Nowadays, generally, universities have developed the concept that Ph.D. students have to publish journal articles from their dissertation rather than focusing on the true implication of the research in real life. For example, there are so many Business Ph.D. holders are present in the market who have very mere ideas about the business, but they became Ph.D. in Business due to the current education system. There a number of Ph.D. holders available who received Ph.D. in the ''Entrepreneurship'' field, but never tried any entrepreneurial activities in his life rather than surveying some of the entrepreneurs as their study sample. These circumstances trigger my mind with the question: What are the main purposes of conducting research in the Business studies field? Is it new knowledge creation for the betterment of the society through business sector Or is it solely aimed at publishing articles in reputed journals? In my opinion, it is high time to re-structure and re-design the Ph.D. curriculum in the Business Studies field.
Good question...
I can only speak of my experience (which was a few years back) where I completed a PhD at a Business School. For context, I was not a full-time researcher - I had a busy full-time job and conducted my research on a part-time basis over 6 years.
Whilst there was no obligation to publish journal articles and I could have completed the PhD without doing so, although I found it a very useful thing to do. On reflection, I think publishing was a good thing to do and I'm not surprised if some institutions are making it more of a requirement. For me, it helped to;
a) promote my research
b) evidence collaboration
c) prepare for my viva
d) gain a key element of the research / academic experience
People undertake PhD research for a variety of reasons in my experience. Some are genuinely interested in their research topic and - as you say - wish to add to knowledge in that field. Some want to develop practical applications that benefit societal or commercial ends and others want to finesse their research skills and enter a career in academia or similar. I have spoken to a couple of people for whom "out-scoring" those with a Masters in a very competitive employment market is also a factor. Perhaps there are other drivers too?
Anyway, I liked your question - I hope my response helps with your work.
Darren Leech Thank you for your insightful answer, really appreciate it.
Hi, Ahmed
It is a valid question.
In my humble opinion, it is just a learning process by streaming to the business field.
Having said that some universities do offer non-business post-graduate studies/PhDs.
The PhD journey and its requirements to publish in high impact journals are never easy. Yet it is a good learning ground for those who want to earn the title and succeed in their work/ studies.
In line with this, Prof. Herman and his colleague published a paper recently that discusses the personal impact on Business and Society. It is a good read.
Take care.
Regards
mei peng
Wonderful Question.........Very relevant
Research should aim at creating/developing something that is useful to society, even to the business world, as we consider it also a part of society. But research, just for the sake of research, is not desirable, but it is there as we notice.
Identify pattern in general and in case by case situation, then implement business solutions
Research are conducted in Business Studies to design a scientific method to solve various problems confronting the business environment.
Moreover, there are diverse reasons for candidate to embark on PhD in Business Studies amongst other discipline. Firstly, most are into PhD in Business Studies in to be an academics and to be able to acquired necessary skills used in analysing data in the ever volatile business environment to provide an informed decision to the business practitioners government agencies and business analyst.
Secondly, some candidate though may be relatively minima are into PhD in Business Studies to gather knowledge and translate this knowledge to a practical competitive advantage to outperform their competitors in an highly competitive Business environment.
The third categories of candidates that undergo PhD in Business Studies are those who are constrained by the higher level of unemployment. This category are in their majority and they are mostly found in most less developed countries of the world. They believe that having a PhD will bright their chances and give them competitive edge in an environment that is highly characterized by high level of unemployment.
Finally, we also have the fourth categories of candidates who are willing to have a PhD in Business Studies just to add it to their tittle.
I think the above four categories of candidates pursuing a PhD programmes will help answer some of the questions you raised.
Thank you and God bless.
Kind Regards!
