Research opportunities
You can study a PhD over the course of three years, a DBA also over three years or an MPhil over one year.
You can study for your choice of these degrees within any of our four research areas:
These research areas cover all fields of marketing eg consumer behaviour, strategic marketing, international marketing, services marketing, sales marketing, e-marketing.
Strathclyde Business School
We offer an excellent academic environment where you can pursue your research degree.
You're required to:
- Attend the Strathclyde Business School Faculty Research Methodology Programme. Though most achieve higher, you need to gain a Certificate level. It's four modules over two to three days each. If you're part-time, you'll spread these over two years.
- Attend our Annual Away Day for PhD students. This is combined with the Annual Review, held usually in October/ November.
- Ensure regular meetings and contact with your supervisors.
Full-time students
You'll have access to computing, printing, email and office facilities. You're expected to be in the Department of Marketing on a regular basis. You'll also attend the department's research seminar series as well as other occasional workshops.
Part-time students
You'll have hot-desking facilities giving you regular access to the department. This'll help you integrate better with other students and staff. You're required to attend the department for at least ten days per year. This is on top of the Research Methodology Programme.
Potential applicants should note that there is no dedicated distance-learning programme.
Recent doctoral awards
Take a look at the recent PhD theses that have been supervised in the Department of Marketing.
Arnold Clark 2030: Understanding Customer Data with Artificial Intelligence
This research proposes the exploration of artificial intelligence to better understand customers and the provision of services by machines.
Deadline:
31 December 2019
Funding:
funded
Supervisors
Marketing PhD supervisors
Dr Matthew Alexander
Research methodologies & approaches used - case study; experimental research; various qualitative approaches; mixed methods design
Current PhD student topics - Ancestral Tourism; Customer Engagement Marketing; Customer Engagement and Authenticity; Transformative Service Research in Mundane Service Settings; Marketing Automation in Complex Business Settings; Time of Day Marketing; and Customer Journeys
Dr Derek Bryce
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative methods in general; historical approaches; discourse analysis; semiotics; textual analysis (including written, visual, online or video texts)
Current PhD student topics - Ancestral Tourism; Fakes in Luxury Consumption; Brand Archetypes; Theorising Risk in Tour Guiding
Professor Anne Marie Doherty
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative methods: case study; interview; historical method; archival research
Current PhD student topics - B2B Exporting & Branding, Market Entry Methods
Professor Spiros Gounaris
Research methodologies & approaches used - quantitative data approaches including modelling, SEM, as well as fsCQA
Current PhD student topics - B2B Exporting & Branding, B2B Customer Experience; B2B Pricing; Customer Contact Point Optimisation; Internal Marketing and Family Work Balance; Innovation in Service Dyads
Dr Kathy Hamilton
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative research including both traditional and innovative methods e.g. ethnography; netnography; interviews; arts-based research
Current PhD student topics - consumer vulnerability; marketplace stigma; consumer coping; counterfeit consumption and taste; transgender consumption; consumer identity narratives; food insecurity; poverty in consumer culture
Dr Michael Harker
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
Current PhD student topics - marketing and HR - services management
Dr Paul Hewer
Research methodologies & approaches used - ethnographic approaches; virtual ethnographies; critical visual analysis; semiotics & visual consumption; interpretive consumer research
Current PhD student topics - consumer research; gender and LGBT experiences; the sharing economy; literary festivals and DIY culture
Dr Aliakbar Jafari
Research methodologies & approaches used - - qualitative research methods including ethnography; netnography; grounded theory; phenomenology; visual ethnography; and historical research
Current PhD student topics - interpretive consumer research; emerging markets; marketing strategy in multicultural marketplaces; theories of globalisation; politics and policies of consumption; political consumerism; intersections of markets and religions
Dr Maria Karampela
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative methodologies; quantitative methodologies; mixed-method research design; experimental research
Current PhD student topics - customer-brand relationships and engagement (online and offline) in B2B/B2C/B2B2C settings; social media; Human-IoT technologies (Internet of Things) interactions: antecedents, processes, consequences; value-creation processes and outcomes from Intelligence of Things (across a range of applications); virtual & augmented reality; SMEs’ network relationships; SMEs’ internationalisation; cooperative relationships and collective actions in ‘grass-root movements’; craft and artisanal food and drink from business or consumer perspectives; influence of touchscreens’ size and layout on consumer behaviour
Dr Graeme McLean
Research methodologies & approaches used – quantitative; qualitative; experimental; and mixed methods research methodologies
