PROFILE
Dr Donella Caspersz
Started at UWA: 2001
Exploring family business identity in the information age
I love the ability to engage with people through research and find out curious things about their behaviour. Dr Donella Caspersz
Dr Donella Caspersz is a published researcher, teacher and supervisor at the UWA Business School. She is highly involved in supervising PhD students and focuses on family business, labour migration and employment relations. Originally born in Sri Lanka, Dr Caspersz completed her education in Australia where she was raised. She joined UWA after completing a master’s and PhD in industrial sociology, focusing on why people behave to change their world.
One of Dr Caspersz’s current research projects relates to family business identity and sustainability in the information age. She is collaborating with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, China, Sweden, France and Malaysia, and with a postgraduate student in Pakistan. She believes the work is highly important because it addresses key issues of identity and sustainability of business, people and the wider community.
In addition to her research, Dr Caspersz has adopted a workshop and conversational approach to teaching and supervising PhD students. She has been highly recognised throughout the University and most recently received a Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education Teaching and Service Award for Research Supervision.
Qualifications:
- BAppSc (SW), Curtin
- GradDipCareerEd, Edith Cowan
- MIR. PhD, Uni West Aust
External positions:
- Board Member, International Family Enterprise Research Academy
- Committee Member, Family Business Australia, WA
- Western Region Coordinator, Enactus Australia
- President, Zonta Club of Perth
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education Teaching and Service Award for Research Supervision, 2018
Published in the Family Business Review, ‘Developing Positivity in Family Business Leaders’ and nominated for Best Practice Paper, 2015
Freedman Fellow (Classical), 2012
Agility, values vital for family business
By its very nature, family business has a hybrid identity. And while sometimes this doesn’t work out well, most of the time it does, with 70 per cent of businesses in Australia identifying as part of the grouping.
Read moreLearning to lead a family business
Families remain at the heart of business worldwide, representing over 70 per cent of business in most economies including Australia. Many call their business by their family name: Faber-Castell, Estee Lauder, and our own Australian Coopers and LinFox, closely linking their social identity as a family to the business.
Read moreTeaching
Supervisor opportunities
Dr Caspersz has been a research supervisor for more than 10 years, supporting topics such as employment relations, family business and labour migration. She currently has no vacancies for supervision; however, she welcomes prospective researchers with a variety of interests after 2020.
