Research at SBA
Research is central to our mission at the School of Business Administration (SBA). We seek to produce rigorous, relevant and impactful work that advances knowledge while addressing important challenges facing business, society and the wider world.
Between 2020 and 2025, SBA faculty produced 691 Scopus-indexed publications, with over 75 percent published in Q1 journals and almost two-thirds involving international collaboration. Our faculty also publish in many of the world's leading academic journals, including FT50, Scopus Top 1%, and ABS 4 and 4 journals*. These achievements demonstrate the breadth, quality and international influence of the research undertaken across the school.
Our ambition, however, extends beyond traditional measures of academic performance. We want our research to matter. This means generating new knowledge, building meaningful interdisciplinary collaborations, engaging with business and policymakers, and contributing to economic and societal progress. For SBA, research excellence is defined by how we produce knowledge, share it and translate it into value for business and society.|-BREAK-|
We support this ambition through our research groups, competitive research funding, international collaborations, endowed professorships and recognition of outstanding research achievements. Together, these initiatives foster an environment in which our faculty can pursue ambitious ideas and develop research with international visibility and meaningful impact.
I invite you to explore these pages to discover our research, the people behind it, and the contribution SBA is making to scholarship, business and society.
George Christodoulides
Associate Dean for Research and Innovation
Professor of Marketing
Research at a Glance
Our Research
Research at SBA spans marketing, supply chain management, finance, accounting, economics, management, and information systems and business analytics. Across these disciplines, our faculty pursue research that advances knowledge and addresses important challenges facing business, economies and society. A significant part of our research also contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), connecting business scholarship with wider economic, social and environmental priorities.
By combining interdisciplinary and global perspectives, SBA fosters collaboration with academic and industry partners in the UAE and internationally. This expertise is complemented by our research groups, which bring faculty together around shared interests to drive collaborative, high-impact research.
Research Groups
SBA research groups bring together faculty with shared and complementary research interests to support collaboration, knowledge exchange and high-quality research. Each research group is led by an SBA faculty member who provides intellectual leadership and helps shape the group's research agenda and activities.
- Corporate Governance
The group investigates the structures, mechanisms and practices that shape accountability and decision making in organizations. It examines how governance influences firm performance, stakeholder relations and long-term sustainability across diverse institutional contexts. Research includes work on family business, leadership and ownership structures.
Research group lead: Dr. Kimberley Gleason
- The Business of Luxury
The group explores the strategies, dynamics and cultural significance of luxury brands and markets. Its research addresses themes including consumer experience, sustainability, and the evolving role of luxury in contemporary society and the global economy.
Research group lead: Dr. Rania Semaan
- The Digital Economy
The group examines the impact of digital technologies on business, markets and society. Its research spans digital transformation, platforms and data-driven business models, with projects addressing areas such as social media, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, online reviews, cryptocurrencies and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Research group lead: Dr. Kichan Nam
- Behavioral and Experimental Lab
The group uses experimental and behavioral methods to understand decision making in consumer and organizational contexts. Its research provides insights into the judgments, preferences and biases that shape behavior in markets and workplaces.
Research group lead: Dr. Khusrav Gaibulloev
The group examines how entrepreneurship and innovation can contribute to social, economic and community development. Its research explores themes including social entrepreneurship, sustainability, family business, corporate social responsibility, inclusion and the institutional conditions that support entrepreneurial activity and positive social change.
Research group lead: Dr. Jamal Maalouf
- Responsible Consumption and Circular Economy
The group examines how responsible consumption and circular business models can support more sustainable economies and societies. Its research explores resource efficiency, reuse and waste reduction, with particular attention to food and fashion, including second-hand markets, rental, repair, upcycling and other approaches that extend product lifecycles and promote sustainable consumption.
Research group lead: Dr. Sajid Khan
Research Funding
Our researchers benefit from a range of competitive internal funding opportunities that support research at different stages, from the development of new ideas and interdisciplinary projects to international collaboration and research mobility.
Between 2020 and 2026, SBA researchers secured more than AED 6.4 million in internal research funding, supporting research across the school’s disciplines and addressing a diverse range of business, economic and societal challenges.
SBA faculty also participate in competitively funded international research projects, collaborating with researchers and institutions around the world. External research support has been secured from internationally recognized funding organizations, including the Research Council of Norway and the Gates Foundation.
Research Excellence and Awards
SBA is committed to recognizing and celebrating outstanding research. Our faculty receive prestigious university-level awards for research and scholarly excellence, as well as recognition for outstanding research outputs and achievements.
At the school level, research excellence is celebrated with research awards and faculty recognition for their exceptional quality of work, impact and contribution to the SBA’s research profile.
- University Research Excellence Awards
Dr. Mona Mrad | First Prize, Excellence in Research and Scholarly Work, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2026
Dr. Rodrigo Basco | Second Prize, Excellence in Research and Scholarly Work, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2026
Dr. John Katsos | First Prize, Excellence in Research and Scholarly Work, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2025
- Outstanding Research Achievement Awards – Top 1% Publications
Dr. Hasnan Baber and Dr. Jamal Maalouf | Outstanding Research and Creative Works Achievement Award
Green Impact: Unveiling the Influence of Social and Environmental Values on Sustainable Entrepreneurship within Regulatory Boundaries
Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 2026
Dr. George Christodoulides | Outstanding Research and Creative Works Achievement Award
Conceptualizing and Measuring Customer Luxury Experience in Hotels
Journal of Travel Research, 2025
Endowed Professorships
Endowed chairs and professorships are among the highest academic honors at AUS, recognizing distinguished faculty and supporting excellence in research, knowledge creation and academic leadership. .
Through these endowed positions, SBA strengthens research in finance, leadership, family business and luxury brand management. The chairs and professorship enable faculty to advance knowledge, promote collaboration, mentor researchers and students, and connect academic research with the wider business community. Collectively, they contribute to the visibility, relevance and impact of SBA research and reinforce its commitment to research excellence.
- Endowed Chairs
- The Bank of Sharjah Chair in Finance | Dr. Anis Samet | Department of Finance
- The Said T. Khoury Chair of Leadership Studies | Dr. Virginia Bodolica | Department of Management, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
- The Sheikh Saoud Bin Khalid Bin Khalid Al Qassimi Chair in Family Business | Dr. Rodrigo Basco | Department of Management, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
- Endowed Professorship
- The Chalhoub Group Professorship in Luxury Brand Management | Dr. George Christodoulides| Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management
