BIBS - vysoká škola Brno International Business School Brno, Praha, Bratislava, Ostrava

International Doctorate (PhD) in Business and Administration - For BUSINESS OWNERS and MANAGERS

Applications for 2011/2012 are now closed. New group is planned to be opened in 2013.

For more information an further details please contact Mrs. Alena Hanzelková at +420 775 958 733, hanzelkova@bibs.cz .

International Doctorate (PhD) in Business and Administration is a modern doctoral programme designed for managers and business owners who wish to gain the highest university degree – a doctorate (PhD). It is offered by the Brno International Business School and the School of Business and Economics, the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, based on the so-called collaborative agreement. The School of Business and Economics, the University of Jyväskylä (JyU) grants the successful graduates its doctoral titles and diplomas (PhD, Doctor of Science in Economics and Business Administration).

Doctoral seminar at BIBS (PhD), March 2010

Studying a doctoral programme: Personal growth, intellectual challenge, breaking away from working life routines

Our doctoral students have different motives for deciding to study a doctoral level programme. By entering the International Doctorate (PhD) in Business and Administration you will:

• Experience further professional growth and personal development: theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the area of academic research and your researched subject area will take you beyond your existing intellectual frontiers and will further enhance your current business or management knowledge and skills; you will also expand your English language knowledge, make new international professional contacts and develop your skills in working in an international team.
• Break away from work or other routines by experiencing new unique intellectual challenges in an inspiring international environment.
• Stand out in the labour market with a modern type of education according to the standards of developed Western Countries.
• Be given, as a doctor, the possibility to be involved in university teaching (externally or internally) at universities both in the Czech Republic and abroad.
• A way in which to prepare productively for the next wave of economic boom and how to bridge the economic recession.

Doctoral (PhD) programme at JyU and BIBS

There are several reasons why to decide for a doctoral programme at JyU and BIBS.

International character of the programme

The programme is, compared to other alternatives in the Czech market, of a truly international character:

• Teaching and supervision of students are provided by an international team of lecturers – from Finland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Great Britain, US, Portugal and other countries.
• Those students who wish to, are welcome to attend individually some of the doctoral seminars organised directly at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland or by the Finnish doctoral programme in business studies KATAJA. The credits gained in these seminars are recognised as if studied on the courses lectured in Brno.
  

 

Organisation of programme designed for the needs of practising business owners and managers

Our doctoral programme is designed so that it respects the time and organisational limitations arising from the working lives of our students - practicing managers and business owners:

• The programme is delivered in a part-time mode (external form).
• During the school year, the students attend 2-4 seminars (the so-called block teaching – each seminar lasting for 2 to 4 days in a row); where possible, the seminars take place over the weekend (or a combination of week and weekend days).
• Teaching takes place fully in modern teaching facilities in the Czech Republic (Brno, possibly also Prague) so that the students do not have to spend additional time on long-distance travelling (the students need to travel to Finland only once during their studies, for their doctoral defence -viva voce- which takes places directly at the University of Jyväskylä). This is enabled due to the fact that the students are in parallel with the JyU PhD programme and also enrolled onto the so-called Central European Doctoral Support Programme of BIBS, through which doctoral level seminars are delivered in Brno.
• The teaching time schedules are available at a minimum of 6 months in advance so that the students can plan their studies at their own convenience and to harmonise their studies with the duties arising from their demanding jobs. In addition, we make a maximum effort to keep the once planned times and dates of the seminars unchanged (fixed) as we understand that any short-notice changes cause our doctoral students severe organisational problems.
• Apart from seminars, the students independently develop their own doctoral research projects, with regular support of two individual supervisors (face-to-face meetings, via the student intranet e-supervisions and phone or video-conferences).
• If, for serious reasons, a student cannot complete his or her whole PhD studies, a lower level degree, a so-called licentiate (Lic. Sc. title), can be gained, provided the student fulfils the conditions for its award.
  
  

Practical focus of the programme

Even though, as on any programme of the highest, doctoral level, the students cope with complex, often unstructured theoretical problems and perform academic research, the unique feature of this programme is its focus on business and managerial praxes:

• students are encouraged to scientifically study a research subject which challenges them in their own business or managerial praxes,
• the programme is designed so that teaching covers, apart from methodological seminars, also numerous seminars on the so-called MAJOR studies – these represent a range of selected business and management disciplines such as International Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial marketing, Change as an opportunity, etc.
  

