Dean of DOBA Business School: 20 Years of Research Activity at DOBA

After DOBA Business School had been established in 2004, the Institute’s activities supported the subsequent development of master’s programmes and since 2019 also doctoral studies. In 2006, the Institute was renamed the DOBA Business Institute, which mainly focused on the development of scientific and research activities in the fields that still characterise it today:

• Economics (with an emphasis on international economic relations and international finance)
• Marketing (with an emphasis on sales and public relations) 
• Entrepreneurship (with an emphasis on small, medium-sized and family enterprises)
• Management (with an emphasis on organisation and strategic management) 
• Modern business sciences (technological development, digitalisation, smart cities), and
• Higher education (with an emphasis on online learning and didactics and the development of higher education)

Initially, the Business Institute comprised all teachers and associates of the school, but a few years ago we focused more on a core research team in order to plan its activities more effectively. Today, this research team is comprised of teachers working at the school. Looking at the results of publications, registered and approved research projects by external funders, and internal development projects, the Business Institute has lived up to its name from its very beginnings. This is evident from the continued growth of its outputs, particularly the publications serving the development of study content and regular promotion of teachers to titles, as well as efforts to involve students in research, both in the context of and beyond their study obligations. In this respect, the publishing activity needs to be mentioned, including the setting up and growth of the school’s scientific and professional Journal of Innovative Business and Management, publications on the occasion of conferences organised by the school, and the annual scientific monograph. The results of these endeavours are evident under the SICRIS criteria and the citations by Institute members in important international journals, as assessed by the Slovenian Research Agency ‒ ARRS.

In addition to efforts to meet the formal criteria for national and international accreditations as effectively as possible, one of the important objectives and the mission of the DOBA Business Institute is to be active in research for environmental development. Institute members are initiators, organisers, and content bearers of national and international scientific and expert conferences organised by the school, they participate in its panels, formulate content marketing contributions for publication on the school’s website, and have their popular science articles published in national media.

In order to maximise the contribution of the Business Institute to the achievement of the school’s objectives and strategy, the plans for the upcoming period highlight important areas for further growth of the school and the Institute. This is first and foremost an increase in the integration of the school’s students and graduates into the school’s scientific and research activity. The next, despite relatively good results in this field, includes the intensification of research in the field of the school’s profile and activity (especially online learning). Another objective focuses on improving results of acquiring externally funded research projects. We intend to continue working towards an even more active involvement of the school’s contractually employed teachers in the scientific and research activity of the DOBA Business Institute.

Professor Dr Rasto Ovin
Dean of DOBA Business School