Dionte Berry
Staff Writer
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To have an article published on Google Scholar is a prestigious accomplishment, and Murray State assistant professor of marketing Ismail Karabas has had multiple articles published about business and service.
One of Karabas’ works on Google Scholar is his dissertation at Washington State University, “New Directions in Service Failures,” which explores people’s responses to service and tipping.
Inspired by his wife working in the service industry, Karabas started doing research on tipping in 2015.
“My wife was working at a restaurant and they were changing their tipping system, which is kind of where I got the idea,” Karabas said.
From there Karabas went on to discuss how the basic tipping model is evolving in his essay “What am I tipping you for? Customer response to tipping requests at limited-service restaurants,” published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Karabas explores how customers respond to having to tip before receiving the services they are paying for.
Before working on his dissertation, Karabas also had some experience in food service.
“I’m originally from Turkey, and working at a cafe there, tipping is not really a thing,” Karabas said.
Before coming to America, Karabas worked on his masters at the Izmir University of Economics in Turkey. In Turkey, he met his wife.
“I met my wife in Turkey while I was doing an internship, and she was there for a summer job for three months at space camp in Turkey,” Karabas said. “We met in 2010 and then we moved to Washington State in 2013.”
At Washington State University, he received his doctoral degree in 2018. Now on the job hunt, Karabas was looking for a position where he could have the opportunity to do research as well as teach. He and his wife also had their family and friends in mind.
“I had several campus visits and then multiple offers after that, and one of them was Murray State,” Karabas said. “[I had] been there several times for friends, family and holidays because my wife is from Louisville.”
Besides being close to family and friends he was also attracted to Murray State because the school allowed him to balance research and teaching.
Karabas enjoys teaching and although he has written several useful materials toward his teaching, he makes sure not to overuse his articles.
“I worry too much about sharing my research because it runs the risk of self promotion,” Karabas said. “I only talk about my work if it is relevant to the class materials.”
Karabas’ essays may be geared toward those in the marketing and service field, but it can benefit both consumers and producers.
“For business owners it can show them how customers may respond to a change in tipping systems,” Karabas said. “For those who don’t own a business they can learn more about something they face every time they dine out.”