Aotearoa Business and Economics Research Translation Competition 2025
| Date: | Friday 17 Oct, 9am - 8pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | AUT City Campus WG Building, WG308 Auckland New Zealand |
| Contact: | belresearch@aut.ac.nz |
AUT's Faculty of Business, Economics and Law is pleased to coordinate the Aotearoa Business and Economics Research Translation Competition on behalf of the Associate Deans Research of Aotearoa New Zealand Business Schools. The competition aims to promote the relevance and impact of business and economics research to external stakeholders. Its purpose is to enhance our skills and confidence in communicating our research to wider, non-specialist audiences.
In this context, “Translation” means re-writing a paper based on your journal article that has been published over the last three years. Researchers from eight New Zealand business schools are invited to submit a short paper (750 words) intended for a non-academic audience.
Awards celebration
The winners of the competition will be announced at the awards celebration on Friday 17 October 2025 at Auckland University of Technology.
The exact time of the ceremony will be confirmed at a later stage.
Submitting a paper for the Aotearoa Business and Economics Research Translation Competition
Eligibility criteria
The competition is open to research active academic staff currently employed in any of the eight business schools in New Zealand with a minimum appointment of 0.2 FTE. This includes Professional Teaching Fellows.
Submission and assessment criteria
Register and submit your translated paper (750 words max.) aimed at a non-academic audience by no later than 5pm on 31 July 2025. The Preparation Guide below may be of help. The indicative maximum of 750 words includes text in tables, graphs, images, etc. Please remove any details of your translated paper that could reveal your identity as only anonymised entries will be presented to the judging panel.
Your selected journal article must have been published on or after 1 January 2022 and not yet have had extensive media exposure. If your journal article has more than one author, then please make sure that your co-author(s) is/are aware that you are entering the Competition.
A judging panel comprising business people and policymakers will review the submissions, focusing primarily on the entries’ appeal and usefulness to external stakeholders.
Entry papers submitted to the competition will be assessed based on the following criteria:
1. The likely interest and value of the findings to the business/policy community: 60%
- Does it address a significant issue? (20%)
- How easily can a non-specialist understand the research? (20%)
- How easily can the research be applied to add value to a business or policymaker community? (20%)
2. Quality of the non-academic writing (40%)
Preparation guide
The following questions that might assist you in writing your brief paper are taken from the Harvard Business Review Guidelines for Contributors.
- What is the central message of your article (the "aha")? What is important, useful, new, or counterintuitive about your idea? Why do practitioners need to know about it?
- How can your idea be applied in business today (the "so what")?
- For which kinds of companies/organisations would it work especially well? Why?
- What research have you conducted to support the argument in your article?
- On what previous work (either of your own or of others) does this idea build?
Categories
- Senior/Established Researcher
- Māori and Pacific researcher
- Early Career Researcher (PhD earned no longer than eight years ago)
Prizes
In each category the winner award is $1,000 and the runner-up award is $500.
Submissions closing date
Register and submit your translated paper by Tuesday 31 July 2025 at 5pm.
Submit your translated paper in PDF file
Email belresearch@aut.ac.nz
Background of the competition
Four Aotearoa business schools have led research translation competitions so far:
- 2014 to 2018: Massey University Business School has annually run research translation competition internally
- 2019: The University of Auckland Business School ran a Business Research Translation Competition in the wider Tāmaki Makarau/Auckland region with the participation of the AUT Business School, Massey Business School, University of Auckland Business School and Waikato Management School
- 2020/2021: The University of Auckland Business School invited business and economics researchers from all eight business schools in the country to co-sponsor and participate in the first New Zealand Business Research Translation Competition: AUT Business School, Lincoln University Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Massey University Business School, Otago Business School, University of Canterbury Business School, University of Auckland Business School, Waikato Management School, and Wellington School of Business and Government
- 2022: AUT - Auckland University of Technology led the New Zealand Business Research Translation Competition
- 2023: The competition, renamed to the ‘Aotearoa Business and Economics Research Translation Competition’, is led by the University of Auckland Business School
- 2024: The Aotearoa Business and Economics Research Translation Competition 2024 is led by the University of Canterbury Business School. This is the first time that the competition is led by a university in the southland of New Zealand
Previous winners
Early career researcher:
Winner: Dr Kseniia Zahrai (Business School, University of Canterbury)
Either You Control Social Media or Social Media Controls You
Runner-up: Dr Nadeera Ranabahu (Business School, University of Canterbury)
A Catch-22? Financial Technology, Poverty, and Entrepreneurship
Māori/Pacific researcher:
Winner: Maulupeivao Dr Betty Ofe-Grant (Business School, AUT)
Inclusive HR Career Development Strategies for Samoans and Pacific Peoples Working in New Zealand
Runner up: Professor Jarrod Haar (Business School, Massey University)
All of One – One for All? Cultural Diversity Initiatives Benefit All Employees
Mid-career & senior researcher:
Winner: Dr Johnny Chan (Business School, University of Auckland)
Unmasking Online Hate: How AI Helps Spot Hidden Toxicity
Runner-up (Joint Acknowledgment)
Dr Ranjana Gupta (Business School, AUT)
Removing GST on fresh produce won’t help those most in need – a targeted approach works better
Dr Andreas Drechsler (Wellington School of Business and Government, Victoria University of Wellington)
The Fractional Chief Information Officer – a novel means for small organisations to keep up with the digital age?
