Brock University’s Goodman School of Business has announced recipients of its inaugural Research Scholars program.

Faculty have received grants from five research funds created in conjunction with CPA Ontario (CPA), the International Partnership of Business Schools (IPBS) and the Goodman School of Business (GSB).

“These opportunities contribute to the advancement of theoretical or methodological approaches through multiple high-quality independent programs of research,” says Tek Thongpapanl, Goodman’s Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Programs.

“They offer a richer understanding of the investigated topics to the respective academic and professional communities, as well as a broader society,” he says.

The awards and their recipients are:

• CPA Ontario Distinguished Research Scholar recognizes an established researcher who has significantly made a meaningful and important contribution to the development of cutting-edge ideas and thinking that evolve the accounting profession.
  Recipient: Samir Trabelsi, Professor of Accounting and Governance, “The Drivers and Economic Consequences of Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Coronawashing.”
• CPA Ontario Emerging Research Scholar recognizes an early-career researcher who has significantly made a meaningful and important contribution to the development of cutting-edge ideas and thinking that evolve the accounting profession.
  Recipient: Simon Suwanyangyuan, Assistant Professor of Accounting, “The Influential Role of External Auditors in Enhancing the Informativeness of 10-K Reports” and “The Impact of CEO’s Levels of Happiness on the Properties of Management as well as Analysts’ Forecasts.”
• CPA Ontario Transdisciplinary Research Scholar recognizes an outstanding researcher who has generated knowledge between, across and beyond traditional accounting boundaries and thus has contributed to the development of cutting-edge ideas and thinking that evolve the accounting profession along with larger business/management professions.
  Recipient: Fayez Elayan, Professor of Accounting, “The Valuation Effects and the Determinants of the Financial Reporting under the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act,” “Auditee Merger, Audit Fees, and Auditors Concentration,” and “The Valuation Effect of Corporate Exposures to Human Rights Violation Risk.”
• IPBS Research Scholar supports faculty who provide advocacy and support for cross-cultural student experiences through international exchange by being active in research and scholarly activity.
  Recipient: Magnus Hultman, Assistant Professor of Marketing, “International Standardization versus Adaptation of Sustainable Marketing Strategies.”
• GSB Social Innovation Management Research Scholar supports the advancement of Social Innovation Management that elevates understanding of the collaborative creation between organizations and all stakeholders in society, so that in the end, organizations can competently address society’s needs as well as their own requirements.
  Recipient: Wesley Helms, Associate Professor of Strategic Management, “How do social enterprises maintain the integrity of their social and environmental practices through growth?”

The three CPA Ontario research scholars were first announced in August 2019. The funding is a five-year commitment.

“This gift is an investment in the success of the Goodman School of Business,” Goodman Dean Andrew Gaudes, said at the time. “This is recognition of our Faculty’s high-quality research activity and it enhances the longtime relationship between the Goodman School of Business and CPA Ontario.”

The other awards, which also support the research activities of Goodman faculty, soon followed.

Thongpapanl says the creation of these research scholar awards is part of a larger effort to boost Goodman’s presence in the wider field and shows that the business school’s “global partners” and Goodman faculty and staff support this pursuit.

“We have been strategically positioning ourselves as a globally oriented business school, with the aims of contributing to business research excellence and impact, engaging students and enhancing our community through initiatives, education and practice, informed by multidisciplinary perspectives,” says Thongpapanl.

He says business research is not just about how to get the highest return on investment, but involves the efficient and just use of the world’s resources to benefit all.

“Researching business practices and management that focus not just on the financial outcomes but also on sustainable social and environmental outcomes, contributes to society at large,” he says.