Important academic discoveries often go unseen by the people who could benefit from them most. Studies show that business leaders and policymakers engage with fewer than 15% of published research, leaving valuable insights underused.
To help close this gap, Professor Quan Xie partnered with an international research team to develop new digital marketing–driven strategies that help scholars share their work more effectively beyond academic circles.
“Academia has long struggled to communicate research outside its own walls,” Dr. Xie said. “Digital technology now gives scholars powerful tools to increase visibility and maximize the impact of their findings – especially in a time of widespread misinformation.”
Published in the Journal of Global Marketing, the team’s two studies introduce:
- A Dual-Path Digital Dissemination Framework that helps scholars build a strong personal brand and strategically share research across platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts, and ResearchGate.
- The DESTINY Strategy – Digital, Engagement, Storytelling, Time, Innovation, Network and Yield: a structured approach that makes research both rigorous and accessible. Its “Yield” component encourages measuring success not just through citations, but through real-world influence on policy, business practices, and public understanding.
The frameworks also offer platform recommendations for each research stage, from early peer feedback to public-facing social content, giving scholars a roadmap to maximize reach and relevance.
Co-authors include Weng Marc Lim (Sunway University), Sakshi Kathuria (Fortune Institute of International Business), Kimmy Chan (Hong Kong Baptist University), Dana-Nicoleta Lascu (University of Richmond), and Ajay K. Manrai (University of Delaware).
TAI celebrates Dr. Xie’s leadership in advancing how meaningful research is communicated and how it can drive real societal impact.