dba thesis structure

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DBA: Doctor of Business Administration

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Dissertation Databases

Franklin dissertation resources, books to help you with your dissertation.

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Dissertation Calculator

• Dissertation Calculator The Dissertation Calculator is a tool created by the University of Minnesota. It helps break down the process into manageable chunks. Note that while most of the information is generic, some links refer to specifics for UM students.

OhioLINK ETD Center Upload

• A Guide to Submitting Your Dissertation Explains how to meet the digital accessibility requirements and how to upload a completed dissertation to OhioLINK.
• Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center (OhioLINK) This link opens in a new window Online theses and dissertations from Ohio graduate students.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations This link opens in a new window Information about and links to freely-available full-text to almost almost 3.5 million graduate theses and dissertations from over 1,100 colleges, universities, and research institutions.
• Open Dissertations This link opens in a new window Open access database providing both historic and contemporary dissertations and theses. Includes content of the American Doctoral Dissertations database, which provides more than 153,000 theses and dissertations from 1902 to the present, as well as additional dissertation information provided by colleges and universities from around the world. Includes links to full-text from free platforms where available.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Doctoral dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. It contains a significant amount of new international dissertations and theses both in citations and in full text.
• WorldCat Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window Catalog of dissertations, theses and published material based on theses, worldwide.
• Franklin University Doctoral Resources Doctoral Studies Resource documents, including the dissertation handbook and guide to submitting your dissertation are available on the Office of Academic Scholarship page.
• Franklin University Student Dissertations View former Franklin student's dissertations in the OhioLINK ETD Center.
• Print Books

The library provides access to these dissertation-related ebooks which you can read online:

The library owns these dissertation-related books which you can check out:

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Capstone Form and Style

Programs: dba doctoral study, dba doctoral capstone templates.

• Instructions for Using the DBA Doctoral Capstone Templates Applies to all DBA templates

Traditional Capstone Path

• DBA Research Project Template

Use the DBA Research Project Template for:

• Qualitative Pragmatic Inquiry (started AFTER 10/30/23)
• DBA Traditional Doctoral Study Template

Use the DBA Traditional Doctoral Study Template for:

• Qualitative Pragmatic Inquiry (started BEFORE 10/30/23)
• Qualitative Case Study (started BEFORE 10/30/23)
• Quantitative Research Project (Anonymous Survey)

Portfolio Capstone Path

• Portfolio Qualitative Program Evaluation Template
• Portfolio Quantitative Secondary Data Analysis Template

Consulting Capstone Path

• Consulting Capstone Template (started AFTER 10/30/23)
• Consulting Capstone Template (started BEFORE 10/30/23)

To prepare for the form and style review, use the following checklist, which is the same checklist we use when we review capstone manuscripts and the checklist we return to the student and committee along with their completed review.

• Form and Style Review Checklist (APA 7)

About the DBA Doctoral Study

Access samples of published DBA doctoral studies through the Walden library website under Databases. You can also access the Office of Research and Doctoral Services's Doctoral Capstone and Project Resources for additional information on the DBA doctoral study process. For proposal, dissertation, thesis, or doctoral study questions, contact [email protected]

Doctoral Capstone Template Guidance

To accompany the doctoral capstone template document, here is some information to note when first beginning to use the template.

• The document may contain various front matter elements (i.e., two title pages, the abstract, a Dedication page, and an Acknowledgements page), a Table of Contents (TOC), Lists of Tables and Figures, the document body text, a References list, and Appendices.
• Students should ensure that the text in brackets [ ] on the two title pages is changed to reflect their own information and then remove the brackets. This includes the title, name, degrees earned, degree program, and date of anticipated completion.
• Begin using the template by copying and pasting the text from a working document into the appropriate headings of the template and references to the reference list.

