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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Doctoral Students

PhD study is considered to be an integral part of the research activity within the Department. We typically have about 20 students enrolled at the PhD thesis level. About half of these are recent graduates planning careers in business or academia, with the remainder being mid-career professionals from a variety of backgrounds, and with a variety of career goals. We believe that this environment provides excellent opportunities for doctoral study in Management or Management Science.

The Management PhD

The general requirements for the PhD degree are set out below. It is advisable to consult the current University of Canterbury Calendar before finalising your application to the Department.

Entry requirements

A PhD candidate normally must have a recent and relevant Masters or Honours degree (e.g., Master of Commerce, or Bachelor of Science (Hons)), with First or Upper Second Class Honours. If you have other qualifications, and especially research experience, you are invited to discuss your situation with the Co-ordinator of the PhD Programme. You must have adequate training and ability to pursue the proposed course. A thorough knowledge of both written and spoken English is required of all candidates.

Your research area should coincide closely with the current research interests of at least one member of staff who would also be prepared to act as the thesis Supervisor. Current staff research interests for prospective PhD students should be examined as a first step in the process. Other Departmental staff information may be found on the research section of this website.

Content

The PhD at the University of Canterbury is an advanced research degree. The degree follows the British tradition which involves the preparation of a research thesis under the close supervision of a faculty member. The thesis must make an original contribution to knowledge in the area under study. No specific course work is required but, if you do not have the necessary academic background, you will be required to study for a BCom (Hons) and/or Master of Commerce degree prior to enrolling for a PhD or, if the deficiency is minor, to take selected graduate courses in parallel with your thesis research.

Examination

The thesis is subject to external examination. Normally, at least one of the examiners will be a recognised authority from outside of New Zealand.

Duration

The minimum period between enrolment in the degree and submission of the thesis is two calendar years, although most students take three or four years to complete. The maximum time limit for full-time students, is normally four calendar years. Part-time enrolment is also possible, in which case the minimum enrolment period shall not be less than three years, with a maximum of seven. A period of at least six months must be spent on full-time study in the Department.

It is acceptable for a student to take the first three to six months researching the literature and settling on a precise topic. However, we encourage students, especially those coming from overseas or from employment, to work through a detailed proposal with a staff member before enrolling.

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Application and Enrolment Procedures

Applications outlining your research area of interest and a short proposal must be made via Registry and will also include a complete academic record AND a copy of your current Curriculum Vitae.  The post-graduate committee will then review your file and a decision will be communicated to you