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Research Moving Forward

2011 was a serious turning point for Research

in the College of Business.

We increased our research income, improved our successes with ARC grants, excelled in HDR completions, celebrated staff and HDRs with awards for quality publications, encouraged staff to start thinking about and forming research groups, engaged over 300 staff and HDRs in our inaugural Research Week, and began to talk about ‘research’ more often in the schools and in our offices. We hosted conferences and workshops, had many more high profile international visitors than ever before and saw a deserved improvement in the quality of HDR confirmations and completions. This issue of Research News is a reminder of many of those achievements and will hopefully bring a smile of contentment to many of your faces. Research Week was a great chance for me to have more detailed discussions with staff and HDRs about what we are doing and where we should go. All of those ideas and suggestions were valuable and will help us as we move forward next year with two key goals: i. to embed research structures –

centres, groups and a Doctoral Training Centre, and

ii. to work on the capabilities and

skills of ECRs and HDRs so that we have a present and developing high quality workforce for the future.

What will make these initiatives successful will be your contribution to and participation in the training, skills development courses, seminars and workshops we will be offering, and your involvement with a research centre or group. Researching in teams has always been shown to produce the best research results for most academics. In 2012 and beyond, our research structures will be vibrant collections of people working together on research that inspires them. Then there is the challenge that will interest many of you: how do we develop a design orientation into our research? For some of you, that will come naturally as it is a basic element of your disciplines; for others, its relevance is less clear. Our challenge together is to find the potential strengths in design and business, and build on them in teams and groups where that interest is strong, innovative and sustainable. My best wishes for 2012, and a sincere thank you from all in BRO and the College for your efforts in 2011.

- Brian Corbitt

Contact us Business Research Office College of Business RMIT University Building 108 Level 11, 239 Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Tel. +61 3 9925 1408 Fax +61 3 9925 5595 Email business.research@rmit.edu.au Facebook http://tinyurl.com/2evxtf8

Prof Brian Corbitt

In this issue Vol 2 No 4 December 2011

Research Moving Forward- Brian Corbitt

Feature Article

Research Week at a Glance

Research News

Recipients of ARC Grants

Recognising Excellence

Recent Publications

Funding Opportunities

Upcoming Research Events

‘Shut up and Write’ Sessions

The Research Whisperer

Business Research Office

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Feature Article

An expert in International Marketing and Business, A/Prof Siva Muthaly (Graduate School of Business & Law) recently received the College’s Outstanding Journal Publication award for his paper "The effects of

advertising spending on brand loyalty in services" in the European Journal of Marketing (45 (4), pp.673–691), at the College’s Excellence Awards Ceremony during its inaugural Research Week. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Siva came to Australia in 1990 to commence his academic career at Monash University as a Senior Lecturer in Marketing. As a full-time academic, he pursued his PhD (part-time) in International Marketing and International Business at Monash University, Melbourne. Siva’s academic journey, however, dates back to 1983, when he went to the USA to pursue his Bachelor and Masters degrees. Inspired by his older brother, who was the first in his community to study overseas, Siva aspired to the greener educational pastures abroad. Siva finished a four-year undergraduate degree in three years (with High Honours in Business Administration) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, while working odd jobs on campus at an average of 30 hours a week. Siva undertook his Masters in Economics from Pittsburg State University in Kansas before returning to Malaysia, where he worked as a financial controller and a part-time lecturer for nearly a decade. Finding lecturing more thrilling than being a financial controller, Siva took to teaching as a full-time career. He credits his success to both his parents and his wife for all their support, enthusiasm and dedication. Siva also credits his former head of department, Dr Parmjit Singh at APIIT Malaysia for encouraging him to pursue a teaching career. Academic by nature, lecturer by profession, Siva’s commitment to his students won him "Teacher of the Year" Inaugural Postgraduate Teaching Award from Newcastle University's postgraduate student association (NUPSA) in 2000. Siva’s teaching philosophy is based on “Nishkarma Karma”, which means selfless action without any expectation of the fruits of the action. “We are in academia for the students; teaching is only the first step in working with students. As academics, our satisfaction should be seen through the successful career progression of our students.