How to tag headings (so that headings show up in the TOC):

• Most headings are already placed into the document. Headings students add (i.e., primarily for the literature review and results chapters and sections) should be added by creating a new heading and tagging it so that it appears in the TOC when updated.
• Add a heading by first ensuring that the pilcrow [ ¶ ] is turned on—this allows the writer to see hidden formatting in the document that should not be deleted (e.g., page breaks and section breaks).
• Add the heading by placing the cursor where the heading should be inserted and creating a hard return.
• Then type the text for the heading and highlight it with the cursor, ensuring that you do NOT highlight the pilcrow.
• Once the text is highlighted, choose the appropriate APA Style heading from the Styles box on the Home tab. This is called tagging a heading. HINT: The Styles tab may need to be expanded by clicking on the small box with the arrow at the bottom of the Styles section. 

How to update the TOC (to bring in new headings and update page numbers):

• Once new headings have been added or text created or inserted such that the page numbers have shifted, the TOC should be updated.
• Update the TOC by clicking on it with the cursor so that the section becomes grey.
• Then, right click (or control click on a Mac) and choose “Update field.”
• Depending on whether headings or just text has been added, choose “Update entire table” or “Update page numbers only.”

Template and Formatting Resources:

• Form and Style Document Formatting Expectations , including information on APA, margins, pagination, etc.
• SMRTguide on Fixing Errors in the TOC
• Academic Skills Center (ASC) Capstone Template Formatting Videos
• For questions regarding layout formatting in the doctoral capstone, contact [email protected]  
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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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The DBA Thesis

1. Thesis Characteristics

2. Thesis Defense

3. Thesis Publication

Suggestions:

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Page last updated on 08/06/2023

The Thesis Characteristics

The thesis is a publishable piece of written work.

It is also an individual piece of applied research that mobilises the candidate’s professional experience and their academic knowledge, as well as generating innovative links between theory and business / management practices

It shows demonstrable impact on the Executive DBA student’s area of management practice or interest.

It focuses on a theme related to business or management.

As a general rule, the thesis follows a traditional format, including an introduction, a literature review, a conceptual/theoretical section, a discussion of results, the managerial impact of the research, a conclusion, and a bibliography.

The format of the Executive DBA thesis is quite flexible provided that the quality is there. Generally, it is a document of about 150 to 200 pages.

The defence of the thesis

The defence of the Executive DBA thesis takes place after authorisation by the scientific committee, taking into account the written document submitted, the supervising professor’s report and an external examiner’s report.

• Thesis defense in late September/early October during the Annual International Week, year n,
• Authorisation and reports by 2 external examiners, 31 August year n,
• Submission of the final version to Business Science Institute and to the external examiners: 1 July, year n
• Authorisation to proceed from the Business Science Institute Scientific Advisor: 30 June year n
• Submission of the thesis to Business Science Institute: 1 June year n
• Thesis approved by the thesis supervisor: 31 May, year n
• Pre-presentation (mock viva): last follow-up seminar before the scheduled thesis defence (viva) in year n.
• Doctoral supervisory follow-up seminars: year n-1/-2
• Beginning of the writing of the thesis: year n-4
• If this schedule is not respected, the defence will not be able to take place at the end of September of year n.

The defence is public and formally announced.

The examination panel is composed of at least three examiners from the programme and possibly a practitioner.

The defence follows the following process:

• Oral presentation by the candidate (20 to 30 minutes),
• Remarks, questions from examination panel members,
• Discussion with the examination panel,
• Deliberation and advice on potential for publication,
• Public announcement of the results and award of the Executive Doctorate in Business Administration from Business Science Institute and the Doctorate in Business Administration from iaelyon School of Management.

Publication of the thesis

The objective of the Executive DBA is to enable those graduates who wish to and if the examination panel gives its approval, to publish their thesis.

Business Science Institute offers its active support to this process but in now way replaces the efforts of our graduates who are ultimately responsible for achieving, or not, publication.

