Harmen is head of the Department of Marketing at Monash Business School and teaches consumer behaviour and research methods at postgraduate levels.
His research focuses on consumer decision-making behaviour in retail and related services contexts, often using experimental and/or modelling methods. He has conducted numerous studies in marketing and retail, housing and real estate, recreation and tourism, and transportation. His projects are either academic or for business and public policy clients.
Prior to taking up his appointment at Monash he was Professor of Retail Management at the University of Surrey (UK), Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sydney, and Assistant Professor and Research Fellow in Urban Planning at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. He holds a PhD from the Eindhoven University of Technology and degrees in geography and social psychology from the University of Groningen.