A leader in non-traditional doctoral education, the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Business Administration (PhD) Program at Kennesaw State University (KSU) is an innovative program from an AACSB accredited business school. Established in 2008, as a Doctor of Business Administration Program (DBA), the Program became a PhD Program in 2018. The PhD Program is one of the first non-traditional research-focused doctoral programs in the country. With over 100 current students and alumni, the impact of the Program on academe and the business community is far-reaching. Alumni of the Program hold tenured/tenure-track, clinical, and leadership positions at AACSB accredited universities across the United States. Our alumni also have an established record of publishing in high quality peer-reviewed academic journals.
Program Structure Overview
The structure of the Program is designed for students to finish in as little as three years (completion times vary). The first two years (36-credit hours) include cohort-based and discipline-specific courses. After coursework is complete, students are enrolled in dissertation credit hours until they defend their final dissertations.
Students can pursue one of four academic concentrations:
The PhD Program in Business Administration’s Mission Statement
The mission of the PhD Program in Business Administration is to provide our graduates with the skills and credentials needed to conduct theoretically grounded and scientifically based research in specific business disciplines, which will serve to prepare them for teaching and research positions in academe or industry.
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Dissertations from 2024
The Effect of Auditor Quality on Revenue Expense Matching, Benjamin Blakeney
CONSUMERS’ ASSESSMENT OF RETAILER DONATION TYPES: LABOR, PRODUCT, OR MONEY, ARWEN L. MATOS-WOOD
Multilevel Connectivity in the Entrepreneurial Orientation to Firm Performance Relationship, April D. Sledge
STATE GOVERNMENTS TAKE A BATH: EARNINGS MANAGEMENT IN STATE GOVERNMENTS, Chris Slinkard
DARK TETRAD TRAITS AND LEADER SOCIAL UNDERMINING: A FEAR OF MISSING OUT IN AN ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS CONTEXT, Kimberly Weston Moore
OPPOSITES ATTRACT: THE CONTRARY INFLUENCES OF EMPOWERMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY CLIMATES ON PROACTIVE WORK BEHAVIOR, William Yaeger
Dissertations from 2023
Demystifying the Link Between Loneliness and Materialism: Mediating Roles of Emotion Regulation, Self-Enhancement, and Escapism, Christine Billen
BUYER-SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS: A CASE INVESTIGATION IN THE RUG AND TEXTILE INDUSTRY, OBIE BYRUM
Lean Six Sigma: Impacts on Audit Quality Indicators, Tiffany DeRoy
Time is Money: An Examination of Audit Time Budgets and Profitability, Sydney (Tori) Hoffman
FAMILY FIRM INNOVATION: THE ROLE OF LEADER DARK TRIAD PERSONALITY AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL WEALTH IMPORTANCE, Marek Kolinski
THE BEAUTY OF AUDITOR SELECTION: THE EFFECTS OF AUDITOR ATTRACTIVENESS AND AUDITEE GOALS ON PROCURING GOVERNMENTAL AUDIT SERVICES, Marena M. Messina
UNPACKING VALUE CO-CREATION USING THE DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES FRAMEWORK, Perry Parke
THE MISUNDERSTOOD LINK BETWEEN TRAINING AND REAL-WORLD INFORMATION SECURITY OUTCOMES: SENSEMAKING, Henry Torres
Does a gift in a captive service make me feel better? Examining gift giving in uncertain conditions that influence emotions and firm performance., Martha Troncoza
Dissertations from 2022
Auditing Outside the "GAAP": The Association Between Non-GAAP Reporting and Audit Quality, Casey Colson
Human-AI Hybrids in Virtual Teams: The Effects of IT Identity and Trust on Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Application, Denise McWilliams
I'M PART OF THE INGROUP, DOES IT MATTER? IMPACT OF SOCIAL IDENTITY ON MULTI-CHANNEL INFORMATION SYSTEMS EFFECTIVENESS, Michele Minetola
"Alexa? What Keeps Consumers From Engaging With You?", Kate Nicewicz
WILLINGNESS TO DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY PERSPECTIVE, DeJarvis Oliver
KNOCK! KNOCK! IS THE DOCTOR IN? IMPACT OF CONSUMER-FACING HEALTH IT ON HEALTH OUTCOMES, Arpit Sharma
Influences on Controllers' Non-GAAP Reporting Decisions, Valerie Simmons
Dissertations from 2021
Impact of Regulatory Interventions and Transitions on Broker-Dealer Audit Quality, Darlene Adkins
THE EVOLUTION OF SALES: ASSESSING THE INTEGRATION OF SOCIAL SELLING INTO PROFESSIONAL SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE, Jen Riley, Brian N. Rutherford, Adriane Randolph, and Stefan Sleep
WHEN LEADERS OSTRACIZE: BOTTOM-LINE MENTALITY CLIMATE AND EMOTIONAL LABOR AS PREDICTORS OF WORKPLACE OSTRACISM, Darrin Theriault
Dissertations from 2020
SHEDDING LIGHT ON SALES RELATIONSHIPS: WHAT EFFECT DOES THE SUNSHINE ACT HAVE ON SALESPERSON ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND CUSTOMER RESPONSE?, Rebecca Burcham
INDIVIDUAL IT USES AND THEIR ANTECEDENTS: A SOCIAL THEORY PERSPECTIVE, Jason Williams
Dissertations from 2019
THREAT RECOGNITION IN INCUMBENT FIRMS: A CASE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL VELOCITY, Alan Amling
The Examiniation of Entrepreneurial Investment Tax Credits: Angel vs. Crowdfunding Investing, Laura Barthel
The Impact of Audit Engagement Partner Disclosure on Audit Outcomes in the United States, J. Alan Bell
THE IMPACT OF INTERNAL AUDITORS' PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIAL AFFILIATIONS ON FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY, Reanna Berry
Role Reversal: Exploring the M&A Process When the Family Firm is the Acquirer, Darin Dredge
Hedge Fund Ownership and Auditor-Client Contracting In U.S. Firms, Sarah Feltus
Psychological Ownership of Simple Jobs: The Effect of Job Crafting, John S. Furrh III
Big 4 Office Personnel and Audit Quality, Jacob Gatlin
WHEN STEALING TIME AT WORK SEEMS JUSTIFIED: THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE ON TIME BANDITRY, Jamey Halleck
AUDITING UNDER THE INFLUENCE: THE ROLE OF CLIENT GENDER IN AUDIT NEGOTIATIONS, Jennifer Hamrick
The Informed Human Firewall: The Impact of Knowledge Dimensions on Employees' Secure Behavior, Ashraf Mady
THE EFFECTS OF SUCCESSOR CEO’S ORIGIN ON AUDITORS’ CLIENT RISK ASSESSMENT AND CONTINUANCE DECISIONS FOLLOWING A CORPORATE SCANDAL, Nelson Mlotshwa
MAKING GOOD DECISIONS: AN ATTRIBUTION MODEL OF DECISION QUALITY IN DECISION TASKS, Bethany Niese
Entrepreneur-Venture Fit and Burnout: Moderating Effects of Entrepreneurial Passion, David Witt