Teaching does not end in the classroom. Opening career paths for our students by getting them to network with other graduated students are the fruits of our action.” - Siva Muthaly Focusing his work and research around international marketing and business issues, Siva has written several case studies and chapters for textbooks. He has also published papers in several journals and presented his papers at various international conferences. Siva was also invited by the Australian Government in 1995 to address the Vietnamese Co-operatives SMEs in Hanoi, Vietnam. He has also trained more than a hundred SME owners about taking a marketing perspective for their respective businesses. At present, Siva is an A/Prof with the Graduate School of Business & Law, RMIT. From 2009 to 2010, as A/Prof of Marketing at Swinburne University of Technology, Siva was active in teaching, researching and supervising doctoral candidates. Siva was head of Swinburne’s Marketing and International Studies Group at the Faculty of Business and Enterprise from 2005 to 2008. Since 1990, Siva has also held academic positions at the University of Newcastle, Monash University, Kennesaw State University and Elizabethtown College (USA), and has been an Adjunct Prof at IPMI Graduate School of Business, Indonesia. Siva has been working on articles with Australian and international authors in the areas of international marketing, higher education, loyalty among social networks, green marketing, and comparisons between CBSEM and PLS as different modelling techniques. The majority of his publications have been with his research students, and he has supervised to completion fifteen doctoral, seven Masters & five Honours students. Overview of Siva’s article, “The effects of advertising spending on brand loyalty in services": This piece was written by four authors from across three continents (Asia, Australia and USA). It took them nine months to submit the article to the European Journal of Marketing and another 18 months for the reviewing process to be completed. This international research collaboration focused on the effect of advertising spending on brand loyalty. It examined the simultaneous effects of advertising spending, store image, perceived quality, and satisfaction on brand loyalty.

[Source: A/Prof Siva Muthaly]

A/Prof Siva Muthaly

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Research Week

at a glance

[Photos Courtesy: Ainslie Goodall]

To view highlights of the Research Week, including videos of Professor Lee White and our 3M Project winners, please visit: http://www.rmit.edu.au/bus/research/week

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››Is Australia Managing?

RMIT’s Australian APEC Study Centre hosted a conference on 17 November 2011 entitled “Is Australia managing? The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis and The Outlook for Australia’s Trade and Competitiveness” at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne. The event attracted a large contingent of print and electronic media to cover the impressive range of high profile speakers, including representatives from organisations such as the Cato Institute in Washington D.C.; the RBA; The Australian; the Lowy Institute; Corrs Chambers Westgarth; the Minerals Council of Australia; Manufacturing Australia; HSBC; and the Productivity Commission. RMIT’s speakers included the Chancellor, Dr Ziggy Switkowski; the Vice-Chancellor & President, Margaret Gardner AO; Chief Operating Officer, Steve Somogyi; and the College's own Prof Sinclair Davidson. The conference culminated in an address by The Hon. Dr Craig Emerson MP, Minister for Trade.

[Source: APEC] ››Accounting Educator’s Conference 2011 Addressing key issues in accounting education, the RMIT University recently hosted the Accounting Educator’s Conference 2011, with more than 75 participants from universities and professional accounting bodies in Australia, Singapore and Vietnam. http://www.rmit.edu.au/events/edconference For all the latest research news please refer to RMIT News on: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=sraubp8a0fuo1

Research News

››Dr Ingo Karpen presented at ICDP

Dr Ingo Karpen was recently invited to present at the European International Car Distribution Program (ICDP), France, based on his recognised expertise in the field of service thinking and previous work with ICDP Australia.

Dr Karpen investigated organisational service design strategies that facilitate and enhance value co-creation with consumers in the automotive industry. He discussed key findings of his Australian-based studies with European managers. International knowledge transfer and industry links were further strengthened through a research project with another European organisation. The research involving COPLANING Sàrl led to several outcomes, fostering the idea of global knowledge sharing and industry engagement. These outcomes included a publication in the Journal of Service Research (a top ten journal in the Marketing discipline), based on COPLANING’s service practices; and a published case study on COPLANING for teaching purposes (used in the course Strategic Marketing MKTG1071). In addition, COPLANING’s service approach has now been recognised by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) after becoming the 2011 Prize Winner in the category “Adding Value to Customers”.