Current PhD student topics - the role of Chatbots in service provision; augmented reality in marketing; marketing automation; real-time marketing; online/offline customer experience; customer journey; consumer confusion
Dr Samantha Murdy
Research methodologies & approaches used - quantitative methodologies (including structural equation modelling), repertory test interviews
Current PhD student topics - authenticity, dark service experiences, customer engagement
Dr Andrea Tonner
Research methodologies & approaches used - interpretive consumer research, narrative inquiry, phenomenology, arts-based qualitative methods, ethnography, netnography
Current PhD student topics - urban exploration, experiences of food poverty, social enterprise approaches to health inequalities, strategic resources in farm diversification, expertise in hedonic consumption, beach body image
Dr Eleni Tsougkou
Research methodologies & approaches used - quantitative and mixed methods
Current PhD student topics - tourism branding
Dr Beverly Wagner
Research methodologies & approaches used - case study, qualitative approaches, action research
Current PhD student topics - open innovation and servitization, open innovation, sustainability capabilities in closed-loop supply chains, open innovation and knowledge exchange networks, organisational leadership, internal innovation processes and management, buyer/supplier co-creation and logistics service providers
Professor Alan Wilson
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
Current PhD student topics - living the brand; customer feedback; employee service orientation; corporate brand reputation management; role of service employees and on-brand corporate culture; the grey market and the service encounter; online customer experience; customer perceived value creation; privacy literacy and trust influences on online social media; credibility of online customer reviews; value co-creation in a healthcare setting; brand promise delivery; retention of retail mobile apps; buying behaviour in online art; impact of social media on corporate reputation; online brand engagement
Dr Juliette Wilson
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative and quantitative methods; mixed methods research; case study methods; experimental research; participatory research methods
Current PhD student topics - small business marketing strategy; social enterprise and hybrid business models; sustainable and green marketing; transformative service research; research in the food and drink sector
How can I apply?
You can apply for a postgraduate research degree at any point in the year.
All you have to do is complete an online application.
Please complete and attach our Postgraduate Research Proposal Outline with your application.
Entry requirements
You'll need a first or 2:1 UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a relevant marketing based discipline from a recognised academic institution.
If English isn't your first language, you'll also need to have a recent UKVI recognised Secure English Language Test (or a SELT) qualification.
Before you apply
Before finalising your formal application, we're here to give you some help and guidance on refining your proposal.
Get in touch with a potential supervisor early on, preferably as soon as you've put together a draft proposal. Take a look at some information about our supervisors and their research interests.
Writing your research proposal
Read our guidance on how to write your research proposal.
Getting a reference
Read our help on how to choose references and what the referees need to supply.
The application
During the application you'll be asked for the following:
- your full contact details
- transcripts and certificates of all degrees
- proof of English language proficiency if English isn't your first language
- two references, one of which must be academic
- funding or scholarship information
- research proposal of up to 1,500 words in length, clearly demonstrating the potential contribution both in theory and practice. Please use our Postgraduate Research Proposal Outline
By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.
Accepting an offer
If your application is accepted, an offer will be sent to you through Pegasus, our online application system.
If you accept our offer of study, you'll then be sent a full offer in writing via the email address you provide. We'll need you to fulfil any academic, administrative or financial conditions that we ask.
UK or EU students
If you're applying as a UK or EU student, you'll then be issued with your registration documentation.
You can apply for a postgraduate research degree at any point in the year.
All you have to do is complete an online application.
Support & development
Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PG Cert RPD) programme
Our PgCert RPD programme aims to ensure you get the most out of your current research activities at Strathclyde and help you prepare for your future career as a researcher.
We'll help you recognise and develop your transferrable skills that'll have a positive impact on your research, now and in the future.
Find out more about the PG Cert RPD programme.
Careers
We have a great careers service that can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation. Take a look at our careers service pages to get more information.
Student support
From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have loads of different support for all students here at our University. Get all the information you need at Strathlife.
