{"id":12643,"date":"2022-03-01T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T22:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=12643"},"modified":"2026-02-19T14:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:00:34","slug":"demi-deng-phd-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2022\/03\/01\/demi-deng-phd-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctoral Student in Hospitality Follows Faculty Research to WSU"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Demi
Demi Deng (second from left) with Dr. Bob Harrington and other PhD students during Hospitality Week.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Demi Deng<\/a> was managing restaurants and bars in New Zealand when she started following the Carson College of Business\u2019s hospitality research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She wanted to know more about how to increase brand loyalty and provide the best customer experience. \u201cI was looking for strategies to boost revenue,\u201d Deng says. \u201cI knew there must be a place to find answers to these kinds of questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her husband, Tony Hao, a graduate student in food science, encouraged Deng to read academic journals about hospitality research. As Deng dug into the studies, one name popped up over and over\u2014Bob Harrington<\/a>, director of the college\u2019s School of Hospitality Business Management<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrington\u2019s work in wine research and the customer experience eventually drew Deng to WSU Pullman for doctoral studies in hospitality business management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. Harrington\u2019s work inspired me to become a professor; it was turning point in my career,\u201d says Deng, who will graduate with her doctorate in 2023. \u201cIt took me a while to realize I wanted to work in academia, but the time I spent in industry wasn\u2019t wasted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At WSU, Deng focuses on hospitality research with practical applications for the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDemi brings a strong background in hospitality operations management to the PhD program, which contributes to the relevance and timeliness of her research,\u201d Harrington says. \u201cHer international experience is also a plus, encouraging her fellow students to consider the industry through a global lens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Demi
Deng has dived into WSU activities, attending sports events, concerts and other activities.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

An International Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deng grew up in China\u2019s Sichuan province, which is home to giant panda nature reserves and the internationally known hotpot cuisine. Her mom operated a travel company, giving Deng an early exposure to the tourism industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She earned an undergraduate degree in tourism management at China Agricultural University in Beijing and later worked in the hospitality industry in New Zealand and China. Along the way, she earned a master\u2019s degree in wine studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an undergraduate student, Deng\u2019s food science classes introduced her to winemaking and wine sensory evaluation. In New Zealand, she studied under a master sommelier to hone her knowledge of food and wine pairings, spirits, and beverage services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWine hasn\u2019t historically been part of China\u2019s food and beverage culture, but its popularity has grown rapidly during the past decade,\u201d Deng says. \u201cThe interest comes from younger people who have lived and studied overseas. When they return home, they bring an appreciation for wine with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Value of Research Collaboration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deng\u2019s research on wines sales and social media influencers won a first place award last year in WSU\u2019s Academic Showcase and GPSA Research Exposition. Her work analyzed wine videos on TikTok\u2019s Chinese version, which allows influencers to embed a shopping cart for product purchases in their videos. TikTok videos promoting wines and allowing customers to make an immediate purchase could become an international driver of online wine sales, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deng credits Soobin Seo<\/a>, an assistant professor at WSU Everett, for helping her with the research methods for her project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWSU\u2019s doctoral program in hospitality has allowed me to work with so many well-known researchers,\u201d says Deng, who also has worked on studies with Professors Christina Chi, Jenny Kim, and Harrington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Deng is part of a project to increase off-season tourism in the city of Federal Way. Mark Beattie<\/a>, associate vice chancellor at WSU Everett, invited her to join the interdisciplinary WSU research team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deng\u2019s doctoral dissertation looks at how small and mid-sized wineries can use social media promotion and online sales to attract customers, particularly while the COVID-19 pandemic keeps people at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her thesis committee included the late Byron Marlowe, director of WSU\u2019s wine and beverage business management program. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry we lost him,\u201d Deng says. \u201cI want to say thank you to Dr. Marlowe for his help and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of her studies, Deng has dived into WSU activities, attending sporting events, visiting student clubs, and taking in concerts and cultural activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing in the hospitality field, I value cultural diversity, and I have a high interest in involvement,\u201d she says. \u201cI would have missed out if I hadn\u2019t chosen WSU for my doctoral studies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Demi Deng<\/a> was managing restaurants and bars in New Zealand when she started following the Carson College of Business\u2019s hospitality research. It eventually led Deng to WSU, where she will graduate with a doctorate in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[634],"featured_media":18178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[425,606,550],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12643"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18718,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12643\/revisions\/18718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12643"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=12643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}