[Source: Dr Ingo Karpen] ››Seminars by Visiting Professor Stuart Barnes

Dr Stuart Barnes, Professor of Management at the Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, recently spoke to academics and HDR students on ‘E-Commerce in Virtual Worlds’ and ‘Social Media’ at seminars held on 2 December.

Both presentations were stimulating and insightful, and led to vibrant discussions. The first seminar discussed recent trends in virtual worlds that have become increasingly sophisticated and showed some interesting figures on revenues generated by virtual goods to the tune of a billion dollars. The seminar on social media delved into the history of social media and predicted some unnerving truths about social media networks’ fate in the future.

Dr Ingo Karpen

Prof Stuart Barnes

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››Excellence in Accounting Teaching Collaboration

RMIT University and Partners received the inaugural award for "Excellence in Accounting Teaching Collaboration" on 10 November 2011. The ongoing project underpinning the award is entitled "The RMIT Cooperative Education Programme: the integration of theory and practice in professional accounting education". Sponsored by CPA Australia, this award was a result of a collaborative effort from staff, students and employers who have participated in co-operative education in the School of Accounting since the early 1970s. Prof Garry Carnegie, the Head of School of Accounting, extended his special thanks to Brendan O'Connell, Bronwyn Jones, Paul Myers and Geoff Waters, who all worked closely together to develop the application, and to Prof Aaron Smith, Deputy PVC BUS (Industry Engagement) and Philip Coyte of the Graduate Connection, Sydney, for providing valuable input that helped shape the application. The Business/Higher Education Round Table (B-HERT) is a not-for-profit organisation that was established in 1990 to strengthen the relationship between business and higher education.

[Source: Prof Garry Carnegie] ››Researchers win AIDS Council award The Victorian AIDS Council/ Gay Men's Health Centre (VAC/ GMHC) have presented a Community Award to Ian Woodruff and Dr Nattavud Pimpa (both from the School of Management) in recognition of their research on volunteer experiences.

[Source: RMIT News]

ARC Grants - Discovery

As exemplified through these

grants, our academics exhibit great strength in

both teaching and research.

Congratulations!!!

››Peter Fairbrother & Darryn Snell For the project titled Trade union futures: purposes, capacities and organisation towards a green transition, with a total funding of $125,000 for 2012-2013. ››Bronwyn Coate (with colleagues at Deakin) For the project titled Only at the movies: mapping the contemporary Australian cinema market, with a total funding of $289,000 for 2012-2014. ››Julian Teicher (with colleagues at Monash,

and RMIT (Bernadine van Gramberg) For the project titled Efficiency, justice and voice: a study of effective ways to prevent and settle workplace disputes, with a total funding of $340,000 for 2012-2014. ››Prem Chhetri (with Colleagues at UQ) For the project titled Evaluating the effectiveness of fire safety programs in emergency services management, with a total funding of $106,000 for 2012-2014.

[Source: ARC]

Recognising Excellence

››Excellence in Reviewing for the Strategy Practice Track

Congratulations to Dr Tim O’Shannassy, for winning the award “For Excellence in Reviewing for the Strategy Practice Track” at the Strategic Management Society. The 31st Annual International Conference was held in Miami from 69 November 2011.

[Source: Marita Shelly]

From top left: Prof Peter Fairbrother, Dr Bronwyn Coate, Prof Julian Teicher & A/Prof Prem Chhetri

Dr Tim O’Shannassy

Ian Woodruff &

Dr Nattavud Pimpa

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Recent Publications (cont)

Pimpa, N 2011, Strategies for higher education reform in Thailand in Simon Marginson, Sarjit Kaur, Erlenawati Sawir (ed.) Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific, Springer, New York, USA, pp. 273-289. Sridharan, B, Deng, H and Corbitt, B 2011, An ontology-based learning resources management framework for exploratory e-learning, Asian Pacific Management Review, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 119-132.