It depends on the specific field, the specific topic of Business Studies. Yes, in the field of entrepreneurship, students should carry out design work involving the establishment of innovative startups. Research topics may relate to business experience, student entrepreneur relations with business partners and the economic environment. A good research topic and practical implementation of the content learned in the course of learning is, for example, planning and establishing an innovative startup based on pro-environmental (pro-ecological) innovations and ecotechnologies, thanks to which sustainable development goals will be implemented in the company, students entrepreneurs will demonstrate a high level of social responsibility for pro-environmental and business ethics. Even if most of these innovative startups would not survive for more than two years of operation, students would gain valuable business experience. In addition, according to statistical data, most of the newly created startups have been operating for less than 2 years, and nevertheless the economies function effectively. However, the key problem is financing, i.e. the development of financial fund programs from which students would receive grants to create innovative startups. Perhaps it is necessary to reform the financing systems of higher education. In addition, universities should increase the scale of cooperation with institutions from the university's environment, with companies, enterprises and public institutions within school and academic business incubators. As part of these business incubators, the university should improve education programs in accordance with the expectations of employers, and companies, enterprises and institutions can co-finance student internship programs and projects of innovative startups established by students.
Best wishes,
Dariusz Prokopowicz
I have to agree. Today research is becoming more about creating or duplicating theoretical knowledge rather than practical implications. Soon, if not already, we will have too much theory and less applicable knowledge and practice. Hence, the Business field is in dire need of practical solutions to address the economic issues affecting countries/world.
Business research helps us identify gaps and gather data for research, using this type of information gathered we can make informed decisions that can be made to tackle the various issues appropriately.
To be honest journals are just apart or the requirements of doing a Ph.D. This is where your peers can critique your literature and it may help someone one on another side of the world with their difficulties.
This is a great question. I highly appreciate Darren Leech's insightful answer which speaks out more or less my mind based on my similar experience.
I'm also on a part-time DBA journey since Dec. 2019. During the passing 1.5 years, my time spent in this "part-time" research is actually more than my time in the full-time job. I've learned a lot and been glad to know many other researchers with great minds from this pursuing publication-quality experience, which my passing 20 years of business practice could never offer. They're absolutely helpful for better practice in the future. And, the research process is full of enjoyment, mental fulfillment, and anxiety sometimes (same as taking any other important activities).
Personally, I would not do this academic research without having some business practice first. So I think Ahmed Al Asheq your points make sense. IMHO, maybe in the future, the Ph.D. in business management and DBA degrees can be combined as one, and the program is only open for those students with years of experience in busienss, either full time or part-time; the requirement to publish the thesis on peer-reviewed journals could remain the same.
Ahmed Al Asheq an interesting question and discussion that you have raised but lets have a look at the differences between PhD and DBA, Doctor of Philosophy is by default has a focus on continuing research as some of the other people have responded, the primary focus here is not necessary to get into the real life business but promote further thoughts and the development of the theorem in its core
DBA or Doctor of Business studies is primarily focuses on the students / practitioners that are utilizing the research/academia to build or improve their businesses further beyond their normal managerial jobs
The point of difference would be that the PHD holders would typically sit within the research/teaching area where the DBAs would go for the management consultancy and work on real businesses
There is definitely a gap between the knowledge gained and knowledge applied, and even the new ideas that have been developed and published in reputed journals are most of the time unattainable for an application into a business, which is in a way similar way that the businesses go through the "transformational changes" a lot of work and input put into place to develop "best in practice" documentation just to put it on the shelf to collect dust
This could relate to the reality of failures of new businesses where there is not enough academic knowledge to build a proper business practice where on the other hand having too many professors could hinder the growth by not realizing the reality of fast moving industry, and its great to keep asking these questions on wider forums and in the business community too!
Always keep studies in all areas, business could not be an exception.
The business area is very dynamic, it needs to be studied to provide ideas to: shareholders, directors, members of the Board of Directors and other stakeholders.
Hermann Gruenwald that's what I'm talking about, if you don't have any practical knowledge about a business, then reading some ambiguous literature can't teach you the reality of business. It's time to re-think PhD restructural transformation.
I would say that the major issue is that business studies need a practical angle and relevance. Just a (theoretical) scientific contribution is not enough, as real business happens with real behaviour and real people.
There are a lot of valid observations and models but they are more or less small islands in a greater chaos.
