Dr Reza Akbari ~ Senior Lecturer, Supply Chain Management

Dr. Reza Akbari is an MBA Academic Director (JCUS), Course Coordinator (BBus & BCom), and Senior Lecturer (Supply Chain Management) at James Cook University, College of Business, Law, Governance. He has a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from Victoria University (Melbourne), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University Putra Malaysia (Serdang), a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning from RMIT University (Melbourne), and a certificate of Teaching in Higher Education from Harvard University BOK Centre (Cambridge). 

Before joining James Cook University, Reza worked in academia for more than 12 years in different Australian and Asian institutions such as RMIT University, Victoria University, Asia Pacific International College (APIC), Australian Institute of Business (AIB), and University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH). In addition to his academic experience, Reza has lived internationally (Australia, UK, Germany, Iran, Malaysia, and Vietnam) and worked in numerous industries over a 13-year span in Information Technology (IT), Commercial Construction, Retail Management, and Senior Management in Education. 

While in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2016-2021), he was Senior Program Manager (SPM) for the Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) program, overseeing program quality assurance and program development for over 750 local and international students across Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh, and Hanoi campuses. He has worked with business and regional government agencies along with a number of private and public sector stakeholders, developing synergies and impact in his area of expertise. 

Reza is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and an award-winning educator receiving RMIT’s Excellence in Teaching and Learning award for “Outstanding Contribution in Student’s Learning” in 2019, together with several other teaching recognitions. He is also a Certified Professional in Logistics Management (CPLM) along with other professional membership/qualifications with several internationally recognized bodies. 

Reza has published extensively, with over 36 journal articles and a number of book chapters to his name. His works have been published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, Supply Chain Management, Logistics Management, Production Research, Knowledge Management, Consumer Behaviour, Total Quality Management & Excellence, Social Responsibility, Benchmarking, Operations Management Research, Asian Journal of Shipping and Operations, Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM), as well as Education and Training and so on. 

Reza is an editorial member of “Operations Management Research” journal and an active reviewer for well-known international academic journals. He is currently supervising PhD candidates in his areas of interest. 

PhD Supervision 

• 2023 external completion - Anh Thi Van Nguyen "Customer switching behaviour in omnichannel retailing context" RMIT University. [Link to Thesis]
• 4 PhD students in progress (3 at JCU and 1 at RMIT)

Research Impact 

• Two publications have been featured on World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19-related database  
• One publication has been recognized by the Vietnamese government, such as Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). 

Public lectures, seminars, and presentations 

• Invited Keynote Speaker - 5th International Conference on Business (ICB) (Dec 2023) 
• Guest Speaker - Fellowship at Higher Education Academy Hosted by RMIT (2022)
• Invited Keynote Speaker – 7th Vietnam Textile Summit, Vietnam (Dec 2021) 
• Invited Keynote Speaker – Knowledge Bridge with over 9000 academics attended (Dec 2021). 

Editorial boards and peer-reviewing 

• Ruel, S., Akbari, M., Ghaderi, H., & Hopkins, J. (2024). The Future of Work and its Long-standing Supply Chain Implications: Lessons from the Pandemic and Beyond. Call for Papers The International Journal of Logistics Management (A-Rank, Q1)
• Akbari, M., Quang H.T., Binh, A.D.T., & Pham, T., (2023). Advancing Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Circular Economy through Industry 4.0 Technologies, Call for Papers Sustainability (Q1) 
• Vafadarnikjoo, A., Frederico, G.F., Akbari, M., Shah, B., Hosseinzadeh, M., & Papalexi, M. (2023). Emerging Performance Measurement Systems in Digital Supply Chains and Logistics, Call for Papers Supply Chain Analytics  
• Frederico, G.F., & Akbari, M. (2022-2023). Pandemic, War, and Climate-Change Issues: The Disruption Era for Global Operations and Supply Chains. Call for Papers Operations Management Research. 
• Member of the editorial board of the Operations Management Research (Q1) journal 
• Active reviewer for International Journal of Information Management (A*-rank), Journal of Cleaner Production (A-rank) (60 completed reviews), International Journal of Physical Distributions & Logistics (A-rank), International Journal of Production Research (A-rank), Journal of Business Research (A-rank), and Operations Management Research (Q1-rank) (25 reviews and 15 editorial assignments), just to name some. 

Media statements/interviews

(1.55M views with AU$8.2k advertising value estimated by CoverageBook) 

• RMIT University (6/11/2023): Promising forces to leverage Vietnam’s supply chain sector (18K views) 
• Turning green certification pressures into process innovation (2023) (21 media outlets, 1.39M views valued at AU$7.2K) 
• Australian Business Magazine (8/12/2022): Future-Proofing Employability 
• Embracing sustainability in Last Mile Delivery (2022) (5 media outlets, 138k views valued at AU$1k) 
• RMIT University (26/1/2022): Scaffolded authentic assessment for students in logistics and supply chain management (18.2K views)  

Teaching

• BX2062: Operations Management (Level 2; TSV)
• BX2991: International Business Immersion (Level 2; TSV)
• BX3991: International Business Immersion (Level 3; TSV)
• LB5230: Managing Strategic Resources and Operations (Level 5; TSV)
• WS2008: International Exchange (Level 2; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Reza has worked for over 11 years in academia across a range of institutions both in Australia and internationally, alongside a 13 year-span in industry to include Information Technology, Commercial Construction, Retail Management, and ultimately in Education. These experiences afford a detailed understanding of pedagogic quality provisions, managing diverse teams and ultimately a keen eye towards graduate employability aligned with academic scholarship.

