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.
Supervisors
Marketing PhD supervisors
Dr Matthew Alexander
Research methodologies & approaches used - case study, experimental research, qualitative approaches, mixed methods design
Current PhD student topics - Ancestral Tourism, Customer Engagement, Dark Service Experiences, Transformative Service Research
Dr Derek Bryce
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative methods in general, historical approaches, discourse analysis, semiotics, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, textual analysis (including written, visual, online or video texts)
Current PhD student topics - Ancestral Tourism, Medical Tourism
Professor Anne Marie Doherty
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative methods, case study method, historical method
Current PhD student topics - B2B Exporting & Branding, Market Entry Methods
Dr Nusa Fain
Research methodologies & approaches used - case studies, mixed methods, PLS, qualitative methods
Current PhD student topics - Open innovation, New product development in high-tech firms, Big data and innovation
Professor Spiros Gounaris
Research methodologies & approaches used - quantitative data approaches including structural equation modelling and partial least squares
Current PhD student topics - B2B Exporting & Branding, Branding Tourism Destinations, 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, ethnography, netnography
Current PhD student topics - Urban place consumption, Consumer Vulnerability, Feminine Ideologies and the Celebrity Princess Brand, Consumption of religious pilgrimage
Dr Michael Harker
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
Current PhD student topics - Marketing and HR - services management, Market-entry for SME's
Dr Paul Hewer
Research methodologies & approaches used - ethnographic approaches, virtual ethnographies, critical visual analysis, semiotics & visual consumption, interpretive consumer research
Current PhD student topics - Marketplace Exclusion, Consuming Celebrity, Retail Marketplaces, Iconic Brand Mythologies
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 approaches, quantitative approaches, mixed-method research designs
Current PhD student topics - Cross-cultural differences in consumers’ trust to e-commerce settings
Dr Ewelina Lacka
Research methodologies & approaches used - qualitative and quantitative approaches
Current PhD student topics - Consumer engagement in social media, Social media and business strategy, Internet of Things
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 Stephen Tagg
Research methodologies & approaches used - partial least squares applications, social media text analytics, narrative knowledge representation language applications
Current PhD student topics - Customer Confusion
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 Beverly Wagner
Research methodologies & approaches used - case study, qualitative approaches, aAction 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 - case study, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, mixed methods designs
Current PhD student topics -Transformative service research, Marketing strategy during an economic recession, Encouraging an entrepreneurial approach to individual, household and community health & wellbeing, Strategic Marketing - impacts for a chemical B2B company, Social media networking use by nascent/current entrepreneurs, Unpacking Structural Diversification in Family Farming Businesses
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.