Several possibilities, subject to the agreement of the respective editorial committees, are possible:

• Publication of the thesis in the form of a book via a publisher;
• Publication of the thesis in the form of a book at the author’s own expense;
• Publication of the thesis in the form of an e-book on the Business Science Institute website or on another website;
• Publication in the form of a case study submitted to a pedagogical case centre (CCMP Paris / ECCH);
• Publication in the form of an article in a professional journal;
• Publication in the form of an article in an academic journal.

The role of the EDBA Scientific Committee is to advise, assist and guide the graduate, but does not replace the respective editorial committees of the different formats available for publication mentioned above.

Any publication costs are to be borne by the graduate.

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Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

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Ethical Attitudes of Accounting Faculty and Public Accountants , James Karan

An Analysis of the Impact of an Influencer's Perceived Trustworthiness and Content Quality on Their Follower's Travel Intent , Josh C. McNair

Remote Working and Open Offices: A Phenomenological Study of the Factors Impacting Employee Productivity , Frank Murphy

Rural Coopetition: A Consumer Perspective of Marketing Activities Involving SMEs , Cassandra A. Ritzen

Consumer Behavior and Ad-Evoked Effects in Native Ads: The Role of Congruence and Brand Familiarity , Steven Rydin

The Influence of Type of Implicit EWOM on Purchase Intention , Michael H. Starr

U.S. Marine Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Diagnosed with PTSD: Perceived Employment Barriers Faced by Marines with PTSD Upon Discharge , Marlon G. Ware

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

The Relationship Among Generational Cohorts, Tenure, Job Categories, and Employee Readiness for Organizational Change in a Healthcare Environment: A Quantitative Study , Jerry S. K. Adatsi

Electronic Health Records: Influencing Performance at Critical Access Hospitals , John Bennett

Millennial Students’ Awareness of Retirement Issues, Their Retirement Preparedness and Future Expectations , Krzysztof P. Bryniuk

Assessing the Impact of Transition from Rules-based to Principles-based Accounting in the Recognition of Revenue: A Study of Public Companies listed in the Russell 3000 Index that Elected the Full Retrospective Method of Accounting , Foday Y. Deen-Conteh

The Impact of Buyer Needs on Perceived Trade Show Effectiveness , RJ Fryan

Self-Determination Theory and Pharmaceutical Salespeople: Does Motivational Orientation of U.S.-Based Pharmaceutical Salespeople Influence Sales Performance? , Brandon Gilbert

A Cord of Three: A Phenomenological Study of Linkages in Interdenominational Interactions in Northwest Wyoming as Informed Through Network and Social Exchange Theories , Timothy N. Gray

Management Succession in a Two-Family-Owned Business: A Case Study , Dwight D. Ham

Factors Motivating Leaders to Volunteer: An Examination of Volunteer Leadership in Long-term Post-Acute Care , Christian Allen Mason

Happiness at Work: A Phenomenological Investigation of Clinic Managers , Jorge Melendez

Can Trait Emotional Intelligence Variables of Well-Being, Self-Control, Emotionality, and Sociability Individually or Collectively Predict a Software Development Engineer's Creativity? , Mwoyondishe Jonathan Mvududu

Job Satisfaction Among Faculty Members at CCCU Institutions , Heather C. Vaccaro

Sticker Price Elasticity as Predictor of Tuition Reset Success: A Quantitative Approach , Robert F. Van Cleef

A Narrative Analysis of Virtue Ethics Among Accounting Professors , Gibran N. Zogbi

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Leading Change: Examining the Relationships between Leadership Style, Organizational Culture and Change Readiness in Christian Universities of the State of Oregon , Dale Seipp Jr.

