A/Prof Adrian Kuah ~ Associate Professor Business

Dr. Adrian Kuah FCMI FCollP FHEA is a research leader at The Cairns Institute, Australia  and the Sustainability Research Cluster. He serves as Professor (Adj) at Ecole de Commerce de Tahiti where he links up the Smart Island Nations Program funded by Fonds Pacifique.  As an international expert on the circular economy, Dr. Kuah has been appointed to the National Committee for Circularity of Materials in Singapore's Environment and Resources Standards Committee and its National Mirror Committee for ISO/TC 323 Circular Economy. He serves as the Head of Delegation for Singapore Standards Council to the International Organization for Standardization meetings in Kigali, Rwanda (2022) and São Paulo, Brazil (2023) for the development of ISO 59004, 59010 and 59020. Between 2019 and 2022, Dr. Kuah was also part of the Sustainable Development Working Group at JCUA, where he received the JCUA award for outstanding contribution toward addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In 2021, he received the JCUA Vice Chancellor Award of Excellence for Innovation and Change.

Over the years, Dr. Kuah has published more than 90 papers and received more than $900,000 of grants from research councils and governments in the U.K. Finland, France, Australia and Singapore. Since 2017, he has written 15 Scopus Q1 articles, 5 conferences papers, 2 book chapters and an edited book, while attracting $74,405 external grants. His influential research papers relate to the circular economy. According to SciVal in 2023, he has been listed as one of the top six researchers in the field of closed-loop supply chain, remanufacturing, and reverse logistics based in Singapore.

Year    Article in                                        Scopus Cites     FWCI         World Top Citation Percentile  

2021   Journal of Business Research            59           3.68          Top 2%        

2020   Journal of Cleaner Production          73           4.10          Top 2%                                         

2020   Science of the Total Environment    56           2.72          Top 3%                                         

Adrian Kuah has been recognised as Professor of the Week for his contributions to Business Education in the UK Financial Times. He earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Nanyang Technological University in 1995, a Master of Business Administration from Strathclyde Graduate Business School in 1998, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Alliance Manchester Business School in 2007. Professionally, he is elected a Fellow and Ambassador of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI), a Fellow of the College of Preceptor (FCollP), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Of late, he was invited to join the editorial board of the U.S. Thunderbird International Business Review. His sustained leadership includes leadership roles on standardization, industry engagement and supervising five HDR candidates. For more details of his work and media interviews, please visit his Website. 

Engagements & Outreach

• Invited by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Phillippines to convene two key research papers selected among 23 papers and 20 posters for International Conference on Connecting the Dots on Circular Economy for Sustainable Development at Bellevue Hotel, Alabang, Manila. 
• Head of Singapore Delegation at the 4th Meeting for International Organization for Standardization TC 323 in Kigali, Rwanda between 25 and 30 September 2022 to align standard development across ISO 59004, 59010 and 59020. Meeting was attended by 47 countries and 250 experts.
• Panel speaker on “Building Sustainability Capabilities in Local Enterprises” by Schneider Electric and Singapore International Chamber of Commerce on 6 – 7 July 2022 at Marina Convention Centre.
• Invited to 2nd International Organization for Standardization Meeting between 15 and 19 June 2020 contributing towards ISO/PWI 59004 and TR 59031.alongside world experts and other national standards bodies.
• Panel speaker on “Smart Synergies: Business, Technology and Education”, together with Prof. Agostino Bruzzone of University of Genoa, Dr Nicola Bianchi, Scientific Attaché of the Italian Embassy and  Dr Giulio Gennaro, CEO of 1888 Gennaro Consulting on 1 Nov 2019 
• Led the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce - James Cook University Singapore tertiary education competition on Circular Economy and Sustainability Competition in 2019. The half-year national competition concluded with a high note on 25 October 2019.
• Head of Delegation for JCU Australia in showcasing Queensland’s Advanced Manufacturing and Circular Economy capabilities to representatives of the World Economic Forum visiting Queensland in Oct 2019 organised by the Office of Queensland Chief Entrepreneur.
• Invited by National University of Singapore to partake in a lively 3-hour Panel Discussion “Opportunities and Gaps in the Circular Economy” livestream around the world on 29 August 2019. The conference was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
• Keynote speaker on circular economy and sustainable economic development at the Symposium on Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Development at the Cairns Institute on July 2019. The Australian Win TV interviewed him at the 6pm News.
• Delivered JCU Singapore Public Lecture 2017 titled “The Rise and Fall of Mega e-commerce Markets” attended by more than 250 participants. He also delivered a seminar on the same topic at the Asian Consumer Insights at the Nanyang Technological University.

