Message from the Dean Advancing Teaching and Learning Discovery Through Research Connection Through Societal Impact Student Success and Outreach News Worth Celebrating
Elevating Impact

Discovery Through Research

Through Discover the Sobey School of Business seeks to foster an environment of intellectual discovery that inspires research excellence, encourages collaboration and serves society. As a world-class business school, our faculty, graduate students and research centres focus on tackling today’s most pressing business issues. Research at the Sobey School of Business is conducted with a desire to create real-world impact.

The Sobey School of Business’s goal to create and mobilize scholarship is aided by five active research centres:

These centres are conducting research on cutting-edge topics such as sustainability, innovation, social impact measures, co-operative accounting and management, and economics of immigration, among others.

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Sobey Faculty Research Spotlight

 
 

Researcher: Dr. Ethan Pancer, Sobey Professorship in Marketing

Research Interests: Consumer judgment formation and decision making, social and interpersonal influences on consumption, consumer identity, branding, and consumer well-being.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaped how we work, communicate, learn and how we shop. Through a blend of digital analytics and behavioural science, Dr. Ethan Pancer’s current research focusses on consumer psychology, and how digital innovations and social media shape people’s consumption behaviour. Recently, Dr. Pancer and his marketing students worked with local businesses such as East Coast Lifestyle, Hope Blooms, The eBike Centre and NewStar Marine to identify marketing issues these businesses face, and develop solutions for these problems.

 
 

Bridging the Gap—Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives

 
 
 

Dr. Daphne Rixon

 

In Nova Scotia, gaps in mental health services have long been documented, and the Covid-19 pandemic further overwhelmed an already stretched mental health system. How do people in crisis find the right support both immediately and afterwards?

Bridging the Gap is a research project that aimed to develop a mental health crisis support framework. Working with Healthy Minds Co-operative in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and 13 local community Nova Scotia organizations which provide mental health services, Dr. Daphne Rixon and Dr. Heidi Weigand developed a mental health entry point process map. This map demonstrates the many ways that people enter the mental health system, and the many organizations and professionals who may be involved.

 
 

International Student Satisfaction and Wellbeing — Atlantic Research Group on Economics and Immigration, Aging and Diversity

 
 
 
 

The Atlantic Research Group on Economics of Immigration, Aging and Diversity (ARGEAID) has received funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to conduct new research on the well-being and overall satisfaction of international students who come to Atlantic Canada for schooling.

While being in its beginning stages, this new project has the potential to highlight areas where international students do not feel satisfied or supported. By identifying these gaps, this research could help international student initiatives to improve their programs and increase retention of these students.

“Understanding the well-being of these students is imperative to retaining them in the region after their studies.”
— Dr. Ather H. Akbari, ARGEIAD Chair
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Procurement Canada Black Business Report — Centre for Leadership Excellence

In the spring of 2021, Procurement Canada contacted the Centre for Leadership Excellence to conduct research on Black-owned and Black-led businesses within Atlantic Canada. This research is still ongoing, but the Centre for Leadership Excellence has produced a report that sought to:

  • Identify Black-owned and Black-led businesses in Atlantic Provinces.

  • Identify the barriers Black businesses face when participating in contracts with Procurement Canada.

The report, Procurement Canada Black Business Community Project Report, discusses the operational challenges, cultural barriers and opportunities for Black businesses when participating in government contracts. The report also summarized the top recommendations for Procurement Canada to support the success of Black businesses in the Atlantic region.

Sobey Postdoctoral Scholars in Emerging Disciplines

With the 2019 transformational Sobey gift of $18 million, the Sobey School was able to appoint not only five Sobey Professorships, but two Sobey Postdoctoral Scholars in Emerging Disciplines. This program was established to nurture, promote and advance highly innovative and creative multidisciplinary research at the Sobey School of Business. Dr. Wenyao Hu and Dr. Hao (Leo) Lu are our inaugural Scholars.

Dr. Wenyao Hu

Research Focus: An interdisciplinary combination of natural language processing and corporate financing.

“The Sobey School of Business is an ideal environment for business scholars that inspires research excellence, encourages collaboration and serves society.”
—Dr. Wenyao Hu

Dr. Hao (Leo) Lu

Research Focus: Social entrepreneurship and social innovation.

“What’s excellent about the Sobey School of Business? The collegial working environment and the cooperative culture, the level of research support provided to faculty members, and the level of freedom I have in conducting research I am interested in.”
—Dr. Hao (Leo) Lu

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