Mary Mccarthy

Biography

Mary Mc Carthy obtained a BSc degree in Food Business from University College Cork, IRL, an MBA from St Josephs University, USA and a PhD from University of Reading, UK. She was a Research Associate at University College Cork from where she moved to a Lectureship post in the Department of Food Business & Development, UCC. She is currently a Professor in Marketing in Cork University Business School and a member of the HRB Centre for Health and Diet Research. She has published well over 40 peer-reviewed international journal articles and over the last decade she has carried out research on a range of issues related to the factors influencing food choice. This has involved the use of a number of social psychology models to consider food choice issues at product and dietary choice levels. She has also explored the issues surrounding consumer behaviour and perceived risk with special reference to risk communication. Mary is currently involved in three significant funded research projects that are concerned with understanding the factors underpinning food choices. These projects reflect her core research interests: healthy eating behaviour; consumer acceptance of novel foods/technologies and the determinant of food choice. Working as a member of the research teams of the HRB Centre for Health and Diet (lead by Professor Ivan Perry, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health) and the National Adult Nutrition Survey (lead by Professor Albert Flynn, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences) has facilitated joint data collection and the creation of significant data sets that link objective data on factors such as health status and quality of diet with subjective data associated with attitudes and beliefs. This work should help support effective food and health policy development. She also works closely with others nationally (e.g. The Ashtown Food Research Centre; UCD) and internationally (e.g. University of Newcastle; Queens University). Mary has published widely, has co-authored a number of book chapters and has presented at many international conferences. To date Mary has secured in the region of €1.2m in research funding from sources such as FIRM, SAFEFOOD, TEAGASC and the HRB. Her teaching interests in Food Marketing include: consumer behaviour; consumer acceptance of novel technologies; and determinants of behaviour and behavioural change.

Research Interest

My research interests lie in the field of consumer food behaviours. I seek to explore the social, cognitive and economic factors that influence food consumption patterns and specific food choices. I seek to recognise and understand attitudes, beliefs, norms and consumer characteristics on consumer behaviour in food markets and am concerned with understanding such issues as changes in consumption based on life stage, utilisation of cues in quality belief formation, consumer concepts of self and the influence of social norms on behaviour. The diversity of issues of interest requires both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research and the application of a variety of analytical theories and frameworks.