Skye Akbar

APrf Skye Akbar

Enterprise Fellow

School of Management

College of Business and Law


As a Enterprise Fellow at UniSA Business School 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 Wongutha 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.
Higher Degree by Research Supervision
Keen to support Higher Degree by Research Candidates reach their goals!
Research
My key focuses in research are marketing and markets, particularly focusing on self-determination. This means working with communities, industries, and regions, to understand their strengths and challenges and working to understand how research may play a role in problem solving. This strengths driven approach positions the community/industry person/people as the expert and I work alongside developing and applying new knowledge in ways that I hope are helpful.
Teaching
Being one of the few Aboriginal business academics means that I spend lots of my time developing content and teaching people about Aboriginal business values, practice and contexts. Being embedded in an institution that values real-world experience and learning means my teaching method of complimenting business theory with focus on industry specific cases develops an engaging learning environment.

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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 WoS3
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.
2020 Akbar, S., & Sharp, A. (2020). Strengths and challenges of Aboriginal art centre marketing. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 66-83.
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.
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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.
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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 (pp. 67-74). Singapore: Springer.
DOI
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.
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Courses I teach

  • BUSS 1070 Aboriginal Business Study Tour (2025)
  • BUSS 1070 Aboriginal Business Study Tour (2024)

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