How DBA and PhD Students in Business Differ: The Academics’ Perspective

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and PhD programmes offer distinct paths within the realm of doctoral studies, each tailored to address the needs of specific cohorts. In this article, senior lecturer in marketing and DBA supervisor at Aston Business School Andrew Farrell discusses how academics supervise professional doctoral students.

Doctoral supervisors encounter unique challenges when guiding DBA students, compared to those to PhD students. These challenges arise from the divergent characteristics of DBA students, who are often experienced industry practitioners that are pursuing advanced research while juggling professional commitments.

One common distinction, therefore, lies in the demographics of DBA students. Typically, DBA candidates are older professionals with substantial experience in their respective fields. Unlike PhD students, who are often in the early stages of their careers, DBA students bring a wealth of practical knowledge and industry insights to the table. While this extensive experience enriches the research process, it also presents challenges for supervisors, in terms of aligning academic rigour with real-world applicability. Indeed, striking a balance between theoretical depth and practical relevance is a crucial part of guiding DBA students.

Motivations and time management

The part-time nature of DBA programmes also introduces time management challenges. Compared to the typical full-time PhD student, DBA students are characterised by a peaks-and-troughs working schedule. DBA students can also get promoted or moved to another division, or even country, during their studies. With students balancing professional responsibilities and research endeavours, DBA supervisors often need to adopt a flexible schedule, accommodating students’ irregular working hours and varying levels of availability. This demands a higher degree of empathy, communication and coordination to ensure that progress is steady and milestones are achieved within the extended timeframe of part-time study.

Another distinctive aspect is the motivation behind pursuing a DBA. Unlike PhD students who are often propelled by a passion for contributing to academic knowledge, DBA candidates are driven by the desire to address practical issues in their industries. This applied focus can sometimes create tensions between the academic rigour expected in doctoral research and the immediate, pragmatic needs of industry. Supervisors must navigate these tensions delicately, guiding DBA students to produce research that meets scholarly standards, while also addressing the practical challenges of their professional domains. It is not uncommon to structure a DBA as a series of mini-projects, thereby allowing the production of more immediate results at regular intervals instead of waiting until the conclusion of the DBA itself.

Industry collaboration and academic rigour

The collaborative nature of DBA research, involving partnerships with industry stakeholders, introduces additional complexities. Supervisors must navigate the dynamics of these external collaborations, ensuring that the research maintains academic integrity while meeting the expectations of industry partners. This necessitates effective communication and negotiation skills on the part of supervisors to foster productive relationships between academia and practice.

Finally, the research topics chosen by DBA students tend to be closely tied to real-world business problems. This presents supervisors with the challenge of ensuring that the research question is academically sound, producing a clear contribution to academic knowledge, rather than simply an investigation of an issue with documented solutions. A DBA must contribute to the existing body of knowledge, while also offering practical solutions that can be implemented in the professional arena. Balancing theoretical depth with actionable outcomes requires a nuanced approach to supervision. Thus, the initial stages of a DBA can be the most challenging as supervisor and student discuss how best to ‘academically augment’ a project while keeping the real-world focus that brought the student to the programme.

In conclusion, supervising DBA students involves addressing the unique challenges posed by their characteristics, motivations and the applied nature of their research. Striking a balance between academic rigour and practical relevance, managing the flexible schedules of part-time students and navigating external collaborations are all integral aspects of guiding DBA candidates through their doctoral journey. This is not to put people off supervising DBA students. Far from it – DBA supervision is one of the most rewarding aspects of being an academic. By recognising and adeptly addressing the above challenges, doctoral supervisors can contribute to the success of DBA students in their pursuit of advanced research in the realm of business administration.

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Aston University is a public research university situated in Birmingham, England. In 2020, Aston University was named ‘University of the Year’ by the Guardian and ‘Outstanding Entrepreneurial University’ in the Times Higher Education Awards. Aston was also shortlisted for ‘University of the Year’ in the Times Higher Education Awards 2021.