

APMA 2026 featured a Digital Marketing Industry Roundtable Session, focusing on the important theme of “Marketing Transformation in the Era of End-to-End Digitalization” This forum was chaired by Professor Zengxiang Chen of Sun Yat-sen University, with invited participants including Mr. Haitao Jiang, Founder and Chairman of Aomi; Mr. Yong Zhang, Managing Director of Yonyou Software, Macao; and Mr. Weitao Wan, CTO of Technology & Strategy Martech. Drawing on their corporate digital transformation and marketing technology practices, the panelists explored new developments in marketing models, customer operations, data-driven decision-making, and enterprise growth pathways in the context of end-to-end digitalization.

High-Quality Research Paper Workshops

The High-Quality Research Paper Workshop has been highly acclaimed at successive APMA annual conferences. The workshop selects research papers that have received favorable anonymous reviews from the general conference and doctoral forum submissions, with senior scholars or editors providing commentary and suggestions for further improvement. At this year's conference, the workshop was organized into two tracks—Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy & Modeling—with active and productive exchanges between presenters and discussants.

The Consumer Behavior track was chaired by Professor Xianchi Dai of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Professor Fangyuan Chen of the University of Macau, Professor Thomas Kramer of the University of California, Riverside, and Professor Ian Phau of Curtin University served as discussants.

The Marketing Strategy & Modeling track was chaired by Professor Xu Zheng of City University of Hong Kong. Professor Sandeep Chandukala of Singapore Management University, Professor Krista J. Li of Indiana University, and Professor Shibo Li of Indiana University served as discussants.

Multi-Stakeholder Innovation in Tourism Marketing

The APMA 2026 Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Innovation in Tourism Marketing featured four parallel sessions, showcasing the latest research advances in tourism marketing. Members of the APMA Tourism & Leisure Marketing Committee attending the forum included: Committee Chair Professor Xiang (Robert) LI of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Committee Vice Chairs Professor Mimi Li of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Professor Shuang Ma of the University of International Business and Economics; and Committee Secretaries-General Professor Yanzhen Tuo of Nankai University and Professor Zeya He of Shandong University, who served as discussants across the four sessions. Professor Hongyan Jiang of China University of Mining and Technology, Professor Yun Jie of South China Normal University, Professor Lin Wang of Sun Yat-sen University, and Professor Ke Zhong of Hainan University chaired the four sessions, respectively. Forum topics covered hotel service robots, AR and navigation experiences, AI-generated content, Robotaxi and urban tourism, tourism destination image, leisure travel and loneliness among older adults, tourism-related sharing behavior, digital vocational training in tourism, and AI-empowered travel experiences.

Parallel Sessions

APMA 2026 Parallel Sessions attracted submissions from scholars affiliated with universities and research institutions across 15 countries and regions, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates. More than 300 English-language papers were submitted to the conference. The conference team organized over 50 parallel sessions across three areas: Consumer Behavior, Marketing Strategy, and Marketing Modeling. Paper authors, parallel session chairs and discussants, and conference participants engaged in lively exchanges and discussions around each paper.

Part III: Outstanding Paper Awards and APMA Flag Handover Ceremony

Following rigorous evaluation by the APMA General Conference Paper Review Committee and the APMA Doctoral Forum Paper Review Committee, three papers received the Best Paper Award and seven received the Excellent Paper Award. For the Doctoral Forum, one First Prize, two Second Prizes, three Third Prizes, and two Finalist Awards were conferred. Professor Haizhong Wang of Sun Yat-sen University, Chairperson of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing; Professor Lei Zheng of Macau University of Science and Technology, Executive Chair of APMA 2026; Professor Xiaoying Zheng, Associate Dean of the School of Business at Sun Yat-sen University; and Professor Xuehua Wang of Tongji University, among others, presented certificates to the award-winning authors.

At the conference Closing Ceremony and Dinner, Professor Lei Zheng, Executive Chair of APMA 2026, expressed heartfelt gratitude to all distinguished guests and participants for their presence and support, and conveyed sincere appreciation to the conference team for their dedicated efforts in organization, preparation, and on-site support. Professor Haizhong Wang of Sun Yat-sen University, Chairperson of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing and Honorary Chair of the APMA 2026 Organizing Committee, together with Professor Lei Zheng of Macau University of Science and Technology, Executive Chair of APMA 2026, solemnly handed over the APMA conference flag to the representative of the APMA 2027 host institution—Ms. Xuewen Wang of Tianjin University. APMA 2027 is scheduled to be held at Tianjin University.

Tianjin University traces its origins to Peiyang University, was founded in 1895 as China's first modern university. It is renowned both at home and abroad for its motto of “Seeking Truth from Facts,” its ethos of “Rigorous Scholarship,” and its tradition of “Patriotic Dedication.” Tianjin University began rebuilding its management discipline in 1978, and with a long and distinguished educational history, it was among the earliest universities in China to establish a school of management. The Tianjin University–The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Shenzhen Institute of Future Technology, approved by the Ministry of Education, is a mainland-Hong Kong-Macao cooperative education institution jointly established by Tianjin University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs. In 2026, it plans to recruit undergraduate students from 19 provinces and municipalities across China. At the end of 2025, the Marketing discipline of the College of Management and Economics at Tianjin University officially joined the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing, using the Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy (APMA) as a platform to jointly build an Asia-Pacific marketing academic community.

About the Alliance for Marketing

The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing (hereinafter referred to as the “Alliance for Marketing”) was jointly initiated by disciplinary peers from higher education institutions in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao region, in accordance with the guiding framework of the national Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan. Following review and approval by the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance and registration with the competent educational authorities, it was formally established in 2023. The Alliance for Marketing upholds the principles of integrity, progressiveness, innovation, and openness, advancing with the times to promote the development of a high-level international academic community in marketing. Member institutions of the Alliance emphasize driving disciplinary and program development through academic innovation and are committed to high-quality marketing education, teaching, and talent cultivation. The Secretariat of the Alliance for Marketing is currently based at the School of Business, Sun Yat-sen University.

About APMA

The Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy (APMA) was proposed and established by the Alliance for Marketing. Its core values are integrity, progressiveness, innovation, and openness. The conference will practice these values over the long term, responding to the call for close Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao cooperation, and through promoting diverse forms of exchange and collaboration among scholars across the Asia-Pacific region, will seek to uncover local market marketing principles, promote local market prosperity, and enhance the contribution of the Asia-Pacific marketing academic community to the global knowledge base.

The conference APMA has been held from 2023 to 2026, hosted respectively by Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou) and the University of Macau; City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Shenzhen University (Shenzhen); and Macau University of Science and Technology (Macao and Hengqin). Through wide international participation and high-quality academic exchange, the APMA international conference has been recognized by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), becoming an influential international academic conference in the Asia-Pacific region.

About the APMA Young Scholars Forum

In response to the call of the national Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan to build an international science and technology innovation center, create a hub of education and talent, and strengthen youth exchanges, the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Marketing initiated and established the APMA Young Scholars Forum. With “Nurturing the Next Generation” as its core mission, the Forum places great emphasis on the growth and development of young scholars. Since its inaugural event in 2023, through organizing cutting-edge academic seminars, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and facilitating cross-generational scholarly exchanges, the APMA Young Scholars Forum has developed into a high-level academic community that is future-oriented, youth-focused, and widely welcomed by young scholars.

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