Skye Akbar

Research Interests

Indigenous data, methodologies and global Indigenous studies Economic Development and Growth Marketing

APrf Skye Akbar

Enterprise Fellow

School of Management

College of Business and Law

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

As an Enterprise Fellow at the College of Business and Law, my research focuses on supporting the wellbeing of local peoples through improved understanding of how self-determined sustainable community economic development can be best achieved. An important focus of my projects is empowering people with data; My work aims to support evidence based decision making that can nurture local solutions to local problems. Growing up on the Eyre Peninsula with family in primary production and being of the Waljen group, of the Wangkatja Peoples of the North-Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, established my understanding of remote life, communities and economies. I aim to continue research in this area in the coming years as it is of considerable importance to people in these communities and to the wider community.
 
Additionally, I enjoy the opportunity to supervise First Nations PhD candidates across multiple research areas and am committed to growing research by providing mentorship and research support to many First Nations scholars at various stages of their academic and professional development.
 
My current focus includes:•    Primary Investigator for Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2025–2028) project Collaborative Trust Marks - Marketing Aboriginal Tourism. This community‑based participatory action research project partners with Aboriginal tourism stakeholders to build marketing capability and enhance consumer engagement. It will generate new knowledge on leveraging market-based assets to increase participation in Aboriginal tourism, with anticipated outcomes including models for collaborative marketing, insights into consumer behavioural nudges, and policy guidance to support sector growth. The research aims to strengthen Aboriginal tourism enterprises, inform industry policy, and contribute to Aboriginal economic participation,•    Supervision of First Nations doctoral researchers; and•    Ongoing scholarship in remote, regional, and Aboriginal business contexts.

My research focuses on business in remote, regional and Aboriginal business contexts, including policy and research methods, while applying these learnings to develop and deliver valuable educational experiences unique to our students. To date I have been Primary Investigator on six, and Chief Investigator on seven successful research projects. My academic impacts includes 172 citations and h-index of seven (from Google Scholar March 2025), six first author publications (three in publications in Australian Business Deans Council ranked journals), papers performing above world average in Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI, SciVal 2018- 21st November 2023, All Science Journal Classification Schema) and Category Normalised Citation Impact (CNCI, InCites Including Emerging Sources Citation Index, 1980- 31st Oct 2023, Web of Science Schema).

Research & Research Communication Awards
  • In collaboration with our Dean of Aboriginal Research, Education and Engagement, and UniSA Research Office,  designed and delivered a specified training and development program for UniSA’s Aboriginal research students. The program incorporated tailored Aboriginal-specific research support, including media training, and was successfully implemented in November 2025
  • Featured in UniSA’s Capability Statement on Aboriginal Research & Engagement 2025
  • Awarded UniSA Business Public Intellectual of the Year 2021
  • Citation of our work in ‘Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Repeal of Cashless Debit Card and Other Measures) Bill 2022’ demonstrating research impact
  • UniSA Isentia media reporting showed that my work reached an audience of 364,188, equalling an Advertising Space Rate (ASR) of $5557 from 18 Oct 2022 to 18 October 2023
  • Best Paper at Asia-Pacific Institute of Advanced Research’s 1st Global Conference on Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management for ‘Domestic and international tourist’s associations with Aboriginal tourism’, 2019
  • Vice Chancellor Business School Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, UniSA 2017
  • Indigenous Studies Summer Program scholar, Columbia University 2016

Date Institution name Country Title
2012 - 2016 University of South Australia Australia Doctor of Philosophy
2011 - 2011 University of South Australia Australia Honours

Year Citation
2025 Fatima, S. H., Akbar, S., Sharpe, P., & Stephens, J. H. (2025). Epidemiological assessment of geographic and socioeconomic disparities in myringotomy procedures among First Nations children in South Australia. BMJ Open, 15(10), e100116-1-e100116-11.
DOI
2024 Greenacre, L., Defina, R., Akbar, S., & Garcia, J. E. (2024). Dedicated comparatives aid comparisons of magnitude: a study with Pitjantjatjara-English bilinguals. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience, 18(1418797), 1-12.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2023 Akbar, S., Garay, L., Greenacre, L., & Defina, R. (2023). Diverse research teams: a framework for research review. International Journal of Market Research, 65(2-3), 155-166.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2023 Akbar, S., & Sharp, A. (2023). The growth of Aboriginal tourism in remote Australia: Indigenist method for an operator perspective. Tourism Recreation Research, 48(6), 871-884.
DOI Scopus3 WoS5
2023 Greenacre, L., Akbar, S., Brimblecombe, J., & McMahon, E. (2023). Income management of government payments on welfare: the Australian cashless debit card. Australian Social Work, 76(1), 5-18.
DOI Scopus8 WoS10
2021 Macneil, K. S., Daniels Mayes, S., Akbar, S., Marsh, J., Wik Karlsson, J., & Össbo, Å. (2021). Social life cycle assessment used in indigenous contexts: a critical analysis. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(9, article no. 5158), 1-14.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2021 Williamson, J., Hassanli, N., Rodrigues, C., Akbar, S., & Wedathanthirige, H. (2021). Building community connections: supporting enterprise development in regional Australia post-COVID-19. Australasian Journal of Regional Studies, 27(2), 221-236.
Scopus1 WoS1
2020 Akbar, S., & Sharp, A. (2020). Strengths and challenges of Aboriginal art centre marketing. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 66-83.
WoS1
2020 Williamson, J., & Akbar, S. (2020). Domestic and international tourists' associations with Aboriginal tourism. Asia Pacific Journal of Advanced Business and Social Studies, 6(1), 34-47.
2019 Akbar, S., & Hallak, R. (2019). Identifying business practices promoting sustainability in Aboriginal tourism enterprises in remote Australia. Sustainability, 11(17), 1-18.
DOI Scopus17 WoS16
2019 Greenacre, L., & Akbar, S. (2019). The impact of payment method on shopping behaviour among low income consumers. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 47, 87-93.
DOI Scopus40 WoS35
- Akbar, S., Brown, A., Tedmanson, D., & Williamson, J. (2026). Moments in Time: A Systematic Review of Indigenous Business Research 1999–2019. The International Journal of Indigenous Business.
DOI

