Research Corner

Yat Ming is also a core member of the Business School’s Circular Economy in Business Beacon (CEBUS). He holds a PhD in Management from the University of Auckland and a MCom in Business Strategy from the University of New South Wales. Yat Ming sits on the editorial review boards of two international, practitioner-focused journals, Research-Technology Management and Technology Innovation Management Review. Before his academic career, Yat Ming spent several years in industry in Malaysia and Singapore, working on strategic human resources and industrial relations.
Dr Yat Ming Ooi
 

Tell us about your current research:
My current research focuses on innovation management and strategy in established (small, medium or large) firms. Specifically, my research projects examine the strategies and processes that firms apply to leverage knowledge and technologies for the purpose of creating new products and services. A specific interdisciplinary, industry-led research project that I’ve received funding for is the 2022 Endeavour Fund research programme on Construction 4.0. This $10.3 million research programme is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE). My funded project within this programme looks at the transfer of Construction 4.0 technologies developed by universities and research institutions and the subsequent commercialisation of these technologies by stakeholders in the construction industry. A key focus of this project is the inclusion of various stakeholders’ views into the technology transfer and commercialisation process to ensure outcomes are beneficial for industry, society and the environment.

How can your research help New Zealand businesses today?
Often, firms develop products, services and processes under extremely volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions. A way to navigate around these VUCA conditions is to seek and implement inputs from outside the organisation. However, doing so is costly and time consuming. My work helps New Zealand businesses by providing the strategies, processes, methods and tools needed to search and integrate external inputs. Firstly, my research offers methods and tools that established firms in New Zealand could use to leverage external knowledge and technologies. Secondly, my work provides insights on how firms can redesign, build and nurture the structure and capabilities required to successfully implement these methods and tools. Through continued research, I will be able to offer more cutting-edge insights to help firms achieve their environmental, social and governance objectives.