phd strategic management canada

Strategic Management

Programs & Courses › Specializations

Our PhD Program: Navigating the Frontiers of Strategic Thought

The PhD in Strategic Management at the Schulich School of Business fuses rigorous scholarship with real-world influence. Our program champions intellectual curiosity and boundary-pushing research in economic and organizational issues as they pertain to firm strategy. Housed within a group that embraces open inquiry, we empower students to pioneer strategic dialogues addressing today’s emerging business issues. Ultimately, our graduates emerge as thought leaders driving meaningful strategic insights and business impact.

In this program, you can extend your horizons beyond core strategy. With our close connections to other disciplines within Schulich, such as Sustainability, Organizational Behavior and Operations Management & Information Systems, as well as across the university, such as Sociology, Political Science, Computer Science and Psychology, students are encouraged take courses across various departments. This interdisciplinary perspective enriches your research lens. Moreover, Schulich is based in Toronto, a diverse global business hub rich with opportunities. Our proximity to key industry clusters provides significant access to research collaborations.

Our emphasis is on fostering independent research and close student-faculty collaboration. We provide full funding packages that cover tuition and a generous stipend for up to five years. This financial support allows students to fully immerse in impactful research.

Our Students’ Success Stories

Our PhD graduates have secured faculty appointments at highly respected institutions across the globe. Below is a list highlighting some of our graduates’ placements:

• Indiana University Bloomington
• University of Calgary
• University of Waterloo
• University of San Francisco
• McMaster University
• University of Sydney
• Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Faculty Expertise: Exploring New Frontiers in Strategy

  Our diverse faculty spearhead research across critical domains, addressing critical and contemporary challenges while exploring forward-looking themes such as, among others:

• Digital Platforms and Ecosystems
• Entrepreneurship
• Management of Technology and Innovation
• Ethics and Stakeholder Relationships
• Artificial Intelligence in Strategic Management
• Organizational Learning and Adaptation
• International Business and Globalization
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Strategic Decision-making

Come join our faculty in shaping and advancing the field!

Specialization Details by Category

Study options.

Student admission is restricted to full-time study exclusively for the first four years. It is not recommended to be working outside of the PhD program during your studies. Students must be able to participate in the PhD program in Toronto.

Choose a study option to view its details and requirements

Available delivery options

• Full-time 48 to 72 months

Location(s)

• Keele Campus Toronto

The requirements to successfully complete the program are outlined below in “Curriculum Overview.”

Candidates for the Strategic Management field PhD degree must fulfil the following minimum requirements:

Students must successfully complete the following course requirements:

Required Courses

• DCAD 7100 3.00 LOGICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH This examines the major philosophical debates in the social sciences and explores the rationale of different approaches to social research. Students learn how to select and develop appropriate research strategies and how to critically examine the use of various research strategies.
• DCAD 7250 3.00 RESEARCH DESIGN This course introduces students to research design, strengthens their reasoning and theoretical development skills, helps them effectively apply a range of empirical methodologies to their own research and critically review empirical studies done by others. Topics include types of variables, relationships, sampling and measurement, survey and field research designs, experimental designs, and alternative designs, and research design biases and artifacts.
• DCAD 7400 3.00 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS This course provides students with detailed exposure to the qualitative research methodologies that have begun to exert a major influence on management research over the last 10 years.
• DCAD 7600 1.50 GRADUATE COLLOQUIUM IN MANAGEMENT The rules, norms, and standards that surround the field of academics can seem ambiguous, confusing, and opaque to new Ph.D. students in the management disciplines. The purpose of this two-semester course is to provide a means of articulating central themes in this tacit process, and to provide a means of community-building among management-oriented Ph.D. students. Prerequisite: Open to and required of first- or second-year Ph.D. students in Strategy/Policy and Organization Studies areas.
• DCAD 7610 1.50 GRADUATE COLLOQUIUM IN MANAGEMENT The rules, norms, and standards that surround the field of academics can seem ambiguous, confusing, and opaque to new Ph.D. students in the management disciplines. The purpose of this two-semester course is to provide a means of articulating central themes in this tacit process, and to provide a means of community-building among management-oriented Ph.D. students. Pre-requisite: Open to and required of first- or second-year Ph.D. students in Strategy/Policy and Organization Studies areas.

Two 3.00 credit graduate-level methodological courses chosen in consultation with the field’s PhD Program Coordinator

This seminar focuses on the theories and current research in those areas which represent the more accepted and more often researched topics within strategic management. Both "content" and "process" streams are discussed and critiqued. (Offered in alternate years.)

This seminar builds upon SB/PLCY 7010.03 and examines theories and research from some of the newest and most provocative research streams that are beginning to be seen in strategic management. Both "content" and "process" streams are discussed and critiqued. (Offered in alternate years.)

SUST 7010 3.00 OR SUST 7020 3.00 ORGS 7010 3.00 OR ORGS 7050 3.00

Elective Courses

Students will take three electives from the list below:

The course examines the origins and evolution of the field of international business and is designed to provide students an understanding of the various theoretical traditions and methodological approaches used in international business research. It is expected that students will critically evaluate the various schools of thought within the field, and develop their own research agenda related to some specific aspect of international business.

• SGMT 7900 3.00 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: INDEPENDENT STUDY No course description found.
• One course that is chosen, in consultation with the Strategy Area PhD Program Representative, from among doctoral-level courses offered at Schulich, York or elsewhere

Research Paper

Students must submit one research paper that synthesizes a particular body of literature and furthers our understanding on a specific topic in strategy. The research paper is a prerequisite to the comprehensive exams. Students work closely with a faculty advisor on this paper. Students are required to submit and present the initial version of the paper during the Fall term of the second year and the final version before the end of the Winter term. The paper must be approved by the research paper’s faculty advisor and the area PhD Coordinator.

Comprehensive Examinations

The comprehensive field examination normally takes place after the summer of the second year. The comprehensive exams are designed to test a student’s breadth of knowledge in the field of strategic management as well as depth of knowledge in select areas. It is a written exam consisting of two parts. Part I tests students’ knowledge of theory, ability to conceptualize and ability to extend or offer novel insights into current theory. Part II tests students’ knowledge of research methods. Those who fail have the opportunity to retake the exams once, within six months of the date of the first comprehensive exam. Those who fail to pass a second time are not allowed to continue in the PhD program. The program regards the comprehensive examination as a pivotal point for deciding whether students should be allowed to proceed with their studies or be encouraged to withdraw from the program.

Dissertation Proposal and Oral Defence

Candidates must prepare a written proposal to conduct original dissertation research carried out under the supervision of a supervisory committee, and must defend this to the satisfaction of the thesis supervisor and members of the supervisory committee.

Dissertation and Oral Examination

Candidates must prepare a dissertation based on original research carried out under the supervision of a supervisory committee and submit the results in appropriate dissertation form. When the committee is satisfied that the student has achieved the standards of original contribution and scholarship, the student is called to orally defend the dissertation to a panel, comprising of the supervisory committee and external examiners. Upon successful approval by the thesis examining committee, the student is considered to have successfully completed the requirements for the PhD.

Faculty members in the Strategic Management Area explore many interests within the broad area of policy and strategic management, and are active in a wide range of research projects.

Key areas of research include: international management, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, entrepreneurship and technological innovation, corporate governance, and strategy processes. The faculty members share an interest in addressing important policy issues in an intellectually open environment and their work reflects the School’s distinctive innovative, global and diverse culture.

The following faculty are accredited by the Schulich School of Business and the Faculty of Graduate Studies for the supervision of doctoral students:

Selected faculty members

Professor of Strategy and International Business; Pierre Lassonde Chair in International Business; Area Coordinator, Strategic Management

Professor of Strategic Management; Executive Director, York Change Leadership (YCL)

Associate Professor Emeritus; Strategic Management and Senior Scholar

Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management

Professor of Public Policy and Sustainability; Director, BBA/iBBA Programs

Professor of Strategic Management

Professor of Sustainability & Economics; Area Coordinator, Economics

Professor of Strategy; Scotiabank Chair in International Business and Entrepreneurship

Assistant Professor

Professor of Strategic Management and International Business

Professor of Strategic Management; Director, Global Leadership Program; Director, India MBA and Executive MBA Programs

Associate Professor of Strategic Management

Professor of Strategic Management; Newmont Endowed Chair in Business Strategy

Career Opportunities

The goal of the PhD program in Strategic Management is to train students to become productive scholars and teachers who can be placed at research-oriented universities upon graduation.

Placement of Recent Graduates

Hussein Fadlallah	Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Doha Qatar campus
Ramya Krishna Murthy	Assistant Professor in the Entrepreneurship Area at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Jie (Jerry) Yang	Assistant Professor at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, New York, SA
Shoeb Mohammad	Assistant Professor, Lakehead University
Mekki Macaulay Abdelwahab	Senior Technical Cloud, Red Hat, & Open Source Strategy Advisor – Advisory & Consulting Canada · ‎IBM
Xin (Aurora) Liu	Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Nada Basir	Assistant Professor, University of Waterloo – Conrad Business Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre
Wan Li	Assistant Professor, Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan
Mohammad Keyhani	Assistant Professor, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

“Co-authoring with faculty here at Schulich has been instrumental in understanding the process of conducting high-quality research. ” Michael Valente, PhD 2007 Associate Professor of Organization Studies and Sustainability, Schulich School of Business

Student Research

Faculty members in the Strategic Management area at Schulich are highly regarded in their areas of specialization and regularly publish in the top journal of the field, such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science and Journal of International Business Studies, among others. York University and the Toronto area provide additional access to high calibre faculty and great research opportunities.

Selected Publications

Nudrat Mahmood (2023), “A transactional perspective on Firms, consumers, and social institutions,” Organization Science (with Farjoun, M.)

Jie (Jerry) Yang (2023), “Bundle Up Before You Go: Toward a Bundle Approach to Product Categorization,” Journal of Management , 49(5): 1695-1737 (with Li, S. X.)

