Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon

Diane Ruwhiu

MCom PhD DipGrad(Otago)
Ngāpuhi

Associate Professor
Room OBS 614
Tel +64 3 479 8075
Email diane.ruwhiu@otago.ac.nz

Diane has a strong portfolio of expertise related to Māori research and is a listed researcher with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (Māori Centre of Research Excellence) and she been involved in two National Science Challenges: Science for Innovation and Technology (2017–2022) an Ageing Well (2022+)

Her research focuses on issues of relevance for Māori development, in particular the Māori economy and business, contributing to the increasingly prominent field of Indigenous studies in management and organisation, specifically in relation to research methodologies, understanding features of success for the Māori economy and enterprise, building Māori business capability, the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and science, and Indigenising management education.

Diane also has a passion for teaching. In 2021, she was a recipient of a University of Otago Kaupapa Māori teaching excellence award and also the Ako Aotearoa National kaupapa Māori Teaching Excellence Award for her development of Indigenous curriculum in the Otago Business School.

In 2022, Diane accepted a Ministerial appointment to the New Zealand Productivity Commission (Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa) as a Commissioner, as well as a University appointment to Deputy Dean Graduate Research School.

Other roles Diane is responsible for are:

Teaching Responsibilities

Research Interests

  • Indigenous (Māori) business and organisation – Indigenous forms of knowledge in organisational practice (business communication, entrepreneurship, business ethics, leadership, etc.) and research (research methodology). How do Māori businesses maintain and control the integrity of their product and services in the global value chain?
  • Indigenous business education – What constitutes quality Indigenous business education? What are the consequences for business curriculum development? How do Indigenous values enhance business curriculum and better prepare our students to work in an increasingly diverse and multicultural world?

Supervision

PhD

Mashkoor Ahmad - Family business SME's, succession a major transition. (Supervisors: Diane Ruwhiu, Paula O'Kane)

George Makapatama - Fakafekauaga: Proposing a Servantship Model of Leadership

Cassino Doyle - Expanding the capabilities of Māori through NZ's infrastructure delivery

Completed

PhD

Ruth Mrabure - Exploring entrepreneurial orientation amongst indigineous entreprenuers.(Supervisors: Diane Ruwhiu, Tara Duncan)

Farhana Firoz - Gender Role, Entrepreneurial Intentions & Psychological Capital as the Mediator: A Gender Study of Chinese Prospective Entrepreneurs in New Zealand. (Supervisors: Diane Ruwhiu, Jeff Foote)

MCom

Mubshra Sattar - Ethical Leadership, Employee Well-being and Life Happiness- Does Ethical Leadership Create Happy Workers? (Supervisors: Steven Grover, Diane Ruwhiu)

Kirsty Dwyer - Web-based procurement in New Zealand: Exploring the concepts behind the decision to implement – (Supervisors: Andre Everett, Diane Ruwhiu)

Karen Henderson – Developing Grape Expectations – (Supervisors: Andre Everett, Diane Ruwhiu)

Publications

Maiono, J. R., & Ruwhiu, D. (2024). Vakumuni vuku ni vanua (gathering the wisdom of the land): An Indigenous fieldwork research methodology in Fiji [Research note]. Asia Pacific Viewpoint. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/apv.12424 Journal - Research Article

Staniland, N. A., Ruwhiu, D., & Dell, K. (2024). From inclusion to indigenisation: Māori methodologies for diversity scholarship. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1108/EDI-09-2022-0248 Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W., Davis, L. S., Ruwhiu, D., Li, L., Lloyd, N., Beatson, N., & Zhu, L. (2024). Science stories through a cultural lens: The effects of cultural framing of storytelling in the natural and social sciences. Metode Science Studies Journal, 14, 159-165. doi: 10.7203/metode.14.26592 Journal - Research Article

Doyle, C., Thompson-Fawcett, M., & Ruwhiu, D. (2023). Exploring Indigenous notions of wellbeing and planning as mechanisms for spatializing degrowth. Proceedings of the Graduate Research Student Symposium. (pp. 12-13). Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/graduate-research Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Lucock, X. K. S., Moir, J. L., & Ruwhiu, D. (2023). Māori cultural values and soil fertility management: An exploratory study. Journal of New Zealand Grasslands, 85, 135-141. doi: 10.33584/jnzg.2023.85.3640 Journal - Research Article

Back to top