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Research News

August 2019

Welcome to our third research newsletter for 2019! As you will see, there continues to be much creative activity in the research space. Our researchers continue to score hits in high-ranking journals, and our Research Clusters continue to build a culture of collaboration and research excellence. In this edition, I am delighted to report that:

Dr Kay Dimmock is one of a team of SCU researchers to receive funding from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research. The team (led by Professor Kirsten Benkendorf from the SCU Marine Ecology Research Centre) received notice that their project, Understanding the interaction of ocean acidification and marine tourism for sustainable management of coral reefs, has been funded USD 77,000 over two years.

Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Italy have obtained Erasmus funding to send Professor Yvonne Brunetto to Venice in September 2020 for two weeks to build on previous police management research, examining new positive ways of managing police officers to ensure higher wellbeing.

Dr Ali Reza Alaei from the IT Research Cluster and Dr Sebastian Binnewies from Griffith University secured funding from Study Gold Coast to examine, among other things, how the public perceives studying on the Gold Coast.

So, please take a moment to look at the achievements of our researchers. Kind regards Michael Kortt Associate Professor | Director of Research School of Business and Tourism 26 August 2019

Director of Research Report

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The journal rankings below comply with the current ABDC journal quality ranking. However, please let us know if you publish in a Q1 or Q2 ranked journal listed on Scimago (http://www.scimagojr.com/).

A*, A & Q1 Ranked Journals Bernardelli LV, Kortt MA, Dollery B (2019). Economies of scale and Brazilian local government expenditure: Evidence from the state of Paraná. Local Government Studies, In press. Gstattner AM, Lee D, Weiler B, Rodger K (2019). Visitor safety in recreational protected areas: Exploring responsibility-sharing from a management perspective. Tourism Management, 75: 370-380. Queiroz Neto A, Dimmock K, Lohmann G, Scott N (2019). Destination competitiveness: How does travel experience influence choice? Current Issues in Tourism, In press. Trischler J, Charles MB (2019). The application of a service systems lens to public management: Exploring the frontiers. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 38(1): 19–35.

B & Q2 Ranked Journals Bernardelli LV, Pereira C, Kortt MA (2019). The economic and social determinants of participation in physical activity in Brazil. International Review of Applied Economics, In press. Brunetto Y, Dick T, Xerri M, Cully A (2019). Building capacity in the healthcare sector: A strengths-based approach for increasing employees’ well-being and organisational resilience. Journal of Management & Organisation, In press. Gregory S, Dimmock K (2019). Alive and kicking: The benefits of scuba diving leisure for older Australian women. Annals of Leisure Research, In press. Trinchero E, Farr-Wharton B, Brunetto Y (2019). Workplace relationships, psychological capital, accreditation and safety culture: A new framework of analysis within healthcare organizations. Public Organization Review, 19 (1) 139–152. Westermann S, Niblock S, Kortt MA (2019). Does it pay to be responsible? Evidence on corporate social responsibility and the investment performance of Australian REITs. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, In press.

Public Money & Management (PMM) Call for Papers The journal Public Money & Management (PMM) has announced a ‘Call for Papers’ on the theme of Managing Emotional Labour in the Public Sector. The special editors are Professor Yvonne Brunetto and Associate Professor Adina Dudau. Papers are due in March 2020. Please email Professor Brunetto (yvonne.brunetto@scu.edu.au) if you wish to submit a paper.

SCU journal article among one of the top downloaded papers published in Economic Papers. Congratulations to PhD candidate Steffen Westermann, Dr Scott Niblock and Associate Professor Michael Kortt. Their journal article, A Review of Corporate Social Responsibility and Real Estate Investment Trust Studies: An Australian Perspective, published in Economic Papers, is one of the journal’s top downloaded papers in the 12 months following online publication. The work generated immediate impact and visibility and contributed significantly to the advancement of the field. Well done! To read the article, click here.

