Business research @ Gustavson
Dr. Aegean Leung
Producing outstanding business research
One of the key strengths of the Gustavson School of Business is the research ability of faculty members. This capability demonstrates itself in research that not only informs the practices of business and management, but also creates a better learning environment for our students and stakeholders. For a listing of our researchers, visit our faculty directory page.
Focusing on research
Dr. Wade Danis, Associate Professor of International Business, received the Gustavson 2012 Research Scholar of the Year Award in recognition of his commitment to his research and for his efforts as champion of the faculty's research agenda.
"Gustavson scholars play a critical role in improving society's understanding of some of today'smost challenging business issues. Their work paves the ways for newideas, introduces new management practices and increases our understanding ofthe complexities of working and living in a global society. As "research champion"my role is to support this journey of discovery."
Winning researchers
Dr. Angela Downey
Dr. Angela Downey and seven of her colleagues have been recognized for their research into ways to disseminate nursing best practices. Their research, entitled "The Role of Nursing Best Practice Champions in Diffusing Practice Guidelines: A Mixed Methods Study," has been selected as the 2011 International Award recipient of the Best of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing.
Dr. Monika Winn
Dr. Ana Maria Peredo
Dr. A.R. Elangovan
Dr. Rebecca Grant
Pipeline Palooza
On March 19, 2013, researchers and doctoral students from the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business congregated in the second annual “Pipeline Palooza”, a unique research conference on campus.
Unlike traditional research conferences with a focus largely on full papers in the latter half of the research pipeline, “Pipeline Palooza” was created in 2012 to celebrate and support research at all stages of the research process – from initial idea to post-publication impact.
The day-long 2013 conference focused on four main areas: research resources available on campus, formal presentations on developed papers by Gustavson faculty, small group discussions on papers in development, and large group strategic discussions on enhancing the research culture at the Gustavson School of Business.
Gustavson Research Champion Dr. Wade Danis commented “Pipeline Palooza has been such a great opportunity for scholars to share ideas and strategies and to identify potential joint research projects. Several spinoff initiatives have resulted including an entrepreneurship research incubator group and new research teams. In addition, some faculty members have taken a more active role in mentoring PhD students and other faculty in specific areas.”
Research
in action
Dr. Ken Thornicroft: The severance gap
Recent Gustavson research shows that outgoing female executives get fewer severance dollars than men, especially when women negotiate their "handshakes" themselves. Dr. Ken Thornicroft, professor of business law and employment relations at Gustavson, came to this conclusion after analyzing 11 years of provincial and territorial appeal-court decisions on severance payouts, as well as a student negotiation exercise. The outcomes of the court cases clearly showed that gender was a significant factor in the size of senior executives' severance payouts. Read the full story on page 17 of the fall/winter 2012 issue of Business Class Magazine and for more information on Dr. Thornicroft's research contact him at kthornic@uvic.ca.
Dr. Richard Wolfe: The Moneyball effect
Thanks to Hollywood, the Moneyball story is now well known outside the sphere of professional baseball. Strip away the drama, however, and you have an intriguing look at organizational innovation—using statistical analysis to determine the true value of your human resources. Innovation, or the lack thereof, is a fascination of Dr. Richard Wolfe, Gustavson professor of business strategy. He studies why some firms resist change when it’s plainly in their interest to do things differently. Read the full article on page 15 of the spring/summer issue of Business Class Magazine or email Dr. Wolfe for more information about his research.
Dr. Aegean Leung: Can entrepreneurs have it all?
Leung will look at a mix of 30 to 50 men and women with differing life roles running high-growth and low-growth businesses to determine how the desire for work/life balance motivates people in different groups to become entrepreneurs. Firms are considered "high-growth" if they have had 20 per cent or higher year-on-year growth in the last three consecutive years. The other big question she is examining is whether running a high-growth business while maintaining work/life balance is really an impossible dream.
"Some say if you want work/life balance, you can't have rapid growth. I'm looking at whether there are ways that people can have both, and if so, how they do it."
For more information on Dr. Leung's research, contact her at leunga@uvic.ca.
