Sarah Schwarz, Ph.D.

Sarah Schwarz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Marketing

Areas of expertise:

  • Marketing
  • Strategic Marketing Management
  • Consumer Behavior
  • Market Research
  • Consumer Culture Theory

Education:

  • Ph.D., Program Management (Marketing and Branding), School of Management and Marketing, University of Innsbruck, 2023
  • Mag., International Economic and Business Studies (Marketing and Human Relations), School of Management and Marketing, University of Innsbruck, 2019
  • BBA Exchange Program, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2017

Contact:

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Media Contact

Our faculty are available to comment on topics related to areas of interest or expertise. If you need further assistance, call Media Relations at 970-247-6073 or email Media Relations.

About Sarah Schwarz, Ph.D.

After completing her education at the University of Innsbruck and Wilfrid Laurier University, Dr. Sarah Schwarz joined Fort Lewis College in 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Marketing. Her teaching focuses on marketing, strategic management, and consumer behavior. Dr. Schwarz is passionate about bridging theory and practice through her research on consumer cultures in areas such as digital nomadism, luxury experiences, and sustainable travel. She applies various qualitative methods—including in-depth interviews, focus groups, ethnography, and netnography—to explore how consumption manifests in mobile contexts. Dr. Schwarz is committed to advancing knowledge in her field while mentoring students in their academic pursuits.

In the media

Selected conference presentations

  • Schwarz, Sarah and Christiane Aufschnaiter (2024), "Welcome to My Space," Special Session Hosted at Consumer Culture Theory Conference, San Diego, US.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane, Sarah Schwarz, and Cristel Russell (2024), "Home is Where the Wi-Fi Connects: Digital Nomads and Their Spaces," Consumer Culture Theory Conference, San Diego, US.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane and Sarah Schwarz (2024), "Venturing Into Social And Material Territories – An Ethnography on 'The Digital Nomad Village'," Consumer Culture Theory Conference, San Diego, US.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane, Sarah Schwarz, and Cristel Russell (2024), "The New Homefront: Nomadic Lifestyles and Spatial Belonging," Brand Camp Conference, Obergurgl, AT.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane, Sarah Schwarz, and Cristel Russell (2023), "Beyond the Physical: A Spatial and Temporal Framework of Consumption in Mobility," Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Lund, SE.
  • Schwarz, Sarah, Andrea Hemetsberger, and Sylvia von Wallpach (2023), "When Less is More: Understanding Luxury in Mobility Contexts," 4th Brand Meaning Network Workshop, Dubai, AE.
  • Hemetsberger, Andrea, Christiane Aufschnaiter, and Sarah Schwarz (2022), "Navigating Sociality in Physical Distance: Practices of Strategic Work and Aesthetic Play," French-Austrian-German Workshop on Consumer Behavior, Saarbrucken, DE.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane and Sarah Schwarz (2022), "The Constitution of Brands as Solid Anchors and Liquid Motors: A Moleskine Case," Brand Camp Conference, Obergurgl, AT.
  • Luise, Vincenzo and Sarah Schwarz (2022), "The Pandemic Digital Nomad: Processes of Nomadic Subjectivation During the Covid-19 Crisis," Convegno Società Italiana di Sociologia Economica, Bologna, IT.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane and Sarah Schwarz (2022), "Breaking Branding Boundaries: The Materialization of Brands Between Liquidity and Solidity," Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Corvallis, US.

Selected publications:

  • Schwarz, Sarah and Christiane Aufschnaiter (2024), "Pop-Up Lifestyle: The Case of Co-Living/Working in Nomadism," Accepted for Publication at NA - Advances in Consumer Research.
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane, Sarah Schwarz, and Cristel Russell (2024), "The Art of Traveling Minds: Imagining Home Consumption," Special Session Paper Accepted for Publication at NA - Advances in Consumer Research.
  • Schwarz*, Sarah, Christiane Aufschnaiter*, and Andrea Hemetsberger (2023), "Social Linking Practices Across Physical Distance: The Material Constitution of Sociality," Marketing Theory, 23(2), 321–42. Link
  • Schöps*, Jonathan D., Sarah Schwarz*, and Veronika Rojkowski* (2023), "Memetic Logics of Participation: Fitness Body Culture on Instagram," Marketing Theory, 24(1), 65–89. Link
  • Schwarz, Sarah and Christiane Aufschnaiter (2022), "Brand Nomadicity: Redefining Consumer-Brand Relationships in Liquid Modernity," NA - Advances in Consumer Research, 50. Link
  • Schwarz, Sarah (2021), "'Going' Green? Nomadic Consumers' Paradoxical Journey Toward Sustainability," NA - Advances in Consumer Research, 49, 60–4. Link
  • Aufschnaiter, Christiane, Sarah Schwarz, and Andrea Hemetsberger (2021), "Anchors on the Move: Digital Nomads’ Solid Footholds in Liquidity," NA - Advances in Consumer Research, 49, 27–31. Link
  • Schwarz, Sarah and Andrea Hemetsberger (2020), "A Luxury Moment to Go, Please: Paradoxes of Luxuriousness Among Cosmopolite Consumers," NA - Advances in Consumer Research, 48, 121–5. Link

Awards and highlights:

  • "Marietta Blau Research Grant" Austria’s Federal Ministry of Education, 2022
  • "Young Scholar Research Funding" Economy, Politics, and Society Research Platform, 2022
  • "Performance-Based Scholarship" University of Innsbruck, 2020 and 2021
  • "Scholarship for Scientific Theses" University of Innsbruck, 2017 and 2020
  • "Excellence Scholarship" University of Innsbruck, 2020
  • "Joint Study Funding" University of Innsbruck, 2016