Research Hits

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Cambridge textbook: Communication Skills for Business Professionals Entirely out of the blue, the Commissioning Editor for Management titles for Cambridge University Press contacted Dr Mieke Witsel in September 2017. They requested that Mieke collaborate on a new edition of an existing textbook, seeking to increase student engagement and motivation along with linking theory to practice, and significantly updating content to reflect current practices in business communication. Initially, Mieke thought it was a ‘spam email’, but after a phone call with Lucy Russell from Cambridge, confirmed they were genuine. Lucy had been following Mieke’s research and had accessed her articles and conference papers through Bepress, and had seen her presentations on ‘The Happiness Project’ on YouTube. Less than two years later, the new textbook is ready. Mieke’s three new chapters reflect her primary research and expertise in business communication; notably: intercultural communication, writing strategies for the business professional, and communicating in a web-based world. Communication Skills for Business Professionals, 2nd Edition, is a student-friendly introduction to effective communication in the workplace. Engagingly written, the text

covers foundational topics such as audience, influence, channels, conflict and persuasion, before investigating more complex areas such as intercultural communication, virtual communication, researching in the era of ‘fake news’ and strategies for successful written communication. Taking a broad and current approach to concepts of communication and workplaces, Communication Skills for Business Professionals, 2nd Edition, explores situations from virtual meetings between indie creatives, to speeches given by politicians, while still covering more traditional forms of professional communication, such as pitching to boards and writing memos. New pedagogical features include interactive questions and answers, skill builder class activities, margin definitions and links to online content make this book indispensable for communication teachers and students.

Study Gold Coast Grant

Congratulations to Dr Ali Reza Alaei from the IT Research Cluster, and lead collaborator Dr Sebastian Binnewies from Griffith University, on a successful funding proposal to Study Gold Coast (SGC). Project Title: A social media listener to measure and enhance the reputation of Gold Coast Education and Training. Project Aim: By applying data mining techniques on social media data, the project aims to discover: - How does the public perceive studying on the Gold Coast? - What topics drive their discussions related to studying on the Gold Coast? - Who are the main influencers on social media related to studying on the Gold Coast? The insights from this project will support SGC in delivering more targeted strategies to attract students and enhancing the reputation of studying on the Gold Coast. Based on SGC’s business plan, marketing campaigns are a significant expenditure. Thus, the measurement of their success is crucial. This innovative project will provide SGC with a competitive way to measure campaign success at low cost with near real-time information. Dr Ali Reza Alaei will be providing in-kind support towards this project.

Research Income

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Marine tourism case studies to form part of Asia-Pacific Network research Dr Kay Dimmock is one of a team of SCU researchers to receive funding from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research. The team (led by Professor Kirsten Benkendorf from the SCU Marine Ecology Research Centre) received notice that their project, Understanding the interaction of ocean acidification and marine tourism for sustainable management of coral reefs, has been funded USD 77,000 over two years. Partners located across four countries in the Asia-Pacific will be involved. Project Overview Scuba dive tourism is an essential source of income for South-East Asia, but it depends on effective management of pristine coral reef environments. The combined effects of ocean acidification and marine tourism place intense pressure on sensitive coral reefs and threaten their ecological and economic sustainability. This project aims to assess the interactions between marine tourism and ocean acidification for sustainable management of coral reefs in South-East Asia and Australia. The study will assess the vulnerability and long-term implications for marine tourism on a broad regional scale, as well as the increased short-term risk of damage to fragile coral from scuba dive tourism, on a local scale. Study aims include: 1) Undertaking a meta-analysis from available literature on the impacts of acidification on coral hardness and reef structure. 2) Convening a transdisciplinary workshop with experts from four ASEAN countries to share knowledge and brainstorm the implications of acidification for marine tourism. 3) Identifying specific gaps in knowledge on the impacts of acidification and scuba dive tourism on key reef-building coral species and design experiments that can be applied in future studies to build a comparative database within and between countries. 4) Undertaking a risk assessment using case studies from each country to highlight medium and long-term vulnerabilities for regions dependent on the marine tourism industry and facilitate adaptive management.