Funding Opportunities

The following funding opportunities have internal RMIT closing dates (indicated in green) from December 2011 – February 2012. If you’re interested in any of these schemes, please contact Dr Tseen Khoo (tseen.khoo@rmit.edu.au) for assistance with the development and planning of your application. SPECIAL NOTE: If you are intending to apply for an ARC Discovery, ARC DECRA, or ARC Linkage (Round 1, 2012), and you haven’t yet submitted an Expression of Interest, please contact the BRO Office ASAP (tania.tambiah@rmit.edu.au). DECEMBER 2011 20/12/2011 Perpetual Trustees – 2012 Funding Round: The sponsor supports research aimed at Social Welfare, Health, Medical Research, Conservation and Environment, Education, and Arts and Culture. http://www.perpetual.com.au/philanthropy-funding-opportunities.aspx JANUARY 2012 04/01/2012 Weatherhead Center for International Affairs – Program on U.S. - Japan Relations Advanced Research Fellowships: The sponsor provides postdoctoral fellowships each year by the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations for the study of issues in U.S.-Japan relations, Japans relations with other countries, and domestic issues that bear on Japans international behaviour. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=puw1xpz652wi 16/01/2012 Ian Potter Foundation – Healthy Communities Grants: The purpose of the Healthy Communities Program is to improve the quality of life for those in our community living with disability or illness, and to support programs which focus on the prevention of diseases, as well as programs which recognise the health implications of changes in our climate. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=ny9ys5btzx2c

››RMIT Prof receives visiting professorship by SIFT

Prof Shams Rahman, School of Business IT and Logistics, received a visiting professorship, or “Si-Yuan Scholar”, from the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade (SIFT), Shanghai. The award was presented by Prof Dr Xia Siyun, Vice-President of SIFT. “This is the first time that SIFT has given such an award and it is a great honour and pleasure to be the recipient,” Prof Rahman said. “RMIT and SIFT have been delivering joint programs for a number of years and my appointment as a Si-Yuan Scholar will further strengthen this partnership.”

Following the award ceremony, Prof Rahman gave a seminar titled “From Production Management to Supply Chain Management”. This was attended by academics and students from SIFT.

[Source: Prof Shams Rahman] ››Best Doctoral Candidate 2011 Dr Minh Phuong Doan from the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, received the 2011 University Research Award for the College. Her thesis entitled, The Roles of Systematic Skewness and Systematic Kurtosis in Asset Pricing, was judged the best Business Doctoral Thesis for 2010/2011. Dr Doan also received the College’s Best HDR Graduate Award at the College’s Excellence Awards Ceremony during its inaugural Research Week.

Recent Publications

Alexander, J A, Assaf, G and Karpen, I O, Consumer Ethnocentrism and Willingness to Buy: Analyzing the Role of Three Demographic Consumer Characteristics, International Marketing Review, forthcoming. Karpen, I O, Bove, L L and Bryan, A L, Linking Service-Dominant Logic and Strategic Business Practice: A Conceptual Model of a Service-Dominant Orientation, Journal of Service Research, forthcoming.

Prof Shams Rahman, receives his award from Prof Dr Xia Siyun, Vice President of SIFT

Dr Minh Phuong

Doan

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Upcoming Research Events

28/11/2011- 25/12/2011 Prof Rob Gray, of the University of St Andrews is visiting the School of Accounting as a Distinguished Research Fellow from 28 November until Christmas. Prof Gray is a world renowned expert in the area of social and environmental accounting. Among many accolades, he was awarded an MBE in 2009. For more information on Prof Gray’s visit, please contact Marita Shelly at marita.shelly@rmit.edu.au; to learn more about Prof Gray, see: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/management/aboutus/people/academic/robgray/

19/01/2012 – 17/05/2012 Postgraduate information sessions to be held between the above timeline. For more information, please visit: http://www.rmit.edu.au/bus/events

[Source: RMIT Research Events]

‘Shut Up and Write’ sessions

Do you need a collegial and productive boost for your research writing? If you can set aside one regular hour a week, a ‘shut up and write’ session might be just what you need. What is ‘shut up and write’? It’s a regular get-together at a café (or similar) where you prioritise writing over everything else (e.g. no checking email, no taking phone calls, no admin). Participants at the RMIT sessions come from all over the university, and include academics, professional staff, and PhD students. What do you have to do? 1. Turn up. Anecdotally, those who have attended

a few sessions have been enthusiastic about the format, and found their research writing stimulated and accelerated by them.

2. Have something you want to write. After brief

greetings, everyone settles in to write intensively for two 25mns sessions (with a 10mns break in between). People work on different types of writing: articles, grants, blog posts, theses.

