Alena Kostyk received her MBA from Michigan State University and her PhD from New Mexico State University in the United States. Her work focuses on consumer behavior in digital, technology-enhanced environments, and research methodology. Dr Kostyk has published in academic outlets such as the Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, and Psychological Methods, among others. She also co-authored a practice-oriented book on VR marketing, The Reality of Virtuality: Harness the Power of Virtual Reality to Connect with Consumers, and worked with a number of European organisations on implementing their digital and XR marketing initiatives. Prior to academia, she spent nearly 10 years working in the private sector.