The team are pleased with the opportunity to work with international colleagues in this international, cross-disciplinary project.

Tourism Research Cluster seed projects secure additional external funding As previously reported, the 2018 Tourism Research Cluster seed grant project into Byron Shire residents’ perceptions of Airbnb has been completed. However, the team of SBaT researchers studying the impacts of Airbnb is at it again! This year they have received the following additional external funding: 1. Che D, von der Heidt T, Caldicott R and Muschter S (2019). Airbnb in the Byron Shire – An investigation into the nature and range of

impacts of Airbnb on approved accommodation providers (AAPs). $6,000 (SBaT Tourism Cluster Seed Funding) plus $6,000 from Byron Shire Council.

The $6,000 allocated to this project, together with $6,000 in additional funding from the Byron Shire Council, will fund interviews and a survey into AAPs’ attitudes towards the impact of Airbnb on their businesses. One key outcome of the study will be to inform the Shire’s planning proposal regarding short-term holiday letting (STHL) caps. 2. Von der Heidt T, Che D, Muschter S and Caldicott R (2019). A comparative study of resident perceptions of short-term holiday lettings

(STHL) and regulatory responses in North Coast NSW council areas. $4,000 (SBaT Tourism Cluster Seed Funding) plus $14,400 in additional funding Destination North Coast (DNC).

In addition to the $4,000 seed funding, the research team is pleased to have received $14,400 in additional funding from Destination North Coast. With these funds, the research team will undertake surveys of residents in 12 DNC local government areas. The study will provide comparable data sets to understand why different regions in NSW might need different planning responses or interventions for STHL.

Research Income

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Tourism visitation in Ballina Shire The recent completion of a research project by SBaT researchers has provided an understanding of tourism visitation in Ballina Shire Council. The four-stage research project was funded by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and conducted by Dr Kay Dimmock, Professor Betty Weiler, Dr Kirin Apps, and Dr Joanne Mackellar (Destination NSW). With the aim of understanding visitor behaviour in Ballina regarding water-based activities and use, stage one of the study drew on social-economic data on visitor spending in the Ballina Shire Council. The study was conducted over the summer of 2018/19, and the data provided valuable insights for the team to share with project stakeholders, including the DPI, Ballina Shire Council, and NSW Surf Life Saving. The principal findings include:

Domestic overnight visitors contribute most to the economy (80% or $225 million), spending an average of $212 per day in Ballina Shire.

Domestic day visitors contribute a further $45 million, spending an average of $96 per day in the Ballina Shire.

International visitors make up only 2% of visitations and contribute 3% to the local economy.

Over the last three years, there was an average increase in day visitors of 48% to 671,000 per year. Analysis of the data shows the overall increase in total expenditure to $311 million is sustained by the rise in numbers of day visitors. Team members (Professor Weiler and Dr Mackellar) have presented key findings to stakeholder representatives, and the final project report (including recommendations) is being prepared for the DPI. In bringing the multi-staged research to a close, the research team were upbeat about the project, including being able to collaborate with key stakeholder groups.

SCU Hospitality and Tourism Management academic subjects ranked 34th in the world In June 2019 ShanghaiRanking Consultancy ranked Southern Cross University’s academic subjects of Hospitality and Tourism Management as 34th in the world. ShanghaiRanking began to publish Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) by academic subjects since 2009. The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2019 contains rankings of universities in 54 subjects across Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences. In total, more than 4,000 universities were ranked. To be included in a subject ranking, the universities need to have a minimum number of research publications between 2013 and 2017. Bibliometric data are collected from the Web of Science and InCites. Web of Science categories is mapped to 54 academic subjects. This is a fantastic recognition of the strength of research being conducted in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Southern Cross University.