18/01/2012 Google Research – Faculty Research Awards: The sponsor provides funding to facilitate more interaction between Google and academia and also nurture stronger relations and partnerships with universities. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=6woux8bqj1c3z 19/01/2012 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Australia-Thailand Institute Grant Program: The sponsor provides financial support to selected projects which aim to build community links between Australia and Thailand. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=v3jmtbn2yybp1 23/01/2012 Real Estate Research Institute – Visiting International Fellowships: Up to $20,000 is provided for research projects on real estate investment performance and market fundamentals that will elevate the quality of real estate investment decision making. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=2158c2p9n70k1 23/01/2012 ANU Centre for European Studies – Call for Visiting Fellowships: The ANU Centre for European Studies Centre (ANUCES) is a joint initiative of the ANU and the European Union. It underscores the university-wide commitment to European studies. Located at the heart of diplomatic and political life in Canberra, ANUCES now involves the ANU Colleges of Arts and Social Sciences, Law, Business and Economics, and Asia and the Pacific. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=fn9unr9m4eb51 27/01/2012 Spencer Foundation – Areas of Inquiry Small Grant Proposals (Round 4): The Spencer Foundation provides funding for research projects that study education in the United States and abroad. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=ugtodwk9ky011 FEBRUARY 16/02/2012 IBM Center for The Business of Government – Research Stipends (Round 2): The aim of the IBM Center is to tap into the best minds in academe and the non-profit sector who can use rigorous public management research and analysis to produce reports with practical advice and insight for public sector executives and managers to improve the effectiveness of government. http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=a7var4s3la09 More funding opportunities are listed at Research Alert: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse/Staff/Research/Funding/Research%20Alert/

[Source: Tseen Khoo]

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support to researchers, and also practical advice about applying for grants and building academic research profiles. The blog has already featured on the UK’s Guardian Higher Education listing of 10 Australian social media influencers in higher education. Tseen and Jonathan welcome guest posts from academics and professional staff. If you have something relevant you’d like to share, or a topic you’d like to see addressed, please contact Tseen (tseen.khoo@rmit.edu.au). http://theresearchwhisperer.wordpress.com

[Source: Tseen Khoo]

Business Research Office (BRO)

Prof Brian Corbitt Deputy PVC Business (Research)

Tania Tambiah Senior Manager, Research Development

Kalpana Lalji Resource Coordinator

Sandra Hart Research Coordinator

Prue Lamont Administrative Officer –Research

Allison Tatchell Ethics Coordinator

Aastha Swaroop Administrative Officer – Research

Dr Tseen Khoo (R&I) Senior Advisor, Research Grant Development

For detailed information on research funding and support see www.rmit.edu.au/bus/research

There are now several ‘shut up and write’ groups established at RMIT, including: 1. MONDAYS – 9.00-10.00am, Emily McPherson

Building café (Bldg 13, cnr Franklin + Russell) 2. FRIDAYS – 9.30-10.30am, Pearson & Murphy’s

Café (Building 1, La Trobe) Several College of Business academics have already found the ‘shut up and write’ format constructive. Jason Downs comments: “Sometimes, you need time away from the office to get a clear run at some meaningful writing. I find that gathering around with a group of like-minded souls who are all there to get some serious writing done somehow focuses the mind, and I'm able to be extraordinarily productive during these sessions. Of course, the long blacks help.” Similarly, Warren Staples says: “I found the sessions useful for prioritising time for my own scholarship, and was surprised how deeply I was able to concentrate in such a 'busy' environment.” If you’d be interested in joining a Bourke St ‘shut up and write’ group, please contact Tseen Khoo (tseen.khoo@rmit.edu.au); there have been preliminary discussions about meeting up at Hairy Little Sister (behind Building 108). Also, you can find more detail about the ‘shut up and write’ sessions HERE, including how to set up your own.

[Source: Tseen Khoo]

The Research Whisperer

A blog about the hunt for research funding, building academic track-records, and research cultures Ever wanted a strategic guide to building your research track-record and applying for funding? Wondered how to find more time for your research? Needed the low-down on why you should organise a conference or how journal editors may judge your papers? This blog might be for you! Dr Tseen Khoo (BUS) and Mr Jonathan O’Donnell (DSC), both Senior Advisors in Research Development, started up the Research Whisperer blog in March 2011. They use the blog to explore the ins and outs of doing research in academia, offering