Doctorum Reciproco: Multi-Generational Professionals and Their Sentimentality Towards Reciprocity , Sal Villegas

Identifying City Attributes for Place Branding that Create Strong Self-Brand Connections , Matthew Vollrath

An Empirical Examination of Formal and Informal Institutional Factors’ Influence on Global Food Industry Sustainability Engagement , Kat Yamamoto

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Entrepreneurship Education’s Impact on Entrepreneurial Intention: A Predictive Regression Model of Chinese University Students , Brian A. Lavelle

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

The Link Between Job Satisfaction and the Intention to Leave Among Casino Employees , Oliver Wayne Aho

Exploring Factors that Help Students Feel More Connected to Their Online Instructors , Debra Austin

Scoping Job Enlargement with the Cultural Dimension of Individualism: An Industrial , Mark Wm. Cawman

Exceptionally Employable: A Study of the Value of Contrasting Educational Modalities within Christian Liberal Arts Universities in Preparing Students for Employment Suitability , Sam Heinrich

The Impact of CSR Efforts on Firm Performance in the Energy Sector , Robert Lloyd

Public Company Health Insurers and Medical Loss Ratios: An Event Study of Dates Associated with the Affordable Care Act , Rachelle Quinn

Self-Determination and Human Resource Retention: Employee and Volunteer Motivation to Stay in Rural Oregon Nonprofit Organizations , Nicole Richman

Understanding Business Education: Examining the Effect of the Application of Strategic Learning Among Diverse Business Disciplines , Dan Thoman

Pre-Certification Interprofessional Education: Ideal vs. Reality Patient Safety Curriculum , Edward E. Ward

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Marketing Channel Attitudes of Chinese Business-to-Business Companies: An Empirical Buyer Behavior Study for U.S. Companies Marketing to Chinese B2B Customers , Jonathan Cooley

Corporate Social Responsibility: Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Costa Rican Hotel Tourist Industry , Michelle Flynn Osborne

A Phenomenological Investigation of Factors Leading to Success in Diverting Non-Urgent Emergency Department Use at a Rural Critical Access Hospital Using the Patient Centered Medical Home Model , Paul Gratton

An Investigation of the Trends in Pricing for Christian Higher Education and Its Relationship to Perceived Quality , Richard Holaway

Understanding the Process Small Businesses Use to Capture, Convert, and Integrate Survival Knowledge , Frank Marshall

Encouraging Ethical Behavior in the Workplace by Way of the Classroom: Examining the Use of Social Media in Marketing Ethics Instruction to Influence Millennials‘ Perception of Workplace Ethics , Traci Thomas Pierce

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

The Lived Experience of College Choice , Ryan Ladner

The Management of a Turnaround after an Ethical Breach in a Public Institution of Higher Education , Ashley Stark

Nontraditional Students in Management and Accounting Programs: Investigating the Relationship between Personality and Major Satisfaction in the Community College Setting , Brad Ward

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Empirical Study on the Relationship between Ethical Leadership and Organizational Climate of Innovation , Virlena Crosley

Undergraduate Education Background and Ethical Decision Making , Ian H. King

Understanding Consumers' Thoughts and Feelings about Financial Literacy and How Financial Literacy Affects Their Lives Using the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) , Belle Marie

Dissertations from 2013 2013

An Exploratory Study of the Role of Values in Microeconomic Decision-Making and the Implications for Organizations and Leaders , Holly A. Bell

Later Life Career Transitions: Exploration of Factors and Turning Points that Influence Career Transitions in Later Life , Estle Harlan

The Role of Creativity in the Ethical Orientation of Oregon CPAs , John D. Porter

Dissertations from 2012 2012

Exploring the background and motivations of social entrepreneurs , Timothy A. Lucas

Dissertations from 2011 2011

Organizational culture and brand : A grounded theory assessment of employees' enablement to live the brand at a best place to work , Tyler Laird Magee

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Programme Intended Learning Outcomes

• Lead effectively and responsibly with ethical principles
• Understand emerging business management issues with global and multicultural perspectives
• Adopt leadership principles to enhance organizational performance
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge in carrying out research in business administration fields
• Apply academic theories and frameworks to address real world business problems

Programme Structure

The DBA programme includes coursework, residential workshops, and a thesis. Students must successfully complete 29 credit units of both compulsory and elective courses. The final phase of the programme is the completion of a doctoral thesis. The thesis carries 18 credit units and must be based on an original investigation in business administration. An oral defense of the thesis is required of each DBA candidate. The normal study period of the programme is three years.