Doctoral projects as research with international impact One of the cornerstones of our philosophy in delivering doctoral level programmes is that a researcher should possess skills not only related to performing quality research, but should also be able to handle the numerous “practical” aspects of managing its research project – financing his or her research in particular. For this reason we encourage our students to find external sources of financing their research, such as scientific grants or sponsorship from the business sphere. Apart from developing the practical project management skills, the students who decide for external financing have got a chance to develop their doctoral research into larger projects with a national and international impact on the researched field. An example of such research currently performed at a doctoral programme at BIBS is the one focused onto the Optimisation of POP displays. The study should generate new knowledge related to the efficiency of positioning the POP displays in large stores and the way their overall design impacts on their efficiency – i.e. on the aspects that marketers using in-store communication in their communication mix can influence and improve the efficiency of their in-store communication. The study is unique not only with regard to its focus, but also in how it operates methodologically as it combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies and triangulates different data sources (sales data from researched shops of a large supermarket chains, observation of shopping behaviour of the customers using camera recordings, in-depth interviews with the customers, focused on indentifying the key aspects of their consumer behaviour, etc.). Selected floor displays will be tested in the category of impulse FMCG. The research is performed in cooperation with the Point of Purchase Association International (POPAI), the research agency Ipsos - Tambor, and its main partners are Coca-Cola HBC Czech republic, s.r.o and Mars Czech s.r.o. The other companies that joined the project are DAGO A.P.C. s.r.o., DEKOR s.r.o., FREEBOARD Česká republika s.r.o. and STI Česko s.r.o. as the partners of the research. Via the doctoral programme, our private university guarantees the methodological aspects of this ambitious research project. The study should generate new knowledge related to the efficiency of positioning the POP displays in large stores and the way their overall design impacts on their efficiency – i.e. on the aspects that marketers using in-store communication in their communication mix can influence and improve the efficiency of their in-store communication.

Daniel Jesenský, President of the Association POPAI Central Europe, and business owner Through research know-how gained during my doctoral studies, I am able to scrutinize the important aspects of my professional field to a much greater depth and with much bigger rigor than I had been from my “mere” managerial prospective prior to entering this program. The fact that my research topic is approached with scientific methods also allows me to gain a truly complex understanding of the researched topic and its context. The key advantage of the doctoral studies I see, is the possibility of choosing a research topic truly grounded in experience. Its research is a professional challenge and a source of inspiration for me. The topic I am researching is the efficiency of point-of sales (in-store) marketing tools. The aim of my research is to get an understanding of the factors that influence its efficiency and to develop “models” that would help us to apply these promotional tools more efficiently in the retail environment. The gained results help me then to further improve my own business activities as well as to enhance the educational activities of the POPAI association. The knowledge gained in this doctoral program also allows me to become a real specialist in this field not only through other well-organized systems of teaching, but also through interaction with the lecturers, supervisors and fellow studies.

University of Jyväskylä – a high profile European university

The quality of the doctoral programme is guaranteed by the fact that the University of Jyväskylä (see pictures of the campus) belongs not only to the best universities in Finland (3rd position out of over 50 accredited universities), but also positions high up in international comparisons. In the Top University ranking, which makes an annual selection of the TOP 600 universities in the world, JyU positioned at 469th place (there are over 12,000 accredited “brick” universities in the world registered by Unesco. , i.e. in the top 4 % of best universities worldwide.

University of Jyväskylä

The University of Jyväskylä is also known for its strong international focus. On a doctoral level, it currently hosts over 800 foreign doctoral students from more than 90 different countries (out of the total number of more than 1,700 doctoral students). The School of Business and Economics has been involved in numerous international research projects and cooperates with many leading universities around the world, such as Babson College (USA, Boston), the Jönköping International Business School (Jönköping, Sweden), Universita Bocconi (Milan, Italy) and many others.

Also in the survey undertaken by the Central Chamber of Commerce, the representatives of economic life placed JyU among the four most interesting universities in Finland. Based on the number of centres of excellence in research, the University, with its nine centres, occupied a joint second place in Finland. A further significant achievement was the European Research Council ranking two of our young researchers in the top three percentile in Europe. Together with HUT (the Helsinki University of Technology), the University of Jyväskylä was the most active university participating in the activities of the strategic centres for science, technology and innovation.

Opting for a Finnish PhD programme is a good choice also because of the high standard of the Finnish education system – in the OECD PISA test Finland positioned a second place out of more than 30 developed countries in the world.

For more information on the University of Jyväskylä please see also its annual report.

Please see also the academic profile, history and quality assurance systems of BIBS.

