Karen Alison Smith

Karen Alison Smith is a New Zealand management academic. She is a full professor at the Victoria University of Wellington.

Academic career

Smith did a 1999 PhD thesis titled 'The management of volunteers at heritage attractions : literary heritage properties in the UK' at Nottingham Trent University, working at the University of Greenwich before moving to Victoria University of Wellington in 2003

Smith's research focuses on the management of volunteers, particularly at large sporting events. She has conducted projects related to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, London 2012 Olympic Games (funded by the International Olympic Committee) and the Rugby World Cup 2011 (funded by Sport New Zealand).

Notable doctoral students of Smith's include Heike Schänzel.

Selected works Carl, Daniela, Sara Kindon, and Karen Smith. "Tourists' experiences of film locations: New Zealand as ‘Middle-Earth’." Tourism Geographies 9, no. 1 (2007): 49-63. Jones, Deborah, and Karen Smith. "Middle‐earth meets New Zealand: Authenticity and location in the making of The Lord of the Rings." Journal of management studies 42, no. 5 (2005): 923–945. Holmes, Kirsten, and Karen Smith. Managing volunteers in tourism. Routledge, 2012. Smith, Karen A., Kirsten Holmes, Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Ram A. Cnaan, Femida Handy, and Jeffrey L. Brudney. "Motivations and benefits of student volunteering: Comparing regular, occasional, and non-volunteers in five countries." Canadian journal of nonprofit and social economy research 1, no. 1 (2010): 65. Smith, Karen A. "Literary enthusiasts as visitors and volunteers." International Journal of Tourism Research 5, no. 2 (2003): 83–95.