Christina's research is largely in two distinct areas. The first comes under the umbrella of what Russell Belk terms the ‘new’ consumer behaviour. It is part of an emerging critical stream of consumer behaviour within marketing which focuses on the nature of consumer society and the meanings that consumers draw from their various experiences.

Much of her research has been concerned with developing an understanding of the consumption/identity link. Earlier work focused on history, nostalgia and contemporary representations of the past and how this influences consumer perceptions of self, time and space. This also raised questions about authenticity, the commodification process and the service encounter in museums. A more recent development has been to expand the notion of cultural consumption, by examining contemporary sub-cultural phenomenon such as dance culture and collective identity construction as linked to neo-tribalism and symbolic consumption. This has involved an eclectic interdisciplinary approach to theory building which is in line with current interpretivist perspectives within marketing and consumer behavior. Current research is focused on parasocial communities, identity and consumption with an emphasis on body image, strategies for resisting the market place and non-conformist consumption. She is also one of the six founding members of the 'Critical Marketing Group' and co-editor of 'Critical Marketing: Defining the Field' which was the result of an ESRC funded seminar series.

Her second area of interest is that of the application and development of qualitative research methodologies and in particular grounded theory. She has been an invited speaker on the subject at several universities as well as The British Academy of Management. She has published a book on the subject in addition to numerous academic papers.

2015 – Present: Professor of Marketing Birmingham University

2012 – 2014: Professor of Marketing, Keele University

2010 – 2011: Professor of Marketing: Coventry University

2002 – 2010: Professor of Consumer Research, Wolverhampton University

2000 – 2002: Reader in Marketing, Wolverhampton University (WBS)

1998 – 2000: Principal lecturer  &  Divisional Research Leader, Wolverhampton Business School (WBS)

1992 – 1998: Senior lecturer, Wolverhampton Business School (WBS)

1991 – 1992: Lecturer, Wolverhampton Business School (WBS)