Māori and Pacific Researcher
Winners (joint acknowledgement):
Professor Jarrod Haar, Massey University Business School
Are Bad CEOs Good for Firm Performance?
Dr Betty Ofe-Grant, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Seven Strategies for Recruiting Pacific People as Research Participants in a post-Covid World
Early-Career Researcher
Winner: Dr Alex Plum, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Youth Crime, Fatherhood, and the Role of Ethnicity
Runner-up: Dr Yat Ming Ooi, University of Auckland Business School
Cracking the code: Unravelling how New Zealand's traditional industries commercialise technology
Mid-Career Researcher
Winner: Associate Professor Yuri Seo, University of Auckland Business School
David and Goliath: Micro-Influencers versus Mega-Influencers
Runner-up: Associate Professor William Cheung, University of Auckland Business School
Is upzoning a solution to housing affordability?
Senior/Established Researcher
Winners (joint acknowledgement):
Dr Ranjana Gupta, Auckland University of Technology Business School
A taxation approach to reduce pollution in Auckland
Dr Lisa Meehan, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Can a single concussion increase the risk of criminal behaviour?
Māori and Pacific Researcher
Winner: Dr Anil Narayan, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Enhancing Pasifika Students Success in Accounting Education
Early Career Researcher
Winner: Dr Lisa Callagher, Auckland University of Technology Business School
How do New Zealand’s agricultural cooperatives positively impact climate change?
Runner-up: Dr Alex Plum, Auckland University of Technology Business School
A sobering picture: alcohol access and criminal behaviour among young Kiwis
Senior/Established Researcher
Winner: Dr Joya Kemper, University of Canterbury Business School, and Dr Sam White, Lincon University
Food Fad or Future of Food? Flexitarianism and Young Adults’ Fight for Climate Autonomy
Runner-up: Dr Mia Pham, Massey University Business School
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: Do Gender Differences Matter?
Māori and Pacific Researcher
Winner: Dr Nimbus Staniland, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Indigenous and boundaryless careers: Cultural boundaries in the careers of Māori academics
Early Career Researcher
Winner: Dr Jessica Vredenburg, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Brand activism: What, when, where and how - translating theory into practice
Runner-up: Dr William Cheung, University of Auckland Business School
A sustainable housing ladder: The entry and exit affordability of shared-equity homeownership
Senior/Established Researcher
Winner: Dr Lydia Cheung, Massey University Business School
An empirical analysis of the competition in print advertising among paid and free newspapers
Runner-up: Dr Mathew Parackal, Otago University Business School
Dynamic transactional model: A framework for communicating via social media
Māori and Pacific Researcher
Winner: Dr ‘Ilaisaane Fifita, University of Auckland Business School
The Role of Identity in Resisting Tobacco Smoking
Early Career Researcher
Winner: Dr Daniel Tisch, University of Auckland Business School
Can we communicate more effectively to farmers about climate change?
Senior/Established Researcher
1st prize: Associate Professor Bevan Catley, Massey University Business School
Breaking the Badness: How to Successfully Manage a Complaint of Workplace Bullying
2nd prize: Professor Emeritus Kerr Inkson, University of Auckland Business School
Board Directors and the Swamp of Compliance
3rd prize: Associate Professor Rachel Morrison, Auckland University of Technology Business School
Gendered responses to open-plan offices: Objectification theory at work