Engagement and Impact

Research Project Update

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Professor Yvonne Brunetto Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Italy have obtained Erasmus funding to send Professor Yvonne Brunetto to Venice in September 2020 for two weeks to build on previous police management research, examining new positive ways of managing police officers to ensure higher wellbeing. The University of Glasgow, Scotland has also invited Professor Brunetto to deliver wellbeing workshops that build psychological capital for their PhD candidates and staff in 2020. Professor Brunetto will most likely deliver the workshops straight after the IRSPM conference in April 2020. Congratulations Yvonne!

Associate Professor Michael Kortt delivers a seminar at the University of New England, Armidale In June, Associate Professor Michael Kortt delivered a seminar as part of the 2019 UNE Business School Seminar Series. The title of his talk was “Economies of Scale and Brazilian Local Government Expenditure: Evidence from the State of Paraná.” The seminar, which was well attended and generated considerable discussion, can be viewed at: https://echo360.org.au/media/20ef3b8b-c86c-4598-ab8a-315a4844d939/public The results presented at this seminar were recently published in the journal, Local Government Studies, with co-authors Luan Bernardelli and Professor Brian Dollery.

Above (from left to right): Professor Brian Dollery (UNE), Dr L. Emilio

Morales (UNE), PhD candidate Andrew Wright (UNE), and Associate

Professor Michael Kortt. Left: Associate Professor Michael Kortt.

Engagement and Impact

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PhD Candidate Jacqueline Leigh to graduate in September Congratulations to Jacqueline Leigh whose PhD thesis was approved in late July. The title of Jacqui’s thesis was “Exploring the leadership styles of event managers and variation in their attitudes towards volunteer training.” Her PhD was supervised by Dr Grant Cairncross and Dr Matthew Lamont. Jacqui’s research was one of the first empirical studies to examine leadership styles in the context of event managers and how leadership style influences the training that event volunteers receive. Given that many events are highly reliant upon volunteer workforces, Jacqui’s research is likely to have important implications for understanding interactions between event managers and the volunteers they lead. Jacqui will graduate with her PhD in September, and her focus now shifts to publishing the outcomes of her research. Jacqui is also an SBaT tourism undergraduate and honours graduate.

Steffen Westermann attends the annual Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) doctoral symposium and conference

PhD candidate, Steffen Westermann, attended the 2019 AFAANZ Doctoral Symposium and Conference in Brisbane to present his research. The symposium and conference were held in early July. AFAANZ organises the doctoral symposium to enrich the experience of doctoral candidates, and provide them with opportunities to network as well as present their research and receive constructive feedback from other participants and faculty. Each year, 40 PhD candidates from a cross-section of universities are selected and split into five disciplinary groups. Steffen found himself in Group 5, an interdisciplinary group with topics ranging from accounting education and corporate social responsibility to financial wellbeing. The benefit of having such a broad range of research topics allowed for some great discussions and valuable feedback from the group members and participating faculty. Steffen was one of five doctoral symposium participants to receive a symposium assistance grant from AFAANZ. Steffen said he is grateful for being given the opportunity to take part in this great event and thanks AFAANZ for this experience, the plenary speakers for sharing their passion for research, and the Group 5 members, Professor Jac Birt (UWA) and Professor Ellie Chapple (QUT) for their much-appreciated feedback on his research.

During the AFAANZ conference, Steffen had the chance to listen to fascinating presentations and also presented the following conference paper to an engaged audience: Westermann S, Niblock S, Harrison J, Kortt MA (2019). Barriers to financial advice seeking and wellbeing: A review. Overall, the takeaways from both events have helped Steffen to clarify further and develop his PhD research. Above: Professor Ellie Chapple (QUT), Steffen Westermann and Professor Jac Birt (UWA). Both Ellie and Jac were the faculty present in the interdisciplinary group during the symposium. Left: Steffen Westermann and Dr Scott Niblock attending the AFAANZ conference dinner.

PhD Candidates

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Share your research success with us

Do you have a news item to share with the School of Business and Tourism and the wider community? If so, we would love to hear and promote your research achievements within the School. Please email your research achievements to tanya.stewart@scu.edu.au