Shoeb Mohammad (2023), “The Effect of Skilled Labour Scarcity on Law-abiding Organizational Climates in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Mexico,” Journal of Business Research (with Husted, B.)

Xin (Aurora) Liu (Genin) (2023), “Board experiential diversity and corporate radical innovation,” Strategic Management Journal , 1– 24. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3499 (with Ma, W., Bhagwat, V., Bernile, G.)

Mohammad Keyhani (2022), “Exploration-Exploitation and Acquisition Likelihood in New Ventures,” Small Business Economic , 58(3), 1475-1496. (with Deutsch, Y., Madhok, A. and M. Lévesque)

Nada Basir (2022), “Collective identity development amid institutional chaos: Boundary evolution in a women’s rights movement in post Gaddafi Libya,” Organization Studies 43 (10), 1607-1628 (with Ruebottom, T. and Auster, E.)

Trish Ruebottom (2022), “Collective identity development amid institutional chaos: Boundary evolution in a women’s rights movement in post Gaddafi Libya,” Organization Studies 43 (10), 1607-1628 (with Basir, N. and Auster, E.)

Xin (Aurora) Liu (Genin) (2022), “Relational assets or liabilities? Competition, collaboration, and firm intellectual property breakthrough in the Chinese high-speed train sector,” Journal of International Business Studies , 53(9), 1895-1923 (with Tan, J., & Song, J.)

Hussein Fadlallah (2021), “What We Talk About When We Talk About Stakeholders,” Business & Society , 00076503211053005. (with Johnson-Cramer, M. E., Phillips, R. A., H., Berman, S. L. and Elms, H.)

Ramya Krishna Murthy (2021), “Overcoming the Early-stage Conundrum of Digital Platform Ecosystem Emergence: A Problem-Solving Perspective,” Journal of Management Studies , 58(7), 1899–1932 https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12748 (with Madhok, A.)

Shoeb Mohammad (2021), “Innovation, Corruption, and Internationalization: Evidence from Firms in Emerging Economies,” Journal of Business Venturing Insights (with Husted, B.)

Xin (Aurora) Liu (Genin) (2021), “State governance and technological innovation in emerging economies: State-owned enterprise restructuration and institutional logic dissonance in China’s high-speed train sector,” Journal of International Business Studies , 52(4), 621-645 (with Tan, J. and Song, J.)

Xin (Aurora) Liu (Genin) (2021), “Interorganizational Knowledge Flows in Academia–Industry Collaboration: The Economic Impacts of Science-Based Firm Innovation,” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management , doi: 10.1109/TEM.2021.3066386 (with Lévesque, M.)

Hussein Fadlallah (2020), “Governance of Voice in Digital Platforms,” Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society (Vol. 31, pp. 24-36) (with Phillips, R. A.)

Wan Li (2020), “Disruptive innovation and technology ecosystem: The evolution of the intercohesive public–private collaboration network in Chinese telecommunication industry,” Journal of Engineering and Technology Management , 57 (July-September) (with Tan, J., Wang L. and Zhang, H.)

Wan Li (2020), “Can You Do Kung Fu and Also Act? New Entrants’ Cross-Border Status Attainment in the Creative Industries,” Journal of World Business , 55(3) (with Shipilov, A. and Li, S.)

Shoeb Mohammad (2019), “Law‐abiding organizational climates in developing countries: The role of institutional factors and socially responsible organizational practices,” Business Ethics, Environment, and Responsibility (with Husted, B.W.)

Wan Li (2019), “Tapping into Agglomeration Benefits by Engaging in a Community of Practice”, 2019, with L. Wang and W. Helms, Strategic Organization, 18(4): 617-644 (with Wang, L. and Helms, W)

Wan Li (2019), “Strategic Choices of Exploration and Exploitation Alliances under Market Uncertainty,” Management Decision , 57(11): 3122-3133 (with Wang, L.)

Xin (Aurora) Liu (Genin) (2019), “Spoils from the spoiled: strategies for entering stigmatized markets,” Journal of Management Studies , 56: 1260-1286(with Slade Shantz, A., Fischer, E. and Lévesque, M.)

Recent Dissertation Topics

2022: Hussein Fadlallah – Governance and Responsibilities in the Context of Digital Platforms

2021: Ramya Krishna Murthy – Essays on Platform Sponsor Scope: Implications for Ecosystem Emergence and Growth

2020: Jie (Jerry) Yang – Strategic Categorization, Category Bundle, and Typecasting: Three Essays on Product Categorization

2019: Shoeb Mohammad – Antecedents, Wide-Spread Consequences, and Strategic Implications of Organizational Corruption

2018: Mekki Macaulay Abdelwahab – Determinants of Success of the Open Source Selective Revealing Strategy: Solution Knowledge Emergence

2018: Xin (Aurora) Liu – Strategically Poised: Balancing, Learning, and Innovating in Coopetition Three Essays on the Interplay Between Competition and Cooperation

2016: Nada Basir – Radical Institutional Innovation: A Multilevel Framework

2015: Wan Li – Ambidexterity in Strategic Alliances: How Do Firms Manage Exploration and Exploitation Alliances? An Examination of U.S. High Technology Industries from 1985 to 2009

2014: Mohammad Keyhani – Entrepreneurial Action and Entrepreneurial Rents

Current PhD students in the Strategic Management Area:

as of Fall 2023

• Mohammad Boroumand
• Hyeonchung Henry Lee
• Nudrat Mahmood
• Qasim Saddique
• Pouyan Tabasi Nejad

Strategic Management

The DeGroote Ph.D. specialization in Strategic Management is a rigorous and research-focused program designed to prepare doctoral candidates for scholarly careers in academia or research in the field of business strategy. The program is interdisciplinary, drawing upon a variety of fields including general strategy, business policy, economics, psychology, sociology, knowledge management, governance, international business, innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and organizational behaviour among others. The main learning objective of this specialization is to provide Ph.D. students with a well-rounded understanding of the complex dynamics of strategic decision-making. The tenured faculty of the Area (Nick Bontis, Hongjin Zhu, Brent McKnight, Goran Calic and Francois Neville) engage in wide-ranging phenomena in their research and have published in top academic journals.

The academic program is structured to provide students with a strong foundation in the theoretical and empirical principles of strategic management, as well as advanced research skills to conduct independent research in the field. Students undertake two years of coursework, followed by a set of comprehensive exams. Then they work with a faculty supervisor to develop a research topic and complete a doctoral dissertation.  Coursework in the program covers topics such as advanced strategy theory, organizational theory, case teaching, case writing, research methods, and statistics, among others. Students will specialize in a specific area of strategic management in alignment with faculty expertise.

In addition to coursework, students in this specialization are expected to engage in independent research under the guidance of faculty mentors. This research may involve the development of new theoretical frameworks, empirical studies using primary or secondary data sources, or case studies of firms or industries. All doctoral candidates are expected to present their research at academic conferences and submit their manuscripts for publication in academic journals in the field.

Overall, the Ph.D. specialization in Strategic Management is designed for highly motivated and intellectually curious individuals who are interested in advancing knowledge in the field of business strategy.  Successful completion of the program requires a combination of rigorous coursework, excellent oral and written communications skills, independent research, and strong analytical and critical thinking skills.  Students must be committed to excellence in research, teaching and practice and will be expected to show significant contributions in each.  Graduates of the program are well-prepared for careers in academia, research, or management consulting, where they can make significant contributions to our understanding of the strategic management process and its impact on organizations and society as a whole.

Required Courses

• B790  – Seminar on Management Theory
• B793  – Applied Multivariate Statistics
• B794  – Research Methods and Design
• P797 – Independent Research Study I
• P798 – Independent Research Study II
• P799 – Strategy Foundations

Choose 2 from below, or equivalent, or 2 alternative 700-level courses if PhD candidate received MBA from McMaster, or 2 PhD courses from other PhD Areas or Programs as approved by Supervisor:

• P700 – Business, Government and the Global Environment
• P715 – Entrepreneurship
• P720 – Strategic Management

Optional but Recommended Courses

• P795 – Case Writing (Offered at Ivey )
• P796 – Case Teaching (Offered at Ivey )

Other Areas of Study

• Health Policy and Management
• Human Resources and Management
• Information Systems
• Management Science

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Strategy is concerned with creating and defending an organization’s competitive advantage in changing environments. To be successful, organizations must leverage and renew their resources, competencies and leadership skills, sometimes in multiples industries at the same time. Such organizations are able to survive longer, perform better, and elicit favorable evaluations from their stakeholders, thereby shaping how industries change over time.

The faculty (Bob Andersen, Oana Branzei, Mary Crossan, Dusya Vera, Sergio Lazzarini, Lara Liboni, Cara Maurer, Krista Pettit, Mazi Raz, Seemantini Pathak, Lee Watkiss, and Mark Zbaracki) and doctoral students of the Strategy group at Ivey engages these wide-ranging phenomena in their research, course development, and teaching by drawing on multiple disciplines, including economics, psychology, political science, and sociology. The goal of this engagement is to advance the academic study of strategy and related disciplines while helping managers to improve their strategic decisions. Their research is published in top management and sociology journals including Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal.

The program emphasizes a strong foundation in strategic theory, research methods, and statistics. Students are exposed to both classic and recent scholarly work in order to expose them to the key paradigms, to help them to build mental models of different theoretical perspectives, and to develop a keen appreciation of the interconnectedness of the different research streams in the field of strategic management.

During the first two years of the program, students take a set of complementary courses in strategic management theory at the business-unit, corporate, and global levels, organizational theory, and others drawn from across the social sciences. Students also take a series of research methods courses including statistical and econometrical techniques as well as the option to take qualitative methods courses. Other aspects of the program are tailored to fit the student’s own research and teaching interests.

Throughout the doctoral program, students engage in research both independently and in collaboration with faculty. Between the second and third years of the program, students complete a major, independent, empirical research project. All students are encouraged to present their research at academic conferences as well as to submit articles to top-tier research journals for peer review. Students graduate as creative, independent scholars with the skills necessary to conduct cutting-edge research in the field of strategy and related disciplines.