Research

• Reza’s research interest include a broad range of disciplines including; logistics and supply chain management, integrated, reverse and green logistics, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility (CSR), emerging technologies, operations management, strategic outsourcing, business process reengineering (BPR), pollution reduction, anywhere working, smart cities, teaching pedagogies.

Teaching

• Reza's teaching philosophy focuses on inspiring business students through inclusive and authentic learning experiences, through the implementation of authentic assessments, drawing-to-learn, digital content, game-based teaching and learning, and industry engagement.

Experience

• 2023 to present - Course Coordinator (BBus & BCom), James Cook University (Townsville, Australia)
• 2022 to present - MBA Singapore Academic Director, James Cook Univesity (Townsville, Australia)
• 2021 to present - Senior Lecturer (Logistics & Supply Chain Management), James Cook Universisty (Townsville, Australia)
• 2019 to 2021 - Senior Program Manager & Senior Lecturer, RMIT University (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
• 2016 to 2019 - Lecturer & Course Coordinator, RMIT University (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
• 2016 - Lecturer & Course Coordinator, Australian Institute of Business (AIB) (Adelaide, Australia)
• 2015 - Lecturer & Course Coordinator, Asia Pacific International College (APIC) (Melbourne, Australia)
• 2011 to 2013 - Lecturer (Sessional), Victoria University (Melbourne, Australia)

Research Disciplines

• Transportation, logistics and supply chains (3509)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Management and productivity (1503)

Awards

• 2023 - CBLG MCR Award for Research Achievements
• 2023 - Highly Commended Paper by Journal of Consumer Behaviour (A-Rank)
• 2019 - RMIT Teaching Award - "Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning"
• 2019 - Best Paper Award - "The Impact of Additive Manufacturing on Vietnamese Transportation Industry" at 12th International Conference of Asian Shipping & Logistics (ICASL 2019)
• 2018 - Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing - Journal of Cleaner Production

Fellowships

• 2021 - Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Memberships

• 2021 - Certified Professional in Logistics Management (CPLM)

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

• Vu O, Alonso A, Tran T, Martens W, Do L, Nguyen T, Atay E and Akbari M (in press) Coffee culture unravelled: exploring the coffee shop experience model in the Vietnamese context. Tourism Recreation Research,
• Akbari M (in press) Revolutionizing supply chain and circular economy with edge computing: systematic review, research themes and future directions. Management Decision,
• Akbari M (2023) Data-driven review of additive manufacturing on supply chains: Regionalization, key research themes and future directions. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 184.
• Akbari R, Kok S, Hopkins J, Frederico G, Nguyen H and Alonso A (in press) The changing landscape of digital transformation in supply chains: impacts of industry 4.0 in Vietnam. The International Journal of Logistics Management,
• Duong A, Hoang T, Nguyen T, Akbari M, Hoang T and Truong H (in press) Supply chain risk assessment in disruptive times: opportunities and challenges. Journal of Enterprise Information Management,
• Ha N, Akbari M and Au B (2023) Last mile delivery in logistics and supply chain management: a bibliometric analysis and future directions. Benchmarking, 30 (4). pp. 1137-1170
• Halibas A, Van Nguyen A, Akbari M, Akram U and Hoang M (in press) Developing trends in showrooming, webrooming, and omnichannel shopping behaviors: Performance analysis, conceptual mapping, and future directions. Journal of Consumer Behaviour,
• Hoang T, Nguyen N, Hoang N, Akbari M, Quang H and Binh A (in press) Application of social media in supply chain 4.0 practices: a bibliometric analysis and research trends. Operations Management Research,
• Nguyen H, Onofrei G, Yang Y, Nguyen K, Akbari M and Pham H (in press) Green certification practices and process innovation alignment: diminishing point and catching up in nation's economic development. Business Process Management Journal,
• Nguyen K, Akbari R, Quang H, McDonald S, Hoang T, Yap T and George M (2023) Navigating Environmental Challenges through Supply Chain Quality Management 4.0 in Circular Economy: A Comprehensive Review. Sustainability, 15 (24).

Book Chapters

• Kok S and Akbari R (2023) Human Resource Management in Supply Chains. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Supply Chain Management. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 1-28
• Nguyen H, Onofrei G, Akbari M, Yang Y and Wiengarten F (2023) Green Certification Pressures and Sustainability Performance: From Environmental Symbolic Drivers to Process Innovation. In: Business Innovation for the Post-pandemic Era in Vietnam. Business Innovation for the Post-pandemic Era in Vietnam. Springer, Singapore, pp. 157-167

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 47+ research outputs authored by Dr Reza Akbari from 2016 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

• How an industry 4.0 sharing manufacturing economy revolutionizes business ecosystem and supply chain: A big step towards a Digital Circular and Sustainable Economy (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Provision of Patient-centred Care to Rural Specialist Palliative Care Patients: A Systems Perspective (PhD , Secondary 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.