Selecting your research topic - management, business, entrepreneurship or economic research In its focus onto academically researched topics arising from the business or management praxes of the doctoral students, the programme to some extent resembles DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) programmes. The following are examples of topics researched currently by doctoral students at BIBS: Safety as an important attribute in FMCG marketing The influence of entrepreneurs’ education upon their success in the first stage of business life cycle of their enterprise Europe, globalisation and marketing tools Efficiency of in-store (POP) marketing tools Czech SMEs and their competitive advantages compared to Asian competitors Renewable sources of energy and company strategy International advertising adaptation Small and middle size companies (SMSC) in Czech Republic and their integration to the EU SMEs network New doctoral (PhD) students are invited to research any topic falling broadly into the area of management, business, entrepreneurship or economics, in line with their professional interest. Full text examples of doctoral dissertations defended at JyU can be seen at: Internalisation of Software Firms – Finnish Medium-Sized Firms in Japan (Dr. Arto Ojala) The Father, the Son and the Refreshed Spirit – Strategic Renewal After Family Business Succession in the Context of Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear Industry (Dr. Liisa Niemi) Successful Interactive Business – Integration of Strategy and IT (Dr. Ulla Ahlfors) Adoption of Mobile Banking in Finland (Dr. Mari Suoranta) The role of personal contacts of foreign subsidiary managers in the coordination of industrial multinationals (Dr. Ricardo Madureira) Family business management research – a unique opportunity to differentiate Apart from the standard fields such as management, strategic management, marketing, finance, operations management, HR, IS and many others, our students have a unique opportunity to perform their research in a new progressive field – family business management. The School of Business and Economics, the University of Jyväskylä possesses extensive know-how in family business research and education and belongs to the world’s top educational institutions in this area. This topic is especially suitable for family business owners who can focus their research on many areas such as management of family business succession, corporate governance of family firms, strategic management of family firms, specific aspects of finance, HR or marketing in family firms, trans-generational wealth management, psychodynamic in family firms, the interaction of a business family with the business and many other topics. As family business management in Western Europe and the US is a progressive and fast developing area in research, education and business counselling, but has been so far largely overlooked in Central and Eastern Europe, the doctoral research in family business is a unique opportunity to differentiate in the Czech market. More information on family business management, research and education can be found, for example at: Electronic journal of family business studies of the University of Jyväskylä IFERA, International Family Enterprise Research Academy FFI, Family Firm Institute FBN, Family Business Network

 

Convenient organisation of studies

As any doctoral studies are themselves highly demanding, our policy is to simplify the study life of our students where we can. For this reason our doctoral students have available:

• Direct free of charge online access to over 20 full text databases of literature and other information on the University of Jyväskylä – covered are databases such as Business Source Elite (EBSCO), Emerald and many more.
• Direct free of charge online access to databases Proquest 5000 and a database of Czech legislation LexData via the BIBS intranet.
• A free of charge start-up package of literature, covering a selection of 5 books on research methods:
  
  
  • VOGT, W. Paul: Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals in Education and Other Fields
  • CRESWELL, John W.: Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches
  • WOLCOTT, Harry F.: Writing Up Qualitative Research
  • GERRING, John: Social Science Methodology: A Criterial Framework
  • JUPP, Victor: The SAGE Dictionary of Social Research Methods
    
• Assistance with booking accommodation for special offer prices in the partner hotels Continental Brno, Best Western International and Hotel Avanti, when coming for seminars to Brno.
• Free of charge catering during the seminars – lunch is provided in a high quality restaurant U Kastelána.
• An access to the BIBS study intranet, which allows in a simple and user friendly way:
  
  
  • Communication with the supervisors, schoolmates, lecturers, and the BIBS and JyU staff
  • Submission of the written course work
  • Submission of all types of applications
  • Registration for the seminars
  • Booking of accommodation in some of the BIBS’ contractual partner hotels in Brno while attending the lectures
  • Finding personalised information about the dates, times and places of the doctoral seminars, including automated e-mail reminders and many other functions

No “virtual” long-distance programme

We are convinced that a considerable advantage of our doctoral programme is also that it is not a “virtual” programme as are other part time programmes offered for managers and entrepreneurs. In the BIBS and JyU programme the students have a regular face-to-face contact with their fellow students, lecturers and, whenever possible, the supervisors (mostly in Brno, possibly also Prague and Finland if desired too, etc.). Only in this contact form can the students, apart from the “hard” knowledge of research, enjoy other important benefits arising from studying a doctoral programme – the establishing of new personal international contacts above all. The face-to-face contact also helps to maintain motivation and gain support during the demanding doctoral studies, and also to enjoy the social aspects of “becoming a student” again.

But studying a doctorate level programme also is:

• A time and intellectually highly demanding programme standing at the very top of the university education hierarchy.
• No “top-up” master level programme or extra MBA – while on the master level programmes, such as an MBA, new knowledge is more “delivered and offered” to you, on a doctoral level programme, such as the PhD, it is you who actively “generates and seeks for” new knowledge. Studying a PhD therefore poses even greater demands on your independence, creativity, active approach to overcoming obstacles and finding solutions, breaking the boundaries of the current routine ways of thinking or an ability to cope with a world that is not any more so well structured and “certain” as one might like to have it. If all these challenges motivate you, you are the right candidate for a PhD.
  
  

Please see also:

• Entry criteria into the programme
• The price list
• The international teacher team – profiles of lecturers and supervisors