The doctoral program in Strategy is designed to produce scholars. We train our graduates to become academics in a university setting. We aim to produce researchers and teachers. If your interest is consulting, industry, or other non-university sector employment, you would be better to pursue an MBA or MSc degree.

*Please note that Strategy is a stream under General Management

Areas of Research Focus

• Inequality, diversity and justice in business
• Organizational learning and strategic renewal
• Power and politics in decision-making and learning
• Strategic decision-making
• Strategic leadership and human resource management
• Strategy implementation
• Strategy-as-practice
• Technological innovation
• View our Google Scholar Page
• View the Research Database

PhD Student Opportunities

The doctoral program in Strategy is recruiting students with the following research interests.

Professor Bob Andersen is recruiting PhD students with an interest in the impact that inequality and diversity have on organizations, business and society as a whole. Although most of my own research is mostly quantitative, I am also open to supervise qualitative projects. I especially interested in issues related to: a) the role that organizations have played in the increase in income inequality over the past few decades (and especially cross-national differences); b) how inequality and diversity within organizations affect productivity and/or innovation; c) how cross-national differences in social, economic and political conditions influence organizational strategy; and d) the social bases of attitudes, and the role that inequality and/or diversity play, and their impact on organizations. More information on my recent research can be found here: https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/faculty/directory/bob-andersen/

Professor Mary Crossan is recruiting a PhD student interested in focusing on leader character, organizational learning and strategic renewal. My research is not limited by discipline boundaries. My ultimate interest is to contribute to research and practice on the drivers of sustained excellence in organizations and ultimately society. This pursuit has led me into the areas of organizational learning for strategic renewal, improvisation as it relates to strategic agility and innovation, and more recently the foundational role of examining the strength of character (e.g. courage, humility, humanity, transcendence, drive, integrity, etc.) as it relates to both individual well-being and sustained excellence in organizations. I am a Distinguished University Professor at Western, which is Western’s highest honour recognizing sustained excellence in research, teaching and service. I have an excellent track record working with doctoral students, and collaborate with many Ivey faculty and faculty around the world in my research endeavors. Sample publications:

• Pettit, K.; Crossan M. "Strategic renewal: Beyond the functional resource role of occupational members", Strategic Management Journal, 2020, 41:1112-1138.
• Crossan, M.; Apaydin, M. A Multi-Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature, Journal of Management Studies, 2010, 47 (6), 1154-1191. (Top 10 downloaded article since 2013)
• Crossan, M.; Byrne, A.; Seijts, G. Reno, M.; Monzani, L., Gandz, J.: "Toward a Framework of Leader Character in Organizations" Journal of Management Studies, vol. 54 (7) 986-1018, January, 2017.
• Crossan, M.; Lane H.; White, R.E. "An Organization Learning Framework: From Intuition to Institution"; Academy of Management Review; vol. 24, no. 3, 522-537,1999. (received the decade award from AMR in 2009 as the most highly cited paper in the prior decade)

Professors Sergio Lazzarini and Lara Liboni are recruiting PhD students with an interest in studying how stakeholder theory and strategic approaches to value creation can inform the analysis of how to engage stakeholders to address collective action problems and promote new resources and capabilities.   Sample research that supports this new stream of research includes:

• Why resource-based theory’s model of profit appropriation must incorporate a stakeholder perspective
• Public-Private Collaboration, Hybridity and Social Value: Towards New Theoretical Perspectives

Professor Krista Pettit (and co-supervisor TBD depending on the dissertation topic) is recruiting PhD students with a research interest in strategy-as-practice with a particular focus on how interactions shape strategy. Topics within this research area can range broadly. We welcome applications from students with an interest in examining how interactions between human practitioners within an organization and/or interactions between organizations and key external stakeholders shape strategic change.  This opportunity is for researchers using qualitative methods.

Professors Dusya Vera and Seemantini Pathak are recruiting a PhD student interested in focusing on leader character and strategic management.  Our interest is to contribute to research and practice on the drivers of sustained excellence in organizations and ultimately society, with particular interest in WHO strategic leaders need to be to achieve sustained excellence. The area of focus is character as applied to strategic leadership and strategic management, examining strength of character (e.g. courage, humility, humanity, transcendence, temperance, drive, integrity, etc.) as it relates to areas such as organizational learning, corporate governance, corporate scope and strategy, and the grand challenges of society. Sample publications:

• Vera, D., & Crossan, M. 2023. “Character-enabled improvisation and the new normal: A paradox perspective.” Management Learning, 54(1): 77-98.
• Crossan, M., Nguyen, B., Vera, D., Sturm, R., & Ruiz Pardo, A. 2023. “Leader character in engineering projects: A case study of character activation, contagion and embeddedness.” IEEE Transactions of Engineering Management.
• Vera, D., Bonardi, JP, Hitt, M., & Withers, M. 2022. “Extending the boundaries of strategic leadership and strategic management research.” The Leadership Quarterly, 33 (3): 101617.
• Chiu, S. C. S., Pathak, S., Hoskisson, R. E., & Johnson, R. A. 2022. “Managerial commitment to the status quo and corporate divestiture: Can power motivate openness to change?: The Leadership Quarterly, 33(3), 101459.
• Salaiz, A., Evans, K. M., Jones, C. D., & Pathak, S. 2022. “CEO-COB prestige distance and change in diversification: Exploring a curvilinear relationship.” The Leadership Quarterly, 33(3), 101544.
• Evans, K., Salaiz, A., Pathak, S., & Vera, D. 2020. "Community influential directors and corporate social performance." Business & Society, 61(1): 225-263.

Professor Mark Zbaracki is recruiting PhD students interested in how Artificial Intelligence is shaping managerial practice, with a special focus on how AI applications to pricing have implications for issues of justice. Firms have learned to use supercharged pricing algorithms to maximize profit and gain competitive advantage, but the application of AI to pricing can also have profound social implications. I am exploring how firms consider the concerns of justice and strategy when they use AI to enhance their pricing decisions. Sample research includes:

• How AI Can Help Companies Set Prices More Ethically, Harvard Business Review, 2021.
• “Truth, Beauty, and Justice in Social Science Models,” Research in the Sociology of Organizations, (with Lee Watkiss, Cameron McAlpine, and Julian Barg) forthcoming.
• Pricing process as capability, Strategic Management Journal.
• Pricing as a strategic capability, Sloan Management Review.

Professors Mark Zbaracki and Lee Watkiss are recruiting PhD students with an interest in studying how interpretation and politics shape strategic decision-making and learning. This stream of research, revisits earlier work ( Strategic Decision Making ) and is being extended in research with a current PhD student, Cameron McAlpine. Our approach has three components:

• How we interpret the situation matters more than stable preferences in shaping decision making. Sample research includes Of Organizing and Sensemaking: From Action to Meaning and Back Again in a Half-Century of Weick’s Theorizing .
• Political dynamics shape learning and choice in and across organizations. Sample research includes research on The Politics of Organizational Learning .
• Ambiguity shapes decision-making and can be used strategically. A good statement of that approach can be found in a book review found here .

PhD Graduates

Strategy is one of five possible specializations within Ivey’s General Management PhD program. The Strategy specialization is designed for those interested in pursuing academic careers at top business schools in Strategy, Management, or Organization departments.

Dr. Jungsoo Ahn

Assistant Professor, Stony Brook University College of Business

Refining Adaptation and Its Onset: Signals of Financial Innovation that Trigger Strategic Attention in Financial Services

Market actors, such as venture founders, incumbent managers, and third parties, respectively shape categories to influence investors’ perceptions of the nascent markets and related firms. Yet we know less about the idiosyncratic role that producers and third parties play in the investment process. This dissertation seeks to advance our understanding about categorizations in shaping investment decisions... Read more about this thesis

Dr. Andrew Sarta

Assistant Professor, York University

Organizational adaptation is one of the most important concepts in strategic management. Historical conceptions suggest that without it, organizations are likely to succumb to inertia in dynamic environments and with it, organizations are likely to thrive. Despite its rich scholarly history, organizational adaptation continues to lack clarity and is often conflated with market entry, performance, or survival. More importantly, managers do not have a meaningful way to determine whether their organization is well-adapted or maladapted. Knowing when organizations begin to adapt to their changing environments subsequently becomes a difficult question to answer. In this thesis, I develop much-needed clarity to the concept of organizational adaptation while also examining its origins... Read more about this thesis

Dr. Nuruddin Ahmed

Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Two Essays On Innovation In Artificial Intelligence: Corporate R&D And Firm-level Publications Strategy

Corporate research and development (R&D) plays an important role in firm-level innovation strategies. To maintain competitive advantage, firms tend to disclose their internal research strategically. Essay 1 of this dissertation examines what motivates firms to publish more papers in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Combining two disparate literatures— R&D disclosure strategy and strategic human capital literature— I argue that scientists have a preference to publish research and when scientists have higher bargaining power, firms tend to disclose more internal research to recruit talent. To test my propositions, I use a comprehensive dataset of 200 million US job postings (from Burning Glass Technologies) and.... Read more about this thesis

Discipline Coordinator

Lee Watkiss

Lee Watkiss draws on organizational theory and cultural analysis to explore how firms can influence the creation and alteration of the product and market categories they inhabit as well as how these categories provide stability for firms as they navigate turbulent environments.

Lee holds a Ph.D. from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Earlier in his career, he worked in diverse fields including engineering, professional services, and executive education in both multinational (e.g., Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche) and small start-up ventures in the United Kingdom and the United States. In these roles, Lee advised and consulted for organizations across the technology, finance, energy, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, real estate, retail, telecommunications, and transportation industries, including many of Fortune magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies.”

Lee currently teaches Strategic Analysis and Action and Cross-Enterprise Leadership in the HBA program, and Ivey Essentials - Strategy in the MSc program. He also teaches in the Ivey Frontline Leadership Program. While at Boston College, he received both the Donald J. White Teaching Excellence Award and the Carroll School of Management All Star Teacher Award for his teaching in the undergraduate program.

