Sabinah Wanjugu, a doctoral student within the College of Business at Louisiana Tech University, recently received a research award at the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Spring 2019 Conference in Dallas, Texas.

Wanjugu co-authored the paper, “On the Diffusion of Prepaid Mobile Phones in Emerging Markets,” with College of Business faculty Dr. Hani Mesak, State Farm endowed professor, and Dr. Rob Blackstock, associate dean of undergraduate studies and assistant professor of economics.

The paper focuses on the diffusion of prepaid cellular phones in developing countries which exhibit rapid growth with a concurrent expansion of both middle-class and rich consumers, but which still possess a large segment of poor citizens.

“Emerging markets now account for 65 percent of the world’s population and 40 percent of the world’s economic outputs,” said Wanjugu. “The research findings provide insights to multinationals from developed countries interested in expanding their businesses in such markets as their home markets for goods and services are saturated.”

Wanjugu, a third year DBA student with a concentration in marketing, is currently working on her dissertation research which focuses on how the consumer-firm relationship influences information disclosure habits — a relationship that has not been previously analyzed.

In addition to IABPAD, she has presented her research at the Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference and the Society of Marketing Advances Conference. Wanjugu has also been selected as a fellow of the 2019 Academy of Marketing Science 5th Annual Doctoral Consortium, which will be held in May in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

“Since beginning my studies at Louisiana Tech, I have received nothing but support from faculty and staff,” said Wanjugu. “Each one I have interacted with along the way has been sincere, prompt and has my best interest at heart. In particular, the College of Business has made so many resources available to all the doctoral students in many capacities, and ensures a welcoming and nurturing environment where students are stimulated to achieve their utmost potential.”