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DBA - Doctorate in Business Administration

• Description of the course

Who Can Apply

• Programme Structure
• Admissions requirements

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Description

This prestigious program is designed to propel your career to new heights by providing comprehensive expertise and skills that set you apart in the competitive business world. With the DBA, you'll gain in-depth knowledge and be poised for rapid advancement into executive and leadership positions where your leadership will significantly impact you.

Develop powerful research capabilities enabling you to make data-driven decisions and tackle complex business challenges. By contributing to the body of knowledge in your industry through original research, you'll become a recognized thought leader. Forge valuable connections with professionals from diverse backgrounds, creating collaboration opportunities and networking that can shape your career. Along this journey, you'll experience personal growth, building resilience, discipline, and determination.

Equip yourself with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in entrepreneurship and gain a global perspective, as DBA programs often emphasize international business trend.

The Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) is ideally suited for a select group of individuals with a unique blend of ambition, experience, and a thirst for academic and professional advancement. This program is tailored for:

• Experienced Professionals: Those with significant experience in business and management, often at the senior executive or managerial level, are eager to further refine their expertise and credentials.
• Aspiring Thought Leaders: Individuals who aspire to become thought leaders and visionaries within their respective industries, with a desire to contribute new knowledge and innovative solutions to the field.
• Change Agents: Professionals who are driven by a commitment to bring about positive change in their organizations and industries through research-driven insights and strategies.
• Future Academics : Aspiring academics who aim to bridge the gap between practical business expertise and academic research, potentially transitioning into roles as university professors or researchers. The DBA program is designed for individuals who see themselves as catalysts for progress, seeking to make a lasting impact in business and management through rigorous academic study and research.

Programme structure

The DBA program, encompassing both the direct entry option for MBA holders and the standard four-year track for those with a postgraduate qualification in business or a related area, is structured to progress through two distinct phases. In the initial phase, which applies to all participants regardless of their chosen pathway, students must complete an 'upgrade viva' within 12 months of their registration in the DBA program. During this upgrade viva, students must present and defend their research proposal. This critical milestone ensures that each student has a robust and viable research plan for their doctoral journey.

The coursework for the first two years, delivered through bi-weekly online supervision meetings and a virtual learning environment, is designed to support this process. During this period, students delve into mandatory advanced topics such as research methodologies, quantitative and statistical analysis, qualitative analysis, and optional topics such as strategic management, organisational theory, and the use of AI for education. Alongside this, students engage in preparatory work for their doctoral dissertation under the guidance of their academic advisors. This preparation includes two essential elements: a comprehensive literature review in their chosen research area, due by the end of the first academic year, and a preliminary thesis proposal, due by the end of the second year.

The second phase of the DBA program culminates in the final viva, where students defend their doctoral thesis. This event should occur between 1 and 6 years following the successful completion of the upgrade viva. The timing of this final defence is flexible to accommodate the diverse pace and intensity of research work students undertake, depending on whether they are on the accelerated direct entry pathway or the standard four-year track.

14 SUCCESSFUL COMPLETIONS Since the start of the DBA program in 2019 there has been 14 succesful graduations. 99% employment 2.8yrs average completion

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the DBA program, you are required to meet the following criteria:

• Possess a Master's degree in business or a related field or an equivalent qualification.
• Have a minimum of five years of senior management experience.

The admission process is highly competitive, and all prospective applicants must provide the following documentation:

• Official academic transcripts and certificates demonstrating the completion of an MBA, MSc, or MA degree in business or a related discipline.
• Two letters of recommendation, with at least one coming from your current employer.
• A comprehensive curriculum vitae (CV) outlining your professional and academic background.
• A copy of your passport for identification purposes.
• A well-structured research proposal (Guidance notes provided).
• A personal statement that articulates your motivations for pursuing this program and elucidates how your educational background, qualifications, and prior experiences align with the program's requirements and expectations (Guidance notes available).
• Meeting these admission requirements and submitting the requested documentation will ensure that you are on the path to joining our esteemed DBA program.

AWARD OF DBA Uninettuno DBA is a professional doctorate program different from a research doctorate - such as a PhD. This program is classified as Corso di Alta Formazione Professionale DBA - Doctorate of Business Administration (D.M. 270/2004) in Italy. Uninettuno DBA is a 3rd Cycle, EQF Level 8 program in accordance with the European Qualifications Framework.

Professor Vincent English

Vincent is an experienced businessman and entrepreneur. Vincent is current CEO of Vernier Europe, the world’s largest data logging educational company; a role which covers the company’s interests in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He also serves on the board of several other companies and is an active partner in 5G Consulting. Vincent is also a research associate at the International Centre for Innovation and Workplace Learning at Dublin City University.

Professor Marco De Marco

Professor Francesca Maschio (International Telematic University UNINETTUNO)

Professor Francesca Maschio (International Telematic University UNINETTUNO) International lawyer, tenured researcher, professor at UNINETTUNO, contract professor at the London School of Business and Finance, the Berlin School for Business and Innovation and the University of Rome "Roma Tre", Faculty of Law. She graduated from the University of Rome "La Sapienza", Faculty of Law (with honors) and obtained a PhD in "Intellectual Property Law" at the University of Padua. Lawyer since 2001, she has a wide international experience on negotiation and taylor-made drafting of international contracts, intellectual property, fashion law, artificial intelligence, data protection, cybersecurity.

Professor Alberto Romolini

Professor Tony Birch (Longford College)

Professor Ruth Forrest (Longford College)

• College of Business
• Why CityU DBA
• CityU DBA Highlights
• Programme Aims and Intended Learning Outcomes
• At a Glance
• Coursework Component
• Thesis Component
• Suggested Programme Path
• Teaching and Learning
• Duration and Fees
• Department of Accountancy
• Department of Economics & Finance
• Department of Information Systems
• Department of Management
• Department of Management Sciences
• Department of Marketing
• Participants' Profile
• Views from Our Participants
• Views from Our Graduates
• Possible Research Areas
• Participants' Research Topics
• Graduates' Thesis Topics
• Journal Publications

Thesis Component (30 Credit Units)

The thesis is an important component of the DBA programme. It is an independent piece of work that requires students to critically and rigorously examine a topic of practical interest in the field of business or management that is relevant to the profession.

Students undertaking the thesis must provide a report on their progress to their Qualifying Panel at least once per year.

The Panel must be satisfied that the work is being conducted independently by the candidate and has been undertaken substantially during the student's candidature.

Thesis must display a high level of intellectual accomplishment and innovation and must exhibit the following characteristics:

• It makes a substantial intellectual contribution to the candidate’s business (or organisation) or to the candidate's professional discipline; and
• It could be published in a mainstream professional or research journal.

The thesis should normally be at least 50,000 words in length.

DBA Knowledge Dissemination

• Research Topics of Some Current Students
• Thesis Topics of our DBA Graduates

Our demonstrated strength and international competitiveness in some main research areas are listed below.

Research in accounting covers a broad spectrum of issues in the areas of financial accounting, auditing, and corporate governance. The major foci in the department include:

• Corporate governance, auditing, external monitoring issues in the China, U.S., and cross-country or international settings as they relate to ownership structures, institutional infrastructures, legal regimes, information environments;
• Accounting disclosure issues such as disclosure and audit quality, earnings management, accounting conservatism, voluntary disclosures or management earnings guidance, and audit pricing;
• Emerging issues in accounting research such as the role of accounting disclosures and audit quality in the debt market or debt contracting, accounting standards harmonization and foreign investment flows, information flows along the supply chain, economic consequences of corporate tax avoidance, the impact of political connections on accounting quality, economic consequences of internal control reporting, accounting determinants of stock price crash risk, accounting quality versus credit quality, tax complexity and tax compliance.

