Research newsletter

Editorial

The last six months have been a busy time for the Department of Marketing. While the work on several ARC and CRC grants is ongoing (see http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/research/arcprojects.php#mkt1) and three new applications were submitted, there were the ANZMAC conference in Brisbane (December), the Monash Marketing Awards for Excellence night (guest speaker Clive Hamilton) and the Department research day in February. At the research day, Wagner Kamakura and Carla Taines gave very helpful presentations relating to research output. Prof. Wagner Kamakura, from Duke University in the US, was visiting us for the second time. Our other visitor was Prof Geoff Crouch from nearby La Trobe University. Geoff was spending part of his sabbatical at Monash. He has long established links with us as he was among the first, if not the first Monash PhD graduate in marketing.

Of course the Department has also been occupied by preparations for the RQF. At this moment, the Department, and university at large, are still digesting the results of the Mock RQF (held in 2006) and is preparing the submission for the first real RQF (due in 2008 and based on research outputs produced over the period 2001-2006), Staff should however already be looking further beyond. Given the long time lines of academic research projects it will be important to start preparing early for this second, and perhaps most crucial RQF round. This second round will capture research undertaken in the period between 2007 and 2012 (assuming the rule of the game will not change). The RQF will have a major impact on how all universities operate and their perceptions in the public eye. The key is quality research – an objective that aligns with the Department’s goal to undertake research that is relevant and has an impact within our business communities and society in general.

This newsletter also affords the opportunity to showcase the achievements of many staff members who have been actively involved in publishing, presenting, or submitting work. Congratulations to both Francis Farrelly and Samir Gupta for their recent awards. On a different note, the Department welcomes Jeff Rogut (Executive Director, Australian Centre for Retail Studies) and Dayna Simpson (Lecturer) and our new PhD students: Katy Lefroy and Wei Jiang.

In March this year ACRS released two new reports; ‘Shopfloor to Boardroom Final Report’ and ‘2006 Australian Retail Snapshot Report’. The first report is based on the results of a three year project examining recruitment, staff turnover and progression within the retail industry. The second is an annual report designed to provide readers with a snapshot of what has happened in the retail industry over the preceding year.

Looking to the future, the Department will be hosting ANZMAC in 2009. This seems a long way off but preparations will start early to make the most of this event. The 2007 conference will be hosted by Otago and the 2008 by the University of Western Sydney; for both events the Department of Marketing will be the premier sponsor (as it was for the last one organised by QUT in Brisbane).