A University Canada West (UCW) MBA student is sharing his research at a national management studies conference this weekend.

Amin Rahimipour will present his work-in-progress paper at the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada’s (ASAC) online conference.

Rahimipour is researching ways for companies to better understand what their customers are experiencing.

“When companies know the nature of the customer experience, they can manage its drivers and consequences, which have direct impact on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and a company`s performance and growth,” said Rahimipour, who started his MBA in April 2019.

Growing field of research

Customer experience is a growing field in marketing research.

According to a 2018 study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 73 percent of customers say how they’re treated by a company is the most important factor to their purchasing decisions, behind price and product quality.
Rahimipour said two UCW professors provided valuable feedback.

The paper began as a project for a Research Methodologies and Inquiry (RSCH 600) class with Dr. Nisa Chand. He worked on it further with Dr. Mehdi Akhgari, who teaches marketing.

“Dr. Chand was very helpful during the research process, and I learned a lot from her points and comments,” Rahimipour said. “Dr. Akhgari greatly helped me to improve it and encouraged me to submit it to the ASAC conference.”

The value of conferences

The annual ASAC conference is an academic business conference attended by students, researchers and business professionals.

“This is the most important Canadian conference and one of the most esteemed conferences in North America,” Dr. Akhgari said. “Universities host and participants attend from all over the world.”

Because of the pandemic, this year’s conference is being held online. Still, it’s an important networking opportunity for students, Dr. Akhgari said.

Also, presenting research at a conference is valuable practice for students who want to pursue an academic career.

“I became a member and started submitting papers 10 years ago when I started my PhD,” Dr. Akghari said.

The three-day conference runs from June 12-14.