Carol Tan

Dr. Carol Tan

Snr Lecturer, Fashion Entreprenshp
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Details

Open to

  • Masters Research or PhD student supervision

About

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 is currently supervising five PhD students in the School of Fashion and Textiles.


Dr Tan has received six teaching awards including the RMIT University 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.


Awards

  • 2024 School of Fashion and Textiles Student Experience and Engagement Award
  • 2017 School of Fashion and Textiles Award for High Good Teaching Scale (GTS) Scores
  • 2013 RMIT University Award for Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching 
  • 2013-2014 College of Business Award for High Good Teaching Scale (GTS) Scores
  • Winner of the 2011 RMIT Business College 3 Minute Project 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 Commentary (selected publications)


Radio broadcasts (selected):

 

UN sustainable development goals

  • 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Supervisor projects

  • Drivers of Generation Z's Online Second-hand Luxury Fashion Consumption in China
  • 19 Feb 2024
  • What is the potential of the Circular Economy in the Fashion and Textile industry of Bangladesh? 
  • 31 Jul 2023
  • Virtual Consumption in Luxury Fashion Brands: Consumer’s Purchase Intention of Virtual Fashion in the Virtual World.
  • 15 Dec 2021
  • Traceability and transparency in Sustainable Fashion: Studies on significance and loopholes and challenges in the existing traceability models in the textile industry.
  • 5 Aug 2021
  • Mapping the Saudi Fashion Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
  • 8 Oct 2019
  • An Empirical Investigation of the Antecedents and Outcomes of the Customer Experience for Consumers Purchasing Fashion Products from Social Commerce Platforms in China
  • 21 Aug 2019

Teaching interests

She teaches two courses Fashion Entrepreneurship, an introductory course and Fashion Venture Creation, a capstone course for the degree. 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.

The foundational entrepreneurship course helps students develop an entrepreneurial mindset to evaluate opportunities for new business in the fashion industry. Students also network with fashion entrepreneurs across a range of different industries to develop their potential capacity as a fashion entrepreneur. In Fashion Venture Creation, students develop their own fashion venture. This course is designed for students to synthesise knowledge and connect theory and practice. Students are required to develop and critically analyse growth opportunities, identify ways of entering a market and develop a venture launch plan. This facilitated learning experience requires students to test the feasibility, viability and desirability for a brand and new products/services in the global fashion business environment.

Research interests

Fast-growth companies; Fashion Business; Consumer Behaviour, Fashion Consumption, Luxury Fashion; Entrepreneurial Marketing; Competitive Advantage; Strategic Orientation; Marketing Strategy, Fashion Entrepreneurship, Qualitative Research, Multi-variate Data Analysis, Mixed Methods

Initiatives and links

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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