PhD Programs

The Research School of Management (RSM) has a PhD program across several management and business disciplines to qualify research candidates keen on investigating and developing new knowledge through substantial specialised research as a contribution to scholarship and business and management practice. RSM has internationally recognised researchers who can supervise doctoral candidates on a diverse range of topics across various disciplines. To complete the PhD program, candidates are required to take four compulsory and two elective courses, be successful in the thesis proposal review process, and write a substantial and high quality thesis is passed by external examiners. 

The Program Learning Outcomes for RSM’s PhD pertinent across its various disciplines are:

1. Explain their philosophical approach and its incorporation into a significant research journey and the building of their doctoral identity.

2. Problematise a complex social phenomenon within or across the domains of business and management studies that merits targeted study and research skills to advance scholarship and professional practice.

3. Identify relevant databases to systematically retrieve applicable and appropriate literature to address research problems and ensuing questions.

4. Critically and systematically review and discuss the extant body of complex knowledge within a domain to demonstrate the expertise and skills required for scholarly inquiry.

5. Devise an effective research design, including a justification of the methodology(ies)  developed, adapted and implemented for the scholarly study of the topic of interest.

6. Actively prioritise the conduct of responsible and ethical research within an environment that promotes scholarship and collegiality

7. Develop insights into the discipline through expert and specialised analytical, research and technical skills as applied to the research data collected.

8. Determine the contributions and implications of the research for the advancement of theoretical knowledge and practice.

9. Propose future directions of research in the discipline based on original insights and  knowledge gained through a critical discussion of the findings of the research.

10. Produce a manuscript in the form of a monograph or collection of scholarly articles to effectively communicate, disseminate and promote new insights within the academic community and society at large. 

RSM staff have diverse research interests and can provide supervision across a range of topics in disciplines such as:

• Business Information Systems
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Human Resource Management
• Innovation
• International Business
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Organisational Behaviour
• Project Management
• Strategic Management
• Tourism
• Indigenous studies

Our school’s research capabilities have been rated as “well above world standard” by Excellence in Research Australia (ERA). Our academic staff and former students have published their papers in such top journals as: Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Human Relations, Human Resource Management, Information Systems Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Operations Management, Marketing Science, MIS Quarterly, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Production and Operations Management.  

Many of our research students have received recognition for outstanding PhD research (e.g., 3MT People’s Choice Award, Best PhD Proposal Award on Corporate Social Responsibility, ISBM Doctoral Support Award Competition Winner), best paper awards (e.g., Academy of Management, Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy, and Australian Industrial/Organizational Psychology Conferences etc.), and published their papers in top journal publications.