Dr. Monika Winn: Reputation management, a vehicle for innovation
Dr. Monika Winn's research, conducted with Charlene Zietsma and Patricia MacDonald, examines the processes companies in two B.C. industries, forestry and salmon farming, have gone through when determining how to manage their reputations over the past few decades.
Their research found that both industries went through three phases of reputation management. The forestry industry came under attack in the early '80s from environmentalists and other groups. The companies banded together at first, forming the Forest Alliance to manage their collective reputation. Eventually, the leading firm broke away from the group.
"They moved from managing how they were perceived by their stakeholders to thinking about how they could change their own practices," says Winn.
The final phase occurred when the industry itself changed, and the companies and their critics began to collaborate to form new standard practices.
"It's clear that when criticism is not just superficial and short-lived, reputation management cannot be outsourced. Companies have to develop the capability for reputation management internally," says Winn.
The trio also looked at the salmon farming indusry.
For more information on Dr. Winn's research, contact her at miwinn@uvic.ca.
Faces of
Gustavson research
Dr. Mary Yoko Brannen is a professor of International Business and the Jarislowsky East Asia Chair for the Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives at the University of Victoria. In this video, she discusses her work as an organizational ethnographer, studying organizational cultures as an anthropologist would study faraway cultures. She speaks to the importance of bringing culture to the forefront in organizations and how her work aims to do this by emphasizing the importance of culture to managers and students alike.
Dr. Ana Maria Peredo discusses the grassroots level models that communities are using with their local and cultural resources to create businesses and alleviate poverty. She also explains the wider benefits of these grassroots level models, which can be applied to all communities who wish to balance their economic, social and cultural values.
Dr. Monika Winn studies business strategy and sustainability and is the Director of the Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation. In this video she talks about ways in which business can be made more sustainable.
Dr. Angela Downey's research focus is prevention in health in corporate wellness programs, and the health care system. She discusses workplace health policies making healthy food less expensive than unhealthy foods, and the money saved in the prevention of pressure ulcers or bedsores in hospitals.
Dr. A. R. "Elango" Elangovan explains his four main areas of research, and discusses his research on the importance people attach to jobs, careers, and callings. Through his research he is working to isolate the principals that people use to create a meaningful and fulfilling work lives, so that all individuals will be able to apply those principles to their own work lives.
Through her research, Dr. Yan Shen focuses on individuals' careers across cultures, mentoring, and individuals living and working in foreign countries. She also explains her international research, particularly into China and careers across non-Western cultures.
Dr. Brock Smith is a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Victoria. He describes his research into the habits and techniques of successful entrepreneurs. He explains the importance of this research to Canada particularly, and explains that entrepreneurship is a learnable and teachable skill.
Research
productivity
Gustavson Marketing Researchers Score No. 1 Ranking
UVic Gustavson School of Business scholars can add another mark of excellence to their research record. In June 2012, a bibliometric study released from the Canadian research group Higher Education Strategy Associates ranked Gustavson #1 for research productivity in the field of marketing. The Higher Education Strategy Associates measures the number of publications produced by a researcher against the number of times the papers are cited in other scholarly journals. For the report results see: http://higheredstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2012-Bibliometrics-and-Publication-Culture-HESA.pdf
Gustavson faculty members researching in the field of marketing include: Drs. David Boag (marketing strategy), Mark Colgate (service excellence), Saul Klein (global business and international marketing), Linda Shi (global account management), Brock Smith (new venture marketing, marketing strategy, and relationship marketing), and Steve Tax (service failure and recovery, service design, customer performance and service networks).
Gustavson Produces Report on Research Productivity
Gustavson School of Business undertook an initiative to compile a report on research productivity of EQUIS and/or AACSB accredited business schools in Canada for the 5-year period 2005 to 2009. Research output was based on top journals found on the Financial Times journal ranking list (FT 40/45). Results were compared across Canadian business schools. Gustavson was ranked #7 in Canada among 25 EQUIS/AACSB accredited schools in terms of publications per faculty FTEs for the 5-year period. This report was presented to the Canadian Federation of Business School Deans (CFBSD). To view the report, visit http://www.cfbsd.ca/ or download the PDF here.
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