Biography
Dr. Ali Mahdi is an assistant professor of marketing at the Adnan Kassar School of Business. He holds a PhD in entrepreneurial marketing from the University of Ottawa, Canada, where he received the Excellence Award recognition. Dr. Mahdi also holds an MBA, a BSc in business marketing, and a BA in communication arts from the Lebanese American University, where he graduated with high distinction.
As a Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) in Digital Marketing (AMA) and a Certified Digital Marketing Professional (DMI), Dr. Mahdi has international industry experience in digital marketing across Lebanon and Canada. He has served as a business consultant for several companies in the MENA region.
His academic experience includes teaching marketing courses such as Entrepreneurial Marketing, Marketing Research, Digital Marketing, and Marketing Strategy. His teaching approach emphasizes student-centered, experiential, and unbounded learning. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching from the Centre for Innovative Pedagogies and Digital Learning at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Mahdi specializes in researching strategies at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface (also known as entrepreneurial marketing), employing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, as well as theoretical lenses such as Resource-Based Theory and the Relational View. His research focuses on understanding how entrepreneurial marketing strategies enable firms’ value co-creation across various stakeholders while navigating dynamic, competitive business environments characterized by disruption and uncertainty.
In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Mahdi is passionate about supervising and mentoring students seeking to gain research experience. He welcomes proposals from students interested in developing their ideas into comprehensive research projects or graduate theses.
Teaching Interests
- Entrepreneurial Marketing
- Marketing Research
- Digital Marketing
- Marketing Strategy
Research Interests
- Entrepreneurial marketing strategy
- Collaborative and value co-creation strategies
- B2B and coopetition strategies
- Internationalization strategies
- Business model digitalization
- Strategies during disruption and uncertainty
- Strategies for sustainability and agility
Publications
Articles in Academic and Trade Journals
Mahdi, A., Crick, D., Crick, J. M., Lamine, W., & Spence, M. (2025). How a coopetition-oriented mindset and competitive intensity drive coopetition behaviour to support export scale-up activities in a post-crisis environment. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 56(1), 24-52.
Mahdi, A., Crick, D., Crick, J. M., Lamine, W., & Spence, M. (2024). Entrepreneurial marketing practices and rural wine producers’ performance: The moderating role of competitive intensity in an immediate post crisis period. Journal of Rural Studies, 108, 103277.
Mahdi, A., Crick, D., Crick, J. M., Lamine, W., & Spence, M. (2024). A study of entrepreneurial marketing activities and firm performance in an immediate post-COVID-19 era: the moderating role of coopetition. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 30(6), 1527-1552.
Mahdi, A., Farah, M. F., & Ramadan, Z. (2022). What to believe, whom to blame, and when to share: exploring the fake news experience in the marketing context. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 39(3), 306-316.
Proceedings and Presentations in Refereed Conferences
Mahdi, A., Crick, D., Crick, J. M., Lamine, W., & Spence, M. (2024). “Passive Exporters and Scale-Up Activities in an Immediate Post-COVID-19 Period: The Impact of a Coopetition-Oriented Mindset and Coopetition Activities.” McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference.
Mahdi, A. (2024). “Entrepreneurial Marketing Strategy: Unpacking the Quadratic Relationship Between Digitalisation and Firm Performance.” American Marketing Association (AMA) Academic Conference.
Crick, J. M., Crick, D., Mahdi, A., Spence, M., & Lamine, W. (2023). “Entrepreneurial Marketing Activities and Firm Performance Among US Wine Producers: The Moderating Role of Competitive Intensity.” Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference.
Crick, D., Mahdi, A., Crick, J. M., Lamine, W., & Spence, M. (2023). “Resilience Among Passive Exporters in a Post-Turbulent COVID-19 Era: A Capabilities Perspective.” McGill International Entrepreneurship (MIE) Conference.
Mahdi, A. (2023). “Manoeuvring Global Crises: Entrepreneurial Marketing in SMEs.” American Marketing Association (AMA) Academic Conference.
Farah, M. F., Ramadan, Z., & Mahdi, A. (2019). “The Impact of Fake News on Brands and Social Media.” American Marketing Association (AMA) Academic Conference.
Ramadan, Z., Farah, M. F., & Mahdi, A. (2018). “The Fakebook Effect: The Impact of Fake News on Facebook, Brands, and Consumer Behaviour.” Advances in Theory and Practice of Digital Marketing Conference.