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School of Graduate Studies

Management, phd, program overview.

The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is home to Canada’s premier management doctoral program, one of the top-ranked PhD programs in the world. The Rotman PhD program is a growing, vibrant, and intellectually rich environment for those interested in developing new insights in management. This close-knit community of scholars value and celebrate insightful, breakthrough research. ​

The PhD program offers specialization in seven fields:

• Business Economics
• Operations Management
• Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management
• Strategic Management

Quick Facts

	Domestic	International
Application deadline	PhD: Fall 2024 entry 12-Jan-2024	PhD: Fall 2024 entry 12-Jan-2024
Minimum admission average	PhD: B+	PhD: B+
Direct entry option from bachelor's to PhD?	PhD: Yes (Minimum GPA: A-)	PhD: Yes (Minimum GPA: A-)
Is a supervisor identified before or after admission?	PhD: After	PhD: After
If a supervisor is identified after admission (as per question above), is admission conditional upon securing a supervisor?	PhD: No	PhD: No
Is a supervisor assigned by the graduate unit or secured by the applicant?	PhD: Graduate Unit	PhD: Graduate Unit
Are any standardized tests required/recommended?	PhD: No	PhD: No

“U of T prepared me well for my future career.”

Specializations

Phd in strategy.

The PhD in Strategy provides students with the theoretical and methodological foundations to conduct research in the fields of strategic management and organization theory. Strategy is an interdisciplinary area that combines theories from sociology, economics, and psychology to study organizational behaviour. This literature examines how organizations develop strategy to build competitive advantage and achieve specific economic or social goals, how industries evolve, and how organizations relate to their institutional and social environments.

Students will have an opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge in the areas of competitive strategy, strategy-making process, corporate intelligence, industry transformation, institutional change, culture and organizations, strategic alliances, acquisitions, social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial networks, nonmarket strategy, etc. Students will build on the various expertise of our faculty to develop their own research interests during the program.

The Strategy and Organization area is an active research group whose members publish in top-tier academic journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Organization Studies, Journal of Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, among others. Our Faculty members sit on the editorial boards of leading journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, and Strategic Organization. Smith Strategy faculty has received prestigious research awards, as well as numerous competitive research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and other granting agencies.

Typically, successful candidates will have a research-based masters degree and a GMAT/GRE score around the 80th percentile or higher.

Year 1	Credits
	1.5
	1.5
	3
	3
	1.5
	1.5
	3
	3
Major Research Project (MGMT 989)	3
Present First Year Projects at annual Smith Grad Student Consortium

-->

Year 2	Credits
	3
	3
	3
	3
Elective	3
Present Current Status of Thesis Proposal at Smith Grad Student Consortium
	3

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Doctoral Studies in Management

Research excellence is a key strategy at the Telfer School of Management. Our doctoral program is designed to train our students to become visionary, influential thinkers who will make a positive difference in the lives of people, organizations and communities. We are always on hand to help our students reach their goals, whatever they might be. 

Why the Telfer PhD in Management?

• We are located in downtown of a G7 capital city, where national and international leaders from the private and public sectors converge to tackle issues of national and global significance.
• We are a triple-accredited school with internationally recognized and experienced faculty.
• We offer a stimulating class environment that benefits from the team-teaching approach and multidisciplinary research expertise of our faculty with special interests in Accounting and Control, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Health Systems, and Organization Behavior and Human Resources.
• We offer financial support to qualified applicants for each of the 4 years of the program duration, in amounts that can reach up to $36,000 per year.

Read a word from the leadership team

Fields of specialization

The thesis-based Telfer Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Management program is designed to enable you to push the frontier of management knowledge. Discover the revolutionary power of asking cutting-edge questions related to best practice in private or public sector management, both within organizations and society, and then conducting research to seek empirically-supported transformational answers.

What matters is the perfect fit. We have developed six fields of study around our research excellence.

• Accounting and Control
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Systems
• Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
• Strategy and Organization

Program structure

The program is structured to be completed in 4 years as follows:

PhD Program Structure

Year 1&2	Year 3	Year 4
Courses (27 Units) and Comprehensive Examination	Thesis Proposal	Thesis Work and Thesis Defense
	Thesis Work
Research Involvement

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Strategic Management

A top-tier, diverse research group

Rotman's approach to strategic management is discipline-based, and includes sociology, economics and other fields. Coursework is based on rigorous research, logical consistency and data-driven analysis. Students have the opportunity to learn from the full-range of intellectual tools, such as competitive analysis, networks, causal modelling, the digital economy, corporate restructuring and how to build innovative and entrepreneurial organizations.

Meet our faculty

The research and teaching interests of our Strategic Management Area faculty are rich and varied. The Area consistently ranks among the top handful of strategy groups in terms of research productivity, and includes some of the most highly cited strategy faculty in the world. Area faculty also leverage their research to inform real-world decision making on some of the most pressing issues of our time.

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What we teach

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McGill PhD in Management

McGill University is renowned for its academic excellence and continues to set the standard for higher education in Canada. 

Specializations

Our students, building excellence.

The Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill, renowned worldwide for cutting-edge research , offers a PhD Program in Management where outstanding students conduct fundamental research at the frontiers of management knowledge and practice.

With the collaboration of faculty  and industry leaders, the program prepares students to become autonomous researchers, whose teaching, publications and consulting activities contribute to leading universities and organizations around the world.

The PhD program participates in a joint doctoral program that brings together the four leading Montreal universities (HEC-Montreal, Concordia, UQAM, and McGill).  As a result, students gain access to the rich doctoral offerings from other universities and are expected to include professors from other universities on their committees.

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PhD Thesis Defense Presentation:

PhD Online Information Session: Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Phd admissions how-to’s online info session: thursday, december 05, 2024, department and university information, desautels faculty of management mcgill university.

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis-based program

Program overview.

Outstanding students pursuing excellence should consider the Management (PhD Thesis) program. The degree gives them the opportunity to undertake challenging research under the supervision of highly skilled faculty members, giving students the boost they need to make a significant and lasting contribution to the field of management. The Haskayne School of Business helps students achieve this goal by providing a collaborative, supportive and intellectually stimulating research environment for the discovery and dissemination of knowledge applicable to the business community. The Haskayne funding package is one of the most generous among Canadian business schools.

Completing this program

Core Courses: Topics include Conceptual Framework of the Enterprise and Research Development.

Areas of Study:  Students complete a minimum of five courses in their area(s) of study; students may have a major and minor area of study.

Research Methods and Statistics - Stream A:  This stream includes courses in econometrics and operations management.

Research Methods and Statistics - Stream B:  This stream includes courses in multivariate analysis, research methodology and methods and more.

Candidacy:  Students will complete a research proposal and both oral and written candidacy exams.

Thesis:  Students will be required to submit and defend an original research thesis.

Specializations

• Business Technology Management
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Environmental Management/Sustainable Development
• Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
• Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Risk Management and Insurance
• Strategy and Global Management

Consulting, Financial Services, Management, Business Analysis, Marketing and Sales, Teaching, Professor.

A PhD in managment is usually considered a final degree.

Students are required to prepare a thesis and successfully defend in an open oral defense.

Two core courses and ten additional courses

Learn more about program requirements in the Academic Calendar

Classroom delivery

Time commitment.

Six years maximum

A supervisor is required, but is not required prior to the start of the program

See the Graduate Calendar for information on  fees and fee regulations,  and for information on  awards and financial assistance .

Virtual Tour

Explore the University of Calgary’s (UCalgary) Mathison and Scurfield Halls from anywhere. Experience all that the Haskayne School of Business has to offer for interested prospective graduate students from wherever you are. Discover the buildings, student services and available programs all from your preferred device.

Supervisors

Learn about faculty available to supervise this degree. Please note: additional supervisors may be available. Contact the program for more information.

James Agarwal

Marco Bijvank

Giovani da Silveira

Mohammad Keyhani

Barrie R. Nault

Scott Radford

Chad Saunders

Admission Requirements

A minimum of 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 point system, over the past two years of full-time study (a minimum of 10 full-course equivalents or 60 units) of the undergraduate degree.

• A current C.V.
• A personal statement outlining objectives, intent and commitment to a research program

Test scores

Completion of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT*) with a recommended minimum score of 650, with high scores on both verbal and quantitative subcomponents. (Many successful applicants have earned scores of 700 and above). As an alternative to a GMAT score, results on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) will be considered. Overall GRE test score in the 85th percentile is the recommended minimum.

Supervisors must have availability and resources for the area in which the student wishes to study.

Minimum education

An MBA degree or equivalent.

Reference letter

Work samples, english language proficiency.

An applicant whose primary language is not English may fulfill the English language proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt)  score of 97 (Internet-based, with no section less than 20).
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS)  score of 7.0 (minimum of 6.0 in each section).
• Pearson Test of English (PTE)   score of 68, or higher (Academic version).
• Canadian Academic English Language test (CAEL)  score of 70 (70 in some sections – up to the program, 60 in all other).  
• Academic Communication Certificate (ACC)  score of A- in one or two courses (up to the program), “B+” on all other courses.  
• Cambridge C1 Advanced or Cambridge C2 Proficiency  minimum score of 191.

*Please contact your program of interest if you have any questions about ELP requirements

For admission on September 1:

• Canadians and permanent residents: Jan. 15 application deadline
• International students: Jan. 15 application deadline

If you're not a Canadian or permanent resident, or if you have international credentials, make sure to learn about international requirements

Are you ready to apply?

Learn more about this program.

Scurfield Hall, Room 343 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, ABT2N 1N4 403.220.5685

Contact the Graduate Program Administrator

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Related programs

If you're interested in this program, you might want to explore other UCalgary programs.

Thesis-based DBA

Course-based EMBA

Course-based GEMBA

Thesis-based MBA

Course-based MBA

Course-based MMgmt

Sustainable Energy Development

Course-based MSc

Curious about the University of Calgary?

Located in the nation's most enterprising city, we are a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude.

Management PhD Specialization

General information.