Media Mentions 

• WIN TV News, Australia
• Cairns Post and Queensland Times, Australia
• Straits Times, Singapore
• Eco-Business.com, Singapore
• Financial Times, United Kingdom
• Xinhua News Agency, China

Teaching

• LB5113: Corporate Strategy (Level 5; SIN)

Interests

Research

• Circular Economy comprising inter alia, remanufacturing, recycling, servitization, sharing economy and product design for longevity
• Sustainability Grand Challenges including, inter alia, climate change transition, sustainable livelihoods, sustainable infrastructure, and sustainability reporting

Research Disciplines

• Strategy, management and organisational behaviour (3507)
• Marketing (3506)
• Human resources and industrial relations (3505)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding knowledge (2801)
• Property, business support services and trade (1103)

Awards

• 2021 - Vice Chancellor Awards of Excellence for Innovation and Change - 1st place
• 2021 - Professional Engagement Award - JCU Singapore
• 2021 - Professional Team Award - JCU Singapore
• 2020 - Research Recognition Award - JCU College of Business Law and Governance
• 2019 - JCU TropEco Excellence Award: Addressing Sustainable Development Goals
• 2014 - Oxford Scholarship Online - Oxford University Press
• 2013 - FT Professor of the Week - Financial Times (28 May 2013)
• 2008 - Dean's List of Outstanding Faculty Award - University of Bradford
• 2003 - Best Synopsis Prize - Manchester Federal School of Business and Management Conference 2003
• 2002 - Best Synopsis Prize - Manchester Federal School of Business and Management Conference 2002
• 1998 - Gold Medal for Best Dissertation - University of Strathclyde

Fellowships

• 2019 - Professor (ADJ), L'Ecole de Commerce de Tahiti, PF
• 2011 - Fellow, The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, AUS
• 2010 - Fellow, College of Preceptors, UK
• 2010 - Ambassador and Fellow, Chartered Management Institute, UK
• 2004 - Fellow, Higher Education Academy, UK
• 2017 to 2020 - University Fellow, Charles Darwin University, AUS
• 2012 to 2017 - Fellow, Grenoble Ecole de Management, France
• 2009 to 2012 - Fellow, Advanced Institute of Management Research, UK

Memberships

• 2010 to 2012 - International Theme Committee, Committee Member, Academy of Management, US.

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Kim C, Kuah A and Thirumaran K (2022) Morphology for circular economy business models in the electrical and electronic equipment sector of Singapore and South Korea: findings, implications, and future agenda. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 30. pp. 829-850
• Kuah A, Xia Y and Wang P (2022) How Do Corporate Social Responsibility Engagements Drive Consumer–Company Identification in Singapore? Sustainability, 40 (10).
• Lai N, Kuah A, Kim C and Wong K (2022) Toward sustainable express deliveries for online shopping: reusing packaging materials through reverse logistics. Thunderbird International Business Review, 64 (4). pp. 351-362
• Pillai R, Wang P and Kuah A (2022) Unlocking corporate social responsibility in smaller firms: Compliance, conviction, burden, or opportunity? Thunderbird International Business Review, 64 (6). pp. 627-646
• De Silva M, Wang P and Kuah A (2021) Why wouldn't green appeal drive purchase intention? Moderation effects of consumption values in the UK and China. Journal of Business Research, 122. pp. 713-724
• Kuah A, Kim C and Le Queux S (2021) Multiculturalism in Singapore and Malaysia: approaches and outcomes. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 40 (3). pp. 290-308
• Le Queux S and Kuah A (2021) Junzi leadership in Singapore: governance and human capital development. Journal of Management Development, 40 (5). pp. 389-403
• Wang P, Kuah A, Lu Q, Wong C, Thirumaran K, Adegbite E and Kendall W (2021) The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK. Journal of Brand Management, 28. pp. 325-346
• Hao S, Kuah A, Rudd C, Wong K, Lai N, Mao J and Liu X (2020) A circular economy approach to green energy: wind turbine, waste, and material recovery. Science of the Total Environment, 702.
• Thompson C, Kuah A, Foong R and Ng E (2020) The development of emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and locus of control in MBA students. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 31 (1). pp. 113-31
• Kuah A (2018) Tropical urbanisation and the life of public housing in Singapore. Etropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 17 (1). pp. 41-59

Book Chapters

• Kuah A and Kim C (2021) Digital servitisation and reverse logistics towards a new circular economy. In: Digital Transformation in a Post-Covid World: sustainable innovation, disruption, and change. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, pp. 289-307

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 47+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Adrian Kuah from 2002 onwards.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Millennial Employees, a key Cornerstone to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in small and medium Enterprises (SMEs): Evolving a Unique Social Responsibility Identity! A Regional Comparison of four Countries: Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Digitalisation and Digitisation: The Impact on Memory-Making and the Role of Museums (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Consumer evaluation and advertising effectiveness in digital influencer marketing and live streaming e-commence (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Brand Identity and Value Creation: Determining Brands Co-ownership in the Experience Age (PhD , Primary Advisor)

Completed

• Circular Economy Business Models and Consumer Acceptance in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sector: A Comparative Study of Singapore and South Korea (2023, PhD , Primary Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.