Year Citation
2025 Akbar, S. (2025). Yuwa Indigenous early career researcher. In M. Trudgett (Ed.), Source details - Title: Indigenous Early Career Researchers in Australian Universities (Vol. Part F3803, pp. 67-74). Singapore: Springer.
DOI
2024 Akbar, S., & Sharp, A. (2024). Open Access: The growth of Aboriginal tourism in remote Australia: Indigenist method for an operator perspective. In Critical Inclusive Tourism (pp. 59-72). Routledge.
DOI
2018 Higgins-Desbiolles, F., & Akbar, S. (2018). We will present ourselves in our ways: Indigenous Australian tourism. In B. S. R. Grimwood, K. Caton, & L. Cooke (Eds.), New Moral Natures in Tourism (pp. 13-28). Routledge.
DOI Scopus6
2018 Akbar, S., & Higgins Desbiolles, F. (2018). Critical perspectives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism: towards Indigenous-led approaches. In M. Karavatzis, M. Giovanardi, & M. Lichrou (Eds.), Source details - Title: Inclusive place branding: critical perspectives on theory and practice (pp. 46-59). UK: Routledge.
DOI
2018 Higgins Desbiolles, F., & Akbar, S. (2018). We will present ourselves in our ways: Indigenous Australian tourism. In B. S. R. Grimwood, K. Caton, & L. Cooke (Eds.), Source details - Title: New moral natures in tourism (pp. 13-28). UK: Routledge.
DOI WoS3
2017 Akbar, S., & Higgins-Desbiolles, F. (2017). Critical perspectives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism Towards Indigenous-led approaches. In M. Kavaratzis, M. Giovanardi, & M. Lichrou (Eds.), Inclusive Place Branding Critical Perspectives in Theory and Practice (pp. 23-36). ROUTLEDGE.
DOI Scopus2 WoS3

Current grant:

Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Collaborative Trust Marks: Marketing Aboriginal Tourism| Primary Investigator | 2025 - 2028

Using community based participatory action research, this project works with Aboriginal tourism stakeholders, developing marketing knowledge, to improve consumer participation. The project will generate new knowledge on how to use market-based assets to increase participation in Aboriginal tourism. Expected outcomes of this project include modelled collaboration on collective marketing, understanding how to nudge consumers towards participating, and advice for policy makers on supporting Aboriginal tourism growth. Benefits of this research will include supporting Aboriginal tourism operators, advice for tourism industry policy makers, and supporting Aboriginal economic participation.

My experience as a student through various levels of education remains forefront for me, therefore my approach to teaching is a focus on accessibility with focus on topics of key impact being delivered in depth. I prioritise quality education by supporting peers in embedding of Aboriginal knowledges in content, culminating in the development and well received execution of UniSA Business Aboriginal Business Study Tour 2024 & 2025.

Teaching Awards
  • Awarded UniSA Business Staff Excellence Award ‘Equity, Diversity & Inclusion’ December 2024
  • Awarded UniSA Business Staff Excellence Award ‘Course Design Award’ December 2024
  • Awarded Best Paper for ‘Embedding Aboriginal Content in the Teaching Curriculum’ with co-author Prof Anne Souvertjis in the Marketing Education track at Australian New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference December 2024
  • Developing and delivering UniSA’s first Aboriginal business course and receiving great student and community feedback
  • Awarded UniSA Business Staff Excellence Award with Prof Anne Souvertjis ‘Teaching Excellence (Teaching Collaboration & Peer Support)’ for embedding Aboriginal content in Undergraduate programs, December 2023

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Co-Supervisor Secondary School Student Experiences, Work Based Learning & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies - Doctorate Full Time Miss Courtney Jaye Theseira
2025 Principal Supervisor First Nations Communities, Sustainability & Renewable Energy Policy - Doctorate Part Time Ms Tricia Larking
2024 Co-Supervisor The role of family owner's SEW in family-run SME international opportunity development: a Papua New Guinean perspective - Doctorate Part Time Miss Marie Jamea

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2024 - ongoing Member Australian Research Council Indigenous Advisory Forum Australian Research Council Australia

Date Role Membership Country
2022 - ongoing Member Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership member Australia

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