The doctoral program in Management offers students an opportunity to pursue advanced study with a diverse group of world-renowned management faculty. Management is an interdisciplinary area, combining the study of organizations with areas such as sociology, economics, and psychology. The study of management involves examination of macro- and micro-level factors that affect organization effectiveness and efficiency.

The management Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students to conduct and publish research in top-tier journals and to take academic positions at leading research-based universities in the United States and abroad. The Ph.D. curriculum in management consists of two major tracks: 1) Strategic Management, and 2) Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management (OB/HRM). A minor is also available for PhD students working in other specialization areas.

Recent alumni testimonials

Guest post by Giselle Antoine, UW PhD in Organizational Behavior First Placement: Washington University in St. Louis (Olin Business School)…

Guest post by Michelle Lee, 2021 graduate, UW PhD in Strategic Management. First placement: Queen’s University (Canada)Current placement: Queen’s University (Canada)

Guest post by Yu Tse Heng, 2022 graduate, UW PhD in Organizational Behavior. First placement: University of Virginia Current placement:…

Guest post by Stephen Lee, 2020 graduate, UW PhD in Organizational Behavior. First placement: Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Current…

Guest post by Sam Yam, UW PhD  When prospective PhD students in management are deciding which program to attend, I think…

Guest post by Brooks Holtom, 1999 graduate, UW PhD in Organizational Behavior. First placement: Vanderbilt University Current placement: Georgetown University

Read more testimonials

Department web site Management Faculty Recent alumni placements

Strategic Management track

Organizational behavior and human resource management track, admission requirements.

Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree at an accredited university. An admission committee of faculty members reviews all completed applications. While the committee considers all relevant factors in its recommendations, important factors include past academic performance, GMAT scores, and essays. The GRE exam can be substituted for the GMAT but the GMAT is strongly preferred. In some cases we may request a personal interview.

Recommended preparation prior to entry

Students entering the PhD Program as Management majors should be comfortable with the basic concepts of calculus and statistics before they arrive on campus. It is strongly recommended that all new Management majors carefully review this material during the summer before entering the program.

Management Area Faculty Coordinator

For the most common questions we receive about our program, please refer to the FAQ at the bottom of this page. For additional questions about the Strategic Management track, please contact Faculty Coordinator Emily Cox Pahnke ( [email protected] ). For additional questions about the Organizational Behavior track, please contact Faculty Coordinator Ryan Fehr ( [email protected] ).

Program timeline

The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of M&O’s PhD program. It does not provide a comprehensive review of all credit hour requirements, etc. Instead it provides a “road map” of topics salient to successfully navigating the program. An overall schedule and major milestones for a five-year [1] program is depicted below.

Year	Classes/Teaching	RA/TA	Unique Tasks	Major Milestones
First	Course work	3 quarters	Engage on-boarding faculty mentor (late summer) Attend Ph.D. orientation & M&O Research Seminars Begin formation of your supervisory committee Engage research	1st year Research Paper
Second	Course work	3 quarters (1 of which is a teaching mentorship)	Formalize supervisory committee Prepare for Major Area Exams Engage research	Present 1st Year Paper Submit to AoM Take Major Area Exams Attend AoM
Third	Teach 1 quarter	2 quarters	Engage research Prepare to teach	Results: Major Exam 3rd Year Dissertation Forum Submit: Journals & AoM Attend AoM
Fourth	Teach 1 quarter	2 quarters	Engage research Prepare to teach	Defend Proposal Submit: Journals & AoM Attend AoM
Fifth	No: Fellowship	No: Fellowship	Job Market Engage research	Defend Dissertation Submit: Journals & AoM Secure a tenure track job at a peer institution

[1] This is not a statement of financial support. [2] In five years, typical assignment is 3 qrts of fellowship, 2 qrts of teaching and 10 qrts of RA/TA. Summer are RA. [3] Contingent on satisfactory progress in the program.

First and second years Supervisory Committee: Until students establish a supervisory committee by the end of the Spring Quarter of their first year an initial advisor (the department’s Phd coordinator) advises students.  The supervisory committee approves the course of studies, and monitors the student’s progress.

Course work: The total amount of coursework required depends on incoming education and minor tracks selected. However, it is expected that students take the major doctoral seminars offered by the department as well as Research Methods courses. These courses are supplemented by course outside the department and outside the school, e.g., statistics.

Minor area requirements:   Students in management must select “Research Methods” as one of their minor areas.  A second or third minor area will depend on the student’s interest.

1st Year Paper: During the Fall Quarter of the second year, students must present their summer research paper to the management faculty.  In most instances, by this time a student will have formed a Supervisory Committee and will have conferred with them about this presentation.

Major area exams :  The examination will be held in Summer of each year.  This written exam will be scheduled over several days.  The focus per day will be made clear by the committee. One day will be research methods focused, while the other(s) will be theoretical content focused. If the Supervisory Committee believes that the student’s performance was unsatisfactory, the committee may recommend that the student retake the area exams.  If the student successfully passes these exams, then he or she has completed the prelims. In no instance will a student be allowed to remain in the program if the exam is not successfully completed by the end of their third year.

Third, fourth, and fifth years 3rd Year Dissertation Forum: During Spring of your 3rd Year a major presentation will be made to the faculty related to your intended dissertation research.

General exam:   Students who successfully complete the area exams can begin working on a dissertation proposal.  The general exam, also referred to as the “proposal defense” exam, is an oral examination of their dissertation proposal. After the successful completion of this exam the student enters “Candidacy.”  The oral exam in structured such that the student presents their dissertation research to their committee for approval.

Reading Committee: At this point, a student may reconstitute his/her Supervisory Committee and must select his/her Reading Committee, which is usually a subsection of the Supervisory Committee.  In practice, the chair of the student’s Supervisory Committee usually becomes the chair of the Reading Committee.  The Reading Committee may consist entirely of members of the Supervisory Committee or may include one or more members not previously on the Supervisory Committee.  The Graduate School appoints an outside member to the Reading Committee.  The student’s Reading Committee administers the final defense of a student’s dissertation.  With the successful completion of the dissertation defense and submission of the dissertation to the graduate school a student will have completed all the requirements for a Ph.D.

Course planning

Strategic Management track: First, the core of the program is a “five+one” major area doctoral seminar sequence. The “five” are Economic Foundations, Sociological Foundations, Contemporary Strategy, Theoretical Foundations of Entrepreneurship, and Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. The “plus one” requirement is chosen from the doctoral seminars in the OB/HRM track. Secondly, you will have two minors, including research methods and a complementary area, such as Economics, Sociology, or Political Science.

OB/HRM track: First, the core of the program is a “four+one” major area doctoral seminar sequence. The “four” include the three required – Psychological Foundations, Social Processes, and Contemporary OB – while you choose one of the two Special Topics. The “plus one” requirement is chosen from the doctoral seminars in the Strategic Management track. Secondly, you will have two minors, including research methods and a complementary area, such as Psychology.

Course (offered every other year)

MGT 580 Psychological Foundations of Organizational Behavior

MGT 581 Social Processes in Organizations

MGT 582 Contemporary OB Research

MGT 583 Special Topics OB I

MGT 584 Special Topics in OB II

MGT 590 Economic Foundations of Strategy

MGT 591 Sociological Foundations of Strategy

MGT 592 Contemporary Strategy Research

MGT 593 Special Topics Strategy I

MGT 594 Special Topics Strategy II

ENTRE 581 Theoretical Foundations of Entrepreneurship

ENTRE 582 Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

Course (offered every year)

BARM 590 Behavioral R.M. Theory and Design

BARM 591 Behavioral R.M. Approaches and Application

Course descriptions

MGT 580 Psychological Foundations of Organizational Behavior The goal of this class is an introduction to a broad range of topics that are commonly seen as “on the micro side” of organizational behavior (OB).  The expectation for 580 is not expertise on these selected OB topics, but instead, the hope is to spark interest in one or more of these topics.  Topics include but are not limited to: voluntary employee turnover; personality and other individual differences; beliefs, attitudes and intentions; fairness, justice & voice; goals, feedback seeking and power; self-theories, fit, socialization, and climate and culture; organizational citizenship behaviors, job design, counter work behavior and creativity; and psychological contracts, stress and well-being.  The short term goal is to prepare you for the OB area exam, but the long term goal is to generate substantial excitement such that your dissertation topic and/or one or more publications emerge from this class.

MGT 581 Social Processes in Organizations The purpose of the course is to review the literature on social processes, groups, and teams, focusing on their applications in organizational settings. This course focuses on important group processes for organizational effectiveness. It covers concepts such as composition, diversity, conflict, affect, decision making, and motivation. Class meetings will consist of brief overviews of selected topics (carried out by us jointly) and discussions of these topics with a focus on: (1) understanding the existing theory and research, and (2) developing research ideas that can and should be done to further our knowledge about a topic.

MGT 583 Special Topics OB I The purpose of this course is to review the major theories of leadership and their applications in both research and in practice. Although the primary focus of this seminar is on examining the ‘science of leadership’, in each class, we will also discuss the application of this science in practice covering a vast array of leadership roles or loci in organizations including shared and strategic.

MGT 584 Special Topics in OB II In recent years, scholars have employed an ever-widening array of perspectives to understand and predict individual ethical behavior in organizations. This course provides an overview of these perspectives and helps the student to better evaluate and conduct research related to individual ethical behavior in organizations.

MGT 590 Economic Foundations of Strategy This course will review theories either derived from economics, or grounded in economic concepts, that are utilized in the field of strategic management. Each student will be expected to come to class prepared to summarize (1) one important research paper or book chapter per session and (2) one empirical paper pertaining to the topic discussed on that day. The summaries must be presented as a power point presentation. The power point presentations and relevant empirical papers must be uploaded into the shared drop box folder. We will decide prior to each class which theoretical reading each student will summarize. You are expected to search the literature to find relevant empirical papers. The empirical papers can be drawn from management or economics journals.  Grades will be based on the quality of your summaries of theoretical and empirical papers.

