Dr Rita Pidani

Senior Lecturer (Business) / Program Coordinator

College of Human and Social Futures / Newcastle Business School

Biography

Dr Rita received her PhD in Economics from the University of Newcastle, Australia. She has been with the University of Newcastle, Australia campus, since July 2010 as a sessional tutor and lecturer and then as full-time lecturer at Singapore campus from July 2014. She has over 15 years of teaching experience in various business programs and courses. She is actively involved in research related to small and medium-sized enterprise development, women’s enterprise development, local economic development, and business and financial models for developing countries. She is a member of Economic Society of Australia (ESA) and Economic Society of Singapore (ESS).

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Economics
  • Master of Business Administration
  • Ph.D. in Economics

Specialisation

  • Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) Development and Growth

Research Areas

  • Internal and external driving forces of growth
  • MSMEs Performance
  • Export-led development
  • SMEs cluster and network development
  • SMEs productivity and competitiveness
  • Innovation and Specialisation, and Finance of SMEs

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles
Year Citation
2024 Tan, K. L., Loganathan, S. R., Pidani, R. R., Yeap, P. F., Ng, D. W. L., Chong, N. T. S., … Yeo, M. M. L. (2024). Embracing imperfections: a predictive analysis of factors alleviating adult learners’ digital learning stress on Singapore’s lifelong learning journey. Human Resource Development International, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2024.2389029
2023 Subair, N., Pidani, R. R., Meiyani, E. Haris, R. (2023) “Livelihood strategies for widows and divorcees of coastal fishers in Indonesia”, Etnosia: Jurnal Etnografi Indonesia 8(1), 12-23.
2023 Tan, K.L., Sim, A, Hii, I, Donohue, T., and Pidani, R. (2023), “The multigroup analysis of bidirectional work-family enrichment on family satisfaction of hospitality employees during the pandemic: Where religiosity and marital status matter”, The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied 157(1), 48-70.
2022 Tan, K.L., Ho, J.M., Pidani, R. and Goveravaram, A.D. (2022), “Doing good does you good? The financial impact of individual CSR dimensions: A Malaysian context”, Social Responsibility Journal 18(1), 43-67.
2020 Pidani, R. R., Mahmood, A., and Agbola, F. “Does the Board Gender Diversity Enhance Firm Performance” Asian Journal of Business Research 10(1), 29-46, doi: 10.14707/ajbr.200074
2019 Ha, H., Palaniappan, K., Pidani. R. (2019). Psychosocial well-being of employees in the banking sector in Singapore. International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment (In press).
2016 Pidani, R. R., and Mahmood, A (2016). “Does international competition enhance capacity utilisation? Evidence from Indonesia, Philippine and Vietnam” Asian Journal of Empirical Research, 6(5), 117-130, doi: 10.18488/journal.1007/2016.6.5/1007.5.117.130
2015 Pidani, R. R., Mahmood, A., and Agbola, F. (2015). “The impact of domestic constraints on export behaviour of small and medium-sized firms in Indonesia” Academy of Taiwan Business and Management Review 11(1), 1-11.
2013 Pidani, R. R. and Balaka, I. (2013) “Firm level determinants to small and medium sized enterprises’ access to financing in Indonesia,” Academy of Taiwan Business and Management Review, 9(1), 117-126.
2012 Pidani, R. R., Mahmood, A., and Agbola, F. (2012). “Do managerial characteristics promote export development? A case of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Indonesia,” Academy of Taiwan Business and Management Review, 8(3), 6-15.
White Paper
Year Citation
2020 Pidani, R. R., Kin Kah, N., Cheong, K., Chiam, M., Tan, J. Singapore Tourism Industry Roundtable 2020: Navigating the COVID Storm, 05 November 2020, Singapore
Books
YearCitation
2025

Lee, H., Pidani, R., & Loganathan, S. R. (2025). Navigating the New Digital Frontier: Inclusive Leadership and Sustainable Practices in the Era of Technological Transformation. In: Managing Change: Sustainable Practices, Inclusive Leadership, and Gender Equality in the Digital Industrial Revolution. Mehak Arora, Manish Srivasta, Arpit Gupta (Eds). Pp. 83-108. United Kingdom: Emerald. 

2025

Loganathan, S. R., Pidani, R. (2025). Navigating the Future: Digital Mentorship in Industry 5.0 – A Comparative Study of Singapore and Australia. In: Digital Mentorship: Bridging AI-Human Divide in the Era of Industry 5.0, Shikha Gera, Archana Shankar (Eds) eprint = {https://www.emerald.com/book/chapter-pdf/9934013/978-1-83662-252-920251008.pdf} 

2024Yeap, P. F., Pidani, R., Vadivel, S., and D. Yang (2024). Singapore Smart Nation: Journey into a New Digital Landscape for Higher Education, Springer Books, in: Andrei O. J. Kwok & Pei-Lee Teh (ed.), Emerging Technologies in Business, pages 281-304, Springer.
2020Dr. Rita R. Pidani, Dr. Frank W. Agbola, Dr. Amir Mahmood, Dr. Peik Foong Yeap. ‘Barriers to Internationalisation in SMEs: Evidence from Indonesia’. pp. 1-226. Supreme Century, USA. ISBN No. 1939123992
2019Pidani, R. R., Mahmood, A., and Agbola, F. (2019). Insight: Determinants of SMEs internationalisation in Indonesia. USA: Supreme Century
2011Pidani, R. R. (2011). Indonesian political economy and SMEs: A Short Review. Jakarta: Unhalu Press.
Conference Presentations
Year Citation
2016 Ha, H., Kum, I., Pidani, R. Human rights and business: older workers in Singapore. 4th International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD) 2016, Mahidol University, Thailand.
2013 Pidani, R. Teaching principles of economics using MMT approach. 18th Australasian Teaching Economics Conference 2013, Newcastle, Australia.
2010 Pidani, R. Export Barriers and export development of Indonesian SMEs. 5th Global Academy of Business and Economic Research Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Grants and Funding

Research Grants Obtained

Number of Grants: 4

Total Funding: S$51,344.08

YearResearch ProjectCapacityAward BodyCountryValue
2023Vaccine Hesitancy Research ProjectCo-Investigator Singapore, South AfricaS$20,000
2021It is OK not to be OK: The challenges and digital well-being of learners’ online learning experienceCo- InvestigatorUniversity of Newcastle Singapore’s Small Project Research Grant 2021SingaporeS$10,000
2019Assessing the impact of internal and external factors influencing firm performance of Chinese firms exporting to AfricaCo-InvestigatorUON International Research Collaboration Grant 2019AustraliaA$19,650
2016Does the gender diversity of a board of directors enhance firm performance: ASEANPrincipal InvestigatorUniversity of Newcastle Singapore’s Small Project Research Grant 2016SingaporeS$5,000