Absolutely. I believe that Business studies research should be focused on real time business problems and immediate solutions to such problems. I have to commend the University of Antwerp management school on their curriculum, my MBA dissertation in 2001 was on a real time problem of a real company at that time. My team and I were given full access to the company books, we were also accorded all respect like Management consultants....
Quiet an interesting question. Business studies is divided into 3 options.: 1. Accounting. 2. Office Technology and Management and 3. Marketing. Once option/. Area of specialization will determine once choice of Research Title. For Instance, my opinion is Office Technology and Management, My ph.D Thesis was also on utilization of some practices in an organization by by staffs in my field of study.
It is assumed that all Ph.d thesis carries out in Business studies must be related to.ro researcher option at.thw same time the researcher must.have a practical knowledge knowledge of the title,.in the sense that you must be able to demonstrate practical knowledge of your thesis both at the class room and business world. Not just meeting graduation requirements.
Los objetivos de la investigación en la administración, son crear un ambiente positivo en aspectos laborales, en las organizaciones, además encontrar las estrategias de maximización de valor para la sociedad. Explicar las soluciones de problemas en la gestión, liderazgo, estrategias de logros de los objetivos. Plantear soluciones de impacto social mediante la planificación estratégica,...
Basically, research are tailored towards solving problems and advancing new/better ways of doing things. This is also applicable to business since we live in a dynamic environment. For example the disruptive effect of COVID-19 has serious impact on business, which lead to a new and improve pattern of sales, distribution and marketing.
It is a transdisciplinary area, so scholars from different areas provide knowledge that allows for the improvement of management techniques.
Good question and lots of interesting answers here. It is true that there is certain "overqualification" of the importance of articles puslbished, but you have to bear in mind that metrics are important, and universities must have some kind of metrics for the research job. I would go even further, we teach our students to measure whatever they can about heir businesses (Kaplan and Norton would fully agree), so why shouldn´t we be measured in a similar way?.
Regards, hope it helps.
I fully agree to the metrics and to measurement. My intent is that the direction of research should be focussed on relevance for the business and not on niches of niches, just to find an empty space or white spot and use whatever skills I have to create hundreds of pages that no one outside my community is ever going to read .
We seem to think that applied sciences are less than science itself. So there is a trend to use "magic" (or yeast) to turn an applied science into (mostly useless) science.
My focus is Marketing (Sales Management) and I have a nearly 30 yrs working experience. Not all of the years have been relevant for my marketing KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE, but lots of them. A purely scientific research based on books, can tell me something on marketing books, but not on marketing itself. (And of course I need books to extend, challenge and compare my knowledge. But it is a difference if I accept a view of an author or if I share his view.)
Some Universities cluster business studies as social science and I think they are right. It's always about the dialogue and the social context.
Business is not engineering.
I think it better that business studies in the future move a bit from inside the social science to have one more step forward to other domains of science such as biology, information system, anthropology, environment, engineering.
This is because business is complex with all kinds of processes going on, not only it includes communication between people, but more and more between things. In the old days, seems it was ok for a business strategist not knowing much about technologies, but today, it's getting more and more critical for business decision-makers to understand the technology architectures, e.g., an IoT platform architecture, to understand exactly how their products and additional services are created, in order to make good decisions.
So by borrowing ideas from other disciplines, business research can help us dig deeper behind the phenomena to know about how the business is running, why it runs this way, and how it might evolve in a wide context. Thus, it will eventually help change the status quo that most business theories are generated and applied within only the field of business management which might narrow our views and not be enough to deal with the increasing complexity in reality.
The more I did in business research, the more I realized that business must be part of the bigger ecosystem to sustain success. Therefore, I am wondering our business research should be ultimately to do with how to make the business work and work better in an ecosystem then share the outcome with more people. :)
I don't understand the business education system in other countries, but in Indonesia a businessman is not an academic and an academic is not a businessman, and this is wrong in my opinion. how can he be a marketing doctor but he has never been a marketer in the real world
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