Research expertise of the Department includes:

• International Economics Trade policy; Intellectual property protection; FDI and global sourcing; International migration; International financial crises; Exchange rate misalignments; Purchasing power parity; Capital mobility; Globalization;
• Microeconomics Game theory; Industrial organization; Energy and environmental economics; Contract theory; Political economy;
• Macroeconomics Business cycles; Endogenous growth; Structural change; Fiscal and monetary policy; Real estate and urban economics;
• Corporate Finance Capital structure; Payout policy; Capital raising; Real investment; Firm-bank relationship; Mergers and acquisitions; Restructuring; Hedging; Corporate governance and control;
• Asset Pricing Equilibrium asset pricing; Equity returnrisk relationship; Term structure of interest rates; Derivatives pricing; Financial engineering;
• Investments and Capital Markets Financial investments; Market microstructure; Anomalies; International financial management; Financial services and intermediation; Fund management; Credit risk management.

Research in Information Systems (IS) integrates technical and behavioural perspectives in addressing the effective and efficient use of information technology. In this sense, IS deals with aspects of the creation of information systems as well as evaluation in a variety of business, government and societal contexts. Methodologies employed in IS research accordingly cover a broad range from technical to behavioural (both qualitative and quantitative). The College of Business areas of research expertise in Knowledge Management as well as E-Business and Internet Marketing are especially germane to IS. Knowledge Management topics include aspects of design and evaluation of technological support for creation and use of knowledge. EBusiness and Internet Marketing deals mainly with business models, processes and systems enabled by Web-based technologies. IS research is especially concerned with socio-technical issues surrounding the application of web-based technologies in business and organizations for improving efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness.

Research foci/expertise in the Department include:

• Human Resources Management Chinese Human Resource Management; Recruitment & Selection; Training & Development; Selection and Assessment;
• Organizational Behaviour Organization Theory; Organizational Change; Sociology of Work; Organizational Justice; Coaching; Conflict Resolution and negotiation, Leadership; Risk & Uncertainty; Social Constructionism; Business Ethics; job attitudes; virtual teams;
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management New Product Management; New Product Forecasting; Innovation & Creativity; entrepreneurship;
• International Business International Management; International Organizational Behaviour; MNC Control and Staffing; international alliances; Intercultural Communication; Comparative Management; Japanese management practices; Culture and cognition, Psychology of biculturals, Cross-Cultural Research Methods;
• Strategic Management Strategic Management; Strategic Management of Financial Resources; Competitive & Cooperative Strategy; Decision-making; Strategy and Policy; Corporate Governance and Political Strategy in Transitional Economies (China); Mergers and acquisitions (M&A);
• Corporate Social Responsibility Business Ethics; Stakeholder Management; Corporate Social Responsibility.

Research expertise in the Department can be grouped into two streams:

• Operations and supply chain management in a broad sense, which ranges from very theory oriented research such as optimization, game theory, robust optimization, and simulation, to more applied research such as inventory control, financial engineering, sustainability, planning and scheduling, and interdisciplinary research between operations and marketing/finance/accounting;
• Business statistics in a broad sense, which includes business intelligence, quality management, survival analysis, statistical modeling, robust estimation, market research, and econometrics.
• Business Markets Forming channel relationships, governance strategy between buyers and suppliers, and application of network theory on business relationships;
• Multinational Corporate Strategy and Strategic Marketing International strategic alliance, foreign direct investment in China, international HRM, global sourcing strategy, eyquitcontrol and organizational learning;
• Internet Marketing Online consumer behavior, online advertising, social media, and online retailing;
• China Marketing and Chinese Culture Dao De Jing, branding;
• Cultural Influences on Consumer Behaviors How consumers from different cultures behave differently;
• Consumer Socialization How socialization shapes consumer behaviors.