MGT 591 Sociological Foundations of Strategy This course is an introduction to the major theoretical approaches and ongoing debates within the areas of organization theory and organizational sociology. Organizational theory draws on several different disciplinary roots, but the major focus of this course will be work on the sociology of organizations.  The substantive focus of the course will be explaining the origins, persistence, and disappearance of institutional structures that order economic life (organizations, firms, networks, markets, etc.).

Although this course is meant as an overview of the field of organizational theory and organizational sociology, we do not spend much time on the historical and classic statements of the field (e.g., Weber, Simon, March, Thompson). Rather, we will focus on the major contemporary schools or perspectives within the field, moving in roughly temporal order. The major topic areas we cover include resource dependence, organizational ecology, institutional theory, network theory, social movements theory, and theories of categories and classification.

ENTRE 581 Theoretical Foundations of Entrepreneurship This Ph.D. seminar introduces students to the major theoretical threads and controversies in the entrepreneurship. The course focuses on theory building and empirical testing of the factors shaping the identification, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities and the creation of new organizations. It highlights various theoretical perspectives, examines different methodologies, and explores empirical research in entrepreneurship. It emphasizes current research in entrepreneurship – what are researchers talking about today and where will the field likely be headed in the future?

ENTRE 582 Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship This doctoral seminar provides an introduction to the phenomenon of innovation from the strategic management perspective. Overall the emphasis is on understanding the main theories of innovation, synthesizing research in this area, and understanding how to design and write compelling research. Students will develop skills to both appreciate and construct empirical research designs and submit weekly writing assignments and a term paper focused on the innovation literature we read, as well as developing their own research ideas related to innovation.

BARM 590 Behavioral R.M. Theory and Design BARM 590 is an introduction to research methods in the behavioral areas commonly found in a business school.  The mega goal for this class is to begin an appreciation of the research process.  The more specific goals are to: prepare you for BARM 591; begin the long journey of learning how to conduct research; and understand specific methods in the many substantive research articles that you will read in your classes, in preparing for the area exam and across your career.  By the end of BARM 590, you should feel comfortable with the vocabulary and general areas of research methods.  You may feel uncomfortable, however, with the many details of conducting research.  Such comfort evolves over the first two years in the program (and across the career).

BARM 591 Behavioral R.M. Approaches and Application This course will introduce students to a variety of techniques and considerations important in analyzing multivariate data in organizational research.  Students will be exposed to descriptive and inferential multivariate methods and will learn about their underlying assumptions, correct usage, and proper interpretation.  Students will gain experience through a variety of problems, critiques, and data analysis projects.  Critiques are primarily based on articles published in the Academy of Management Journal , so students will also attain a high degree of familiarity with articles published in that journal and the norms associated with that journal. There are also a few articles from psychology, strategy, and education journals.

The course will be taught in a seminar setting and will also have a significant hands-on component.  At the beginning of each session, we will be discussing the articles that you will have read for the day. These have been chosen to highlight various flaws in design and to highlight statistical techniques. A lot can be learned by observing the weaknesses of various attempts at research. You should come prepared with comments and questions.  You should be ready to discuss each article and be able to compare and contrast the articles in terms of methodology.  During the second half of most sessions, I will be asking you to analyze a data set using the techniques we have learned.  We will be doing this together as a class.  There will be no curve for this course—thus there is every reason to help and learn from each other.

Frequently asked questions

Who is a typical Foster Management PhD Student? A Foster Management PhD student is intellectually curious, values academic freedom, and is passionate about contemporary management issues. You can build an exciting career involving research, publishing, teaching, and academic leadership. A foster Management Ph.D. student is NOT interested in pursuing a non-academic career, such as a consultant or corporate executive.

Who does well in the PhD program? Students who are self-motivated, creative, and excited about learning on the job tend to do better in our program than students who like prescribed structure to their work. Our students are interested in actively collaborating with faculty members to conduct cutting-edge research and publish their research findings in top-tier journals. In addition to fellowships, we provide financial support in the form of research and teaching assistantships that often result in research collaborations with students as co-authors. These early projects have traditionally helped our doctoral candidates pursue careers as faculty members at major universities in the United States and abroad.

What’s the background of PhD students? Holding a business degree is NOT a requirement for being considered for our PhD program. We frequently accept students with diverse backgrounds – economics, sociology, psychology, engineering, statistics, mathematics and other natural sciences. Our program is geared towards providing training for skills that students need to succeed in their careers.

What does it take to get in? Our admission decisions are based on many criteria, including test scores (GMAT or GRE of over 80th percentile; over the 90 th percentile is common), letters of recommendation, and prior academic performance. Once you join the program, we work hard to ensure that you succeed in completing your degree, and getting a faculty position at a research university.

What is the mission of the PhD program in Management? The mission of our PhD program is to ensure that our graduates earn tenure at peer institutions.

What are the concentrations offered? Our students select one of the three concentrations offered by the Department: Organizational Behavior, Strategic Management, and Technology Entrepreneurship.

When is the application deadline? The deadline to apply is December 15th.

What are the documents that I need to submit?

• Fill out the application online
• Transcripts of all college or university level courses, degrees and diplomas
• Three letters of recommendation. These could be from professors, supervisors, employers or colleagues
• Official Test Scores for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT-code: 459-75-53) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE-code: 4854). If you are an international applicant, you need official test scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
• A personal statement/essay that clearly describes how a Foster PhD degree in Management fits with your career goals

Do you prefer GMAT or GRE scores? Either is acceptable. The GMAT code for the PhD Program is 459-75-53 and the GRE code is 4854.

Is there a minimum test score requirement? No; however, typically the admitted students have scores in the 80th – 100th percentile range. 90 th and above is common.

I’ve already taken the GMAT/GRE; should I consider re-taking it? You will need to re-take the test if your test result is over five years old. You can choose to retake the test if you feel that test score does not provide a reasonable evidence of your ability. We will base our judgment on your application on the most recent score provided to us.

Do you have a minimum grade point average? Yes, the minimum GPA is 3.0. We particularly focus on courses and degrees that are directly connected to your intended area of specialization. While evaluating prior academic performance, we take several other factors into consideration, including the quality of the institution, their grading standards, and the overall trajectory of your grades.

Do I need to have an MBA or some other masters degree? No. Even though most of our students have done some graduate-level work, we are open to considering students with undergraduate degree if they can demonstrate ability to undertake doctoral work either through their prior professional experience, or participation in research activity. We do recognize that some basic familiarity with statistics can be helpful in navigating the first year of the program.

How long is the PhD Program? There is no strictly prescribed duration for the PhD program. The number of years that students take depends on their background, their willingness to work hard, and some external factors (e.g. access to dissertation data). Most of our doctoral students complete their degree in 4 to 6 years. 5 years is most common.

Do you have a part-time program? No. Our program requires all the students to be residence full-time. Since the program places significant demands on students’ time and efforts, we do not encourage students to accept other employment.

How long does it take for students to complete their coursework? Most students finish their coursework in the first two years.

What are some of the requirements for the doctorate other than course work? In addition to course work, students are required to write a summer research paper at the end of the first year in the Program. Students must pass a comprehensive examination at the end of their second year. Students also need to pass a dissertation proposal defense, and final dissertation defense in order to graduate.

How do individuals support themselves while completing the PhD Program? All the students receive financial support that includes a full tuition waiver, and a stipend to cover the living costs. This stipend is offered in the form of assistantship (research assistantship or assistantship), or fellowship. The support is typically available for the entire duration of the program, depending on satisfactory progress toward degree completion.

How do I earn an assistantship? Students are required to perform 20 hours of research or teaching duties as instructed by the designated faculty advisors. These assignments serve the dual purpose of students earning their stipends by assisting faculty members, and, at the same time, gaining insights into the process of doing research and teaching classes. While students initially serve as apprentices to faculty members, eventually, they are given responsibility for teaching two undergraduate courses independently.

As research assistants, students are expected to do literature review, data collection, statistical analysis, and writing up results. These duties often end up offering valuable educational experiences to students and sometimes pave the way for dissertation research or co-authored articles.

How do students receive health insurance? All the students admitted to the program automatically receive University-paid health insurance.

How much tuition do doctoral students have to pay? None. As long as students are making progress toward their degree, and fulfilling their assistantship duties, they receive full tuition remission.

How many courses do students take in a quarter? During the first two years of the program, most students take between 3-4 courses.

Do students receive credit for previous course work? Only if they satisfy the program requirement. Prior masters level coursework, such as MBA courses, usually can NOT be applied toward the doctoral degree.

I am an international student. Do I need to submit a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score? Do I need to submit a TSE (Test of Spoken English) score? All the international students are required to submit a TOEFL score, unless they submit transcripts showing that they earned a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited university in the United States or other English speaking countries and regions, such as Canada, Australia, the UK, or New Zealand. Students are not required to submit a TSE score as the TSE may be taken at the beginning of the doctoral program.

Students need to have an overall TOEFL score of 95 or higher. Please note that TOEFL scores are valid for two years.

How many students are admitted into the PhD program each year? On average, two students are admitted in Organizational Behavior and two in Strategy and Technology Entrepreneurship.

Do I need to have a clearly defined topic of research at the time of application? No. Most students enter the program without a clear research agenda and discover their research interests during the program. While it can be helpful for students to know their interests and goals, it is perhaps more important that students join the program with an open mind and show the willingness to explore new areas and topics. One of the key goals of the program is to help students develop an understanding of what is known in one’s area of study, and what questions are worth pursuing.

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PhD in Management in Canada: Best Doctorate Degrees & Top Universities

• Last Updated On February 7, 2024
• Published In Courses 📖 , Study in Canada 🇨🇦

Acquiring a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in your field will help you become eligible for teaching your subject in educational institutes as well as help you procure jobs that require specialization. Management is one of the most widely studied subjects all over the world, and pursuing a PhD in Management can help open new job opportunities for you in a highly competitive world. And what better place to study it than one of the most ideal destinations for international and Indian students?  This blog will take you through the why, how and where of studying PhD in Management Canada. 

Table of Content

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What is PhD in Management?

A PhD degree in itself is a certification of the highest academic level an individual can reach in a particular field. A PhD in Management is a doctorate that emphasizes theoretical management and its foundations. The doctoral degree also delves into the underlying disciplines of management. 

This degree provides you with abilities like competitive research and teaching skills that help in job placements in the teaching department in Canada as well as the rest of the world. The length of a PhD in Management program in Canada can span between 3 to 6 years. It differs from university to university as well as in the field of specialization.

A PhD in Management is an umbrella that covers several doctoral degrees with different specializations. Some of the specializations are as follows:

• Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Global and Strategic Management
• Operations Management
• Marketing Management
• Business Administration
• Technology Management
• Business Technology Management
• Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

Scope of Studying PhD in Management in Canada

With Canada gaining more and more attention on the international scale, the country has become a welcoming place that hosts international students from anywhere in the world. Canada provides its students with a hospitable environment and diversified populace to socialize, study, and grow with. 

The following qualities make international students enrol into Canadian universities to pursue doctoral studies:

• Affordable Tuition Fees : Studying abroad usually poses a financial burden for international students. Canada eases that burden with its universities providing world-class education at affordable rates. The fees for courses in Canadian universities are much lower than in places like UK and US.
• World-Class Universities – Along with affordable tuition fees, Canada houses 3 to 4 universities that rank in the top 150 rankings in the world. These universities provide education and develop their students in a manner that helps them secure jobs all over the world.
• Scholarship Opportunities – Canada is famous all over the world due to the number of scholarships they provide to international students. Some scholarships offered in Canada provide 15,000 CAD to 40,000 CAD to the students, which is a huge financial help in covering tuition fees and living expenses.
• Job Placements and Opportunities – Canada provides a favourable environment for work to its students during their degree as well as post-completion. You get the option to work for 10 hours a week during your degree. The money received from this can help you manage your personal and living expenses. After the completion of your doctoral degree, you can stay in Canada for up to three years on PGWPP, secure a job and earn back the amount of your investment into your education.

PhD Program Requirements

The following eligibility criteria need to be fulfilled for successful admission into a doctoral degree:

• A master’s/post-graduate degree in the same or similar field of study with consistent grades and prior research experience. In some cases, a high-ranking bachelor’s degree with outstanding grades can also be considered.
• A letter of recommendation and a research proposal.
• IELTS or TOEFL test scores according to the university as a parameter for your grip in the English language.
• GRE or GMAT test scores according to the university
• After the submission of scores, a personal interview may be conducted for selection.

Documents Required

The following documents are a pre-requisite for applying to a PhD program in Canada:

• Certified transcripts of your previous courses
• Statement of Purpose
• Detailed CV/resume
• Letters of reference
• Canadian study permit/student visa
• Photocopy of your passport
• Certified copies of other important documents required for admission

Explore all countries

Top colleges for phd in management canada.

Canada has several top-notch universities and business schools that provide an excellent education. Let us go through the universities in Canada that offer a PhD in Management:

University of Toronto (Rank 18)

• Fields of Specialization:  Accounting, Economic Analysis and Policy, Finance, Marketing,  Operations Management and Statistics, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management, and Strategic Management.
• Eligibility Criteria: Average B+ equivalent or 8.5/10 GPA; GMAT or GRE Scores; TOEFL/IELTS Scores
• Funding: Year 1: $32,000 plus the tuition fee, Years 2-5: $32,000 plus the tuition fee

University of British Columbia (Rank 37)

• Fields of Specialization: Management Science, Operations Research
• Eligibility Criteria: M.Phil., Master’s Degree, Master’s degree in Engineering, Forestry or Medicine with 1st Division or 8/10 score; English proficiency test scores
• Funding: Killam Doctoral Scholarships, SERB-UBC Scholarship, Vanier Scholarship, International Tuition Award, President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, PhD Minimum Funding

McGill University (Rank 40)

• Fields of Specialization: Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Marketing, Operations Management, Organizational Behaviour, Retail Management, Strategy & Organization
• Eligibility Criteria: Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree in a related field with a strong academic record; 70% in GMAT or GRE; 7.0 Band in IELTS 
• Funding: Guaranteed funding will be $32,622 per year for the first four years. Fifth-year funding will be $20,000+

McMaster University (Rank 69)

• Fields of Specialization: Accounting, Finance, Health Management, Information Systems, Management of Organizational Behaviour & Human Resources, Management Science, Marketing
• Eligibility Criteria: Minimum B+ grade equivalent; GMAT or GRE Scores; IELTS/ TOEFL Scores
• Funding: For the first four years of study, each full-time student receives a minimum of $20,000 per year. $4,000 for travel expenses related to attending conferences, $1,000 for expenses arising from developing and writing a thesis, Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

University of Alberta (Rank 131)

• Fields of Specialization: Accounting, Finance, Operations and Information Systems, Marketing, and Strategic Management and Organization
• Eligibility Criteria: GPA of 3 on a 4 point grading system; GMAT or GRE Scores; IELTS/ TOEFL Scores
• Funding: Myer Horowitz Graduate Students’ Association Graduate Scholarship, The Faculty Club/Dr William A (Bill) Preshing Graduate Scholarship, Pansy and George Strange Graduate Scholarship

University of Ottawa (Rank 162)

• Fields of Specialization: Accounting and control, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Health Systems, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources, Strategy and Organization
• Eligibility Criteria: Minimum average grade of A- or 80%; GMAT or GRE Score: English proficiency test score; Personal interview
• Funding: Telfer PhD Student Engagement Award, John Duncan and Deb Cross Award, Telfer Base Funding

University of Calgary (Rank 200)

• Fields of Specialization: Accounting, Business Technology Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Environmental Management/Sustainable Development, Finance, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources, Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Risk Management and Insurance, Strategy and Global Management
• Eligibility Criteria:  First Class Division, or 8/10 (or 7.5/10 for IITs only); GMAT or GRE Scores; IELTS/TOEFL Scores
• Funding: Full tuition for all admitted students for the first four years. Funding comes in the form of Graduate Assistantships, Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarships program, Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES), Delta Kappa Gama, Entrance Awards, Graduate Award Competition, International Graduate Tuition Award, Mackenzie King, Mitacs, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS)

University of Waterloo (Rank 201)

• Fields of Specialization: Applied Operations Research, Information Systems, Management of Technology 
• Eligibility Criteria: Master’s degree with at least 83%; GMAT or GRE Scores; IELTS 7.0/ TOEFL 90 Score
• Funding: University of Waterloo President’s Graduate Scholarship, President’s Graduate Scholarship (PGS), Fraser Award

The Memorial University of Newfoundland (Rank 501)

• Fields of Specialization: Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance, International Business, Marketing, Social Enterprise, Strategy, Sustainability
• Eligibility Criteria: Good average marking in master’s degree; GMAT or GRE Scores; IELTS/ TOEFL Scores
• Funding: Canadian Beverage Association Graduate Business Scholarship, BMO Financial Group Graduate Scholarship in the Faculty of Business Administration, Atlantic Credit Unions Graduate Award in Business, P.J. Gardiner Award for International Study, The Joe O’Neill Memorial Award – for demonstrated interest in Labour Relations, Peggy Finney Pelletier Graduate Scholarship in Business Administration, Jim Hood Memorial Scholarship, Dr Sudhir Saha Graduate Scholarship In Business

Application Process

To apply for a PhD program in Canada, follow the before-mentioned steps:

• Submit a research proposal following your course.
• Apply for the program online on the official website of your chosen university and submit an application and application fee.
• Appear for the interview if need be.
• Apply for a student visa and get your study permit

After the successful completion of these steps, you will be eligible to study in a PhD program in Canada.

Scholarship Programs

Scholarship programs can be a boon to a student in need of financial aid. One of Canada’s USP for being an international student hub is the number of scholarships the country provides. The following scholarship programs can be applied to by students looking to pursue PhD courses:

• Ontario Trillium Scholarship
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship
• UBC four-year Doctoral Scholarship
• University of Waterloo President’s Graduate Scholarship
• Ontario Graduate Fellowship
• Robert Hartog Graduate Scholarship

Job Prospects for PhD in Management Canada

Canada offers attractive job prospects to its students after the completion of their degrees. The average base salary of PhD graduates in Canada is approximately 106,000 CAD per year. Your job placement and salary package also depend on the degree you are specialising in as well as the role you secure in the company. Some of the most popular universities in Canada and their salaries offered to their upper band doctoral candidates are as follows:

• University of British Columbia –  150,000 CAD/year
• McGill University – 150,000 CAD/year
• University of Toronto – 130,000 CAD/year
• University of Waterloo – 247,000 CAD/year
• Carleton University – 95,000 CAD/year

Considering all the points, pursuing a PhD in Management from Canada comes with a lot of perks. New opportunities open up in the teaching sector where you can teach your field of specialization. Some jobs require a doctoral degree with a specific specialization, and these jobs become available to you after the completion of your doctoral degree. Along with new job opportunities, you can stay back in Canada for up to 3 years on PGWP and secure a job in the country. This allows you to apply for a permanent residency in Canada as studying and working in the country will add to your PR points and increase your chances of approval. Even if you do not wish to stay, you can return to your home country with a value-adding degree and experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What   are the main points   of focus in a phd in management canada.

Ans. A PhD in Management focuses on the following points during its course:

A. Research excellence B. Preparation of thesis C. Become autonomous researchers D. Teaching skills E. Upgradation of management knowledge and skills  F. Working under the supervision of a professor

What are the   intake periods for PhD in Management Canada ?

Ans. The intake periods for PhD programs at Canadian Universities are as follows:

A. Fall intake – September to December or early January B. Winter intake – January to May C. Spring intake – May to August

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Saket Kohli

An International Higher Ed professional with 7+ years of experience studying, working, and living across three geographies, currently on a mission to share his journey as an International Student.

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Strategic management ph.d., earn a ph.d. in business and a major concentration in strategic management to prepare for a career at top academic institutions.

The Ph.D. in Business and a Major Concentration in Strategic Management provides course work in the base theories in strategic management. The field of strategic management studies big picture issues facing managers of firms, such as deciding what markets and industries to enter, how to enter and exit various markets, how to position the firm in the market in order to gain competitive advantage, and the timing, sequencing, and orchestration of competitive initiatives. Topics in strategic management include: Competitive strategy, resource allocation and corporate strategy, strategic decision processes, international and emerging market strategies, knowledge and innovation management, strategic entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and environment and non-market strategies.

The main goal of the strategic management doctoral program is to train students to do high-quality research in any of these areas and to prepare them for careers as mainstream professors of strategic management at top academic research institutions. To achieve this goal, Ph.D. students are required to take courses in strategic management, research methods and statistics, as well as possible disciplinary elective courses in economics, psychology and political science, and to write research papers examining important and relevant issues in strategic management. The program also has a teaching requirement to the extent that teaching opportunities are available.

Interested in Rice Business?

Program information.

Rice Business offers an outstanding program for doctoral students interested in strategic management.

In addition to the requirements described in Chapters 1 and 6 of this guide, doctoral students who have chosen strategic management as their area must satisfy the following requirements for a Ph.D. degree.

Course, Research Work and Dissertation Advisor

• The student’s course work must be approved by the area faculty advisor.
• During the student’s first two years, he or she must take a minimum of 12 hours of approved graduate level courses per semester.
• Course work includes a combination of required and elective courses. The required courses are listed in the attached course sample sequence.
• The student is expected to attend all research seminars organized in the strategic management area during the student’s tenure in the Ph.D. program. Moreover, during the second and third years, the student must formally register for the strategic management research seminars and attend presentations of SE faculty as well as those of faculty members from other business schools who visit the SE area to present their research.
• Students are expected to be fully engaged in research during the Ph.D. program, especially during all the summers, including the summer after the first year of their residency in the Ph.D. program.
• Students must have a Jones School SE faculty member who has agreed to serve as their dissertation advisor by the end of the spring semester of their third year in the program.
• From the second year onwards, students are required to give at least one research presentation every year in front of faculty and other doctoral students. Such presentations should demonstrate that the student is making adequate progress in his/her research. The presentation requirement may be fulfilled in the fall of the second and third years by presenting the required research paper and other research projects. It is the student’s responsibility to schedule this yearly presentation, together with his/her advisor and/or the strategic management area advisor.
• Having teaching experience is important for doctoral students to perform well in the academic job market. As such, we require students in the SE area to have a teaching experience. In the third year of the program, all students receive an opportunity to be a teaching assistant for SE faculty in strategic courses at the Jones School. Moreover, to the extent that teaching opportunities are available, we require students to teach at least one semester course as the primary instructor before entering the job market.

Exam Requirements

Students must successfully pass a comprehensive exam administered by the SE faculty at the end of the second year. The exam is administered and graded by SE faculty, under the supervision of the strategic management area advisor or special committee set up for this purpose. The exam includes two parts:

• Part I focuses on the coursework taken in strategic management and measures the student’s knowledge of the area as a whole including base theories, main strategy research topics, and research methods.
• Part II requires writing a paper as a take-home exam (generally within 48 hours) on a topic jointly discussed between two SE faculty and the student; it focuses on the student’s ability to write a research paper establishing a contribution to the designated literature and also includes research methods and study design.

A successful performance in the exam demonstrates the student’s solid training in strategic management and provide the foundation from which he or she begins the research that forms the basis of the dissertation.

Research Paper Requirements

Students are required to write one major paper in their first two years, either sole-authored or coauthored with a faculty member(s) in the SE area.  This paper is proposed in the spring semester of the second year and completed at the beginning of the fall semester of the third year. The bulk of the work on the paper is intended to be done in the summer. The paper is intended as (1) a developmental vehicle for the student and (2) that will result in publications in top quality journals (although credit is not dependent on publication).

The student is expected to take the lead on the project (in the manner of a lead author) and should individually decide (perhaps in collaboration with an SE area faculty member) on what topic the student will work. The paper must be approved by two tenure-track SE faculty members (one is typically the student’s adviser). The student is expected to present the paper in a faculty workshop at the beginning of the fall semester of the third year. Failure to complete the Research Paper Requirements, as outlined above, will mean that the student is not making satisfactory academic progress in the Ph.D. Program. See Appendix B for research paper approval and evaluation forms.

The course curriculum is designed around a challenging course of study in both the theory of strategic management and in innovative empirical design.  The sample course sequence is typical although the students might choose different courses across disciplines to structure a specific degree plan. Besides the required 1st and 2nd year Strategic management basic and advanced courses, students are required to take a microeconomics course as well as statistic and methodology courses. Doctoral students may continue taking courses beyond their second year.     Sample Course Sequence in Strategic Leadership (Psychology Oriented)

Year 1 (Fall)

BUSI 540        Strategy Management Theory (3.0)

BUSI 549        Strategy Pro-seminar (3.0)

POLI 504        Methodology and Data Analysis (or equivalent-e.g., ECON 510)

PSYC 507       Research Methods (or equivalent)

Year 1 (Spring)

BUSI 541      Strategic Management Research (3.0)

BUSI 5XX      Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours see courses below)

POLI 505      Topics in Political Methodology (or equivalent-e.g., ECON 511)

 Elective

Year 2 (Fall)           

BUSI 5XX      Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours)

PSYC 601     Multivariate Statistics (or equivalent)

ECON 501     Microeconomic Theory I (or equivalent)

 Year 2 (Spring)

 BUSI 5XX      Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours-see courses below)

 BUSI 5XX      Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours see courses below)

Examples of elective courses are:

BUSI 503        Econometric Models in Marketing

BUSI 504        Game Theory

BUSI 530        Introduction to Accounting Research

BUSI 531        Empirical Methods in Accounting

BUSI 522        Corporate Finance

BUSI 523        Empirical Methods in Finance

ECON 504      Advanced Economic Statistics

ECON 510      Econometrics I

ECON 510      Econometrics II

ECON 514      Industrial Organization and Control

ECON 523      Dynamic Optimization

STAT 522       Advanced Bayesian Statistics

STAT 541       Multivariate Analysis

STAT 606       SAS Statistical Programming

STAT 621       Time Series Analysis

STAT 622       Bayesian Data Analysis

PSYC 502       Advanced Psychological Statistics I

PSYC 503       Advanced Psychological Statistics II

PSYC 507       Research Methods

PSYC 601       Multivariate Statistics

PSYC 637       Meta-Analysis in Psychological Research

PSYC 550       Foundations of Social Psychology

PSYC 636       Organizational Psychology

PSYC 639       Groups and Teams: Advanced Topics in I/O

POLI 503        Topics in Methods and Data Analysis

POLI 504        Advanced Topics in Methodology and Data Analysis

POLI 505        Topics in Political Methodology (Panel Data or Time Series)

POLI 511        Measurement and Research Design

POLI 527        Institutional Analysis and Design

POLI 576        International Political Economy

POLI 575        Game Theory

BUSI 540:  Strategic Management Theory This seminar covers foundational as well as contemporary theories in strategic management. The course draws upon foundational theoretical perspectives from economics, sociology and organization theory to supplement more traditional strategy approaches towards understanding firm performance and related issues. Potential topics on contemporary theories may include: behavioral theory of the firm, transaction cost economics, agency theory, behavioral agency theory, structural contingency theory, theories of cooperative strategy, organizational networks, the resource-based view of the firm and upper echelon theories or theories regarding top management teams, theories of opportunity recognition and new venture creation, resource dependence theory, and theories of organizational evolution.

BUSI 541: Strategy Management Research This seminar examines the effectiveness of corporate and competitive strategy in creating and maintaining competitive advantage. Topics may include firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, dynamic capabilities and knowledge-based theories of competence, strategy as real options, and cooperative strategy including strategic alliances and joint ventures. Topics may also include corporate diversification strategy, international diversification and entry into emerging markets, corporate governance, management of diversified business groups, strategic entrepreneurship, and management of innovation.

Advanced Topics in Strategy (1.5 credit course modules)

Required Advanced Strategy Electives (They take two per semester after the first semester in the program)

BUSI 515 Micro foundations of organization & management (1.5)

BUSI 542 Organization change (1.5)

BUSI 543 Executive leadership & corporate governance (1.5)

BUSI 544 Contemporary management thought (1.5)

BUSI 547 Innovation & knowledge management (1.5)

BUSI 551 Strategy research in corporate development (1.5)

BUSI 550 Corporate social responsibility (1.5)

BUSI 552 Design of business research (1.5)

Other topic are likely to be developed in the future.

Certification of Candidacy indicates that a student has reached the advanced stage of the Ph.D. Program, permitting him/her to devote full time to writing a dissertation. At least eight months must elapse between admission to candidacy and conferral of the degree. The requirements for candidacy are:

• Successful completion of the course work requirements.
• Successful completion of the research paper requirements.
• Successful completion of the comprehensive examination requirements.

Strategic Management Area Advisor

Laszlo Tihanyi

Current students.

Alumni Placement

Alumni Name	Year	Placement upon Graduation	Current Institution (if moved)
Shi, Wei (Frank)	2016	Indiana University Indianapolis, 2016-2018	University of Miami from 2018; Now tenured associate professor
Yi, Xiwei	2016	Peking University, Chiina
Jin, Jing (Jane)	2016	Renmin University of China
Zyung, Daniel	2017	Southern Methodist University
Gambeta, Eni	2018	University of Cincinnati
Mealey, Christian R.	2018	Duke University, postdoc, 2018-2020	Senior Strategic Planning Specialist, Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) from 2020, Chapel Hill, NC
Colby Green	2018	Brigham Young University (visiting)	Southern Utah University
Callahan, Conor	2019	University of Illinois Chicago
Li, Toby	2019	Texas A&M University
Chen, Zhuo (Emma)	2020	American University	China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai from 2022.

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