Marlene Paula Castro Amorim is an Associate Professor at the University of Aveiro in Aveiro, Portugal, where she teaches in the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism. She is also a full member of the Research Unit in Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), contributing to research on competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, service operations and quality.
Originally from Porto, Portugal, Marlene holds a PhD in Management from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, where her doctoral research focused on customer‑oriented service design in multi‑channel service contexts. She also earned a Master’s degree in Science, Technology and Innovation Management from the University of Aveiro and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Porto.
Marlene began her professional career in the private sector, working on internationalization and marketing strategies for companies in the agri‑food industry in Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. She later transitioned into higher education and research, becoming deeply involved in academic leadership and institutional development.
At the University of Aveiro, she has served in several leadership roles, including Pro‑Rector for Internationalization (2014–2018) and Director and Vice‑Director of the Master’s programme in Industrial Engineering and Management. She also coordinated the research line on Competitiveness, Innovation and Sustainability at GOVCOPP from 2018 until 2024.
Her research spans service operations, quality and sustainability, with particular interest in service process design, customer participation in service delivery, and the development of competencies for digital and organizational transformation. She has led and participated in numerous international research projects and academic collaborations, funded at both national (FCT) and international levels (e.g., FP7, ERASMUS+).
Marlene is also active in academic service, including participation on editorial boards of scholarly journals and engagement in international research networks. Her work has been widely published in books, conference proceedings and peer‑reviewed outlets.
Beyond research and teaching, she has been involved in initiatives linking university knowledge with societal needs, such as urban innovation actions, training programmes and workshops aimed at community impact and digital transformation.
