STAFF PROFILE
Dr. Carol Tan
Dr Carol Tan is a senior lecturer in Fashion Entrepreneurship with the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University. She has been actively researching key success factors for Australian fast-growth small-to-medium enterprises since 2003.
Dr Tan's work has been quoted by Australian media such as ABC National Radio, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, and Business Review Weekly (BRW) and featured in peer-reviewed academic journals, national and international conference proceedings, BRW and industry reports. She has also undertaken consultative work in market research.
She teaches within the Masters of Fashion Entrepreneurship, which is a fusion of lateral thinking, innovative business models and strategic managerial concepts that interrogate and challenge the fashion system. She currently teaches Advanced Case Studies in Fashion Entrepreneurship, which is a work-integrated learning (WIL) subject exploring real issues faced in the fashion industry. Students implement design thinking skills and critically analyse entrepreneurial scenarios for growth opportunities, market penetration and business development.
She is currently supervising two PhD students in the School of Management and School of Fashion and Textiles respectively.
Dr Tan has received five teaching awards including the 2013 Program Award for Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching. This University prize was awarded for her commitment to improve entrepreneurship curriculum and student learning by engaging in authentic learning activities, strategically leveraging the use of applied research and guest speakers. She was also the winner of the 2011 Academic Staff Three-Minute Presentation Award which was based on clarity of research topic, interest-value and quality of presentation, as judged by peers in the College of Business.
Research interests
- Fast-growth companies
- Entrepreneurial marketing
- Competitive advantage
- Business orientation
- Marketing strategy
Awards:
- Winner of the 2011 RMIT Business College 3 Minute Project Presentation (YouTube video of the presentation)
- 2011 RMIT College of Business Learning and Teaching Award (Program Category P5 - Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching)
- 2010 RMIT School of Management Nominee for the Learning and Teaching Award (Category A8 - Early Career Academic (Higher Education)
- Finalist - RMIT University Outstanding Thesis 2007
- Winner of Innovation Award 2005 (Student Category) RMIT Research Awards within the Business Portfolio (presented on December 19, 2005)
- Finalist - Mary Kay Doctoral Dissertation Competition 2005 (presented at the Academy of Marketing Science Conference, May 25-28 2005, Tampa, Florida)
Print media reports (selected publications):
- Cousins, M. (2012, February 8). Stats reveal mixed tale. Bendigo Advertiser. p. 29
- Dent, G. (2012, February 2). More to motivation than cash. Business Review Weekly
- Anonymous (2012, January 25). Encourage risk taking to encourage growth. Risk Management Magazine
- Sharwood, S. (2012, January 25). The staff motivator that works better than money for Australia’s fastest growing SMEs. My Business
- Mason, M. (2012, January 24). Staff don't care too much for money. The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, WA Today, Brisbane Times, mycareer.com.au
Radio broadcasts (selected):
- ABC Riverland SA (Renmark), Riverland Today with Jessica Swann – 31/01/2012 10:45 AM, Duration: 5.03 mins
- 2MCE (Orange), 12:00 News - 24/01/2012 12:01 PM Plus syndication on up to 71 stations
- Melbourne Talk Radio Interview – 24/01/2012 16:45 PM, Duration: 1.45 mins
Professional publications:
- Tan, C.S.L., & Smyrnios, K.X. (2003, October 23 - November 19). The edge, and how to get it. Business Review Weekly, 84-87. (Cover Story and entire Issue devoted to the research).
- Gome, A., & Tan, C.S.L. (2005, April 14-20). Live and learn. Business Review Weekly, 56-57.
Industry Reports:
- Smyrnios, K., Tan, C., & Wang, W.C. (2004). Fast100 Drivers of Growth: 2004 A Report for BDO Chartered Accountants and Advisers. Melbourne: RMIT University.
- PhD (RMIT)
- BBusCom (Hons)
- BBus (Mktg)
- Badhwar, A.,Islam, S.,Tan, C. (2023). Exploring the potential of blockchain technology within the fashion and textile supply chain with a focus on traceability, transparency, and product authenticity: A systematic review In: Frontiers in Blockchain, 6, 1 - 19
- Siahaan, D.,Tan, C. (2022). What Drives the Adaptive Capability of Indonesian SMEs during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Interplay between Perceived Institutional Environment, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Digital Capability In: Asian Journal of Business Research, 12, 8 - 27
- Huq, A.,Tan, C.,Venugopal, V. (2020). How do women entrepreneurs strategize growth? An investigation using the social feminist theory lens In: Journal of Small Business Management, 58, 259 - 287
- Siahaan, D.,Tan, C. (2020). Antecedents of innovation capability and firm performance of indonesian ict smes In: Asian Journal of Business Research, 10, 45 - 71
- Tan, C.,Smyrnios, K.,Xiong, L. (2015). How do fast growth SMEs become market oriented? In: Proceedings of the 29th United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE 2015), Tampa, Florida, United States, 22-25 January 2015
- Tan, C. (2015). KeepCup: A young fast growth entrepreneurial company that disrupted the take away coffee cup industry In: Proceedings of the 29th United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE 2015), Florida, United States, 22-25 January 2015
- Tan, C.,Smyrnios, K.,Xiong, L. (2014). What drives learning orientation in fast growth SMEs? In: International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 20, 324 - 350
- Tan, C.,Bi, R.,Smyrnios, K. (2014). The role of market orientation in building supply chain capabilities for fast-growth family SMEs In: Small Enterprise Research, 21, 20 - 38
- Gilbert, D.,Tan, C. (2013). CEO Profile Survey - Pay and Performance In: CEO Institute Melbourne, Australia
- Gilbert, D.,Tan, C. (2012). The CEO profile survey - Remuneration Overview In: CEO Institute Melbourne, Australia
4 PhD Completions5 PhD Current Supervisions
- Kmart Australia Ltd Research Services Agreement - Design and conduct a survey of Australian consumers' clothing use and disposal behaviours. Funded by: KMART - Contract from (2024 to 2024)
- Reactivating Australian-Indonesian fashion and textile ecosystems through online engagement. Funded by: Australia-Indonesia Institute Grant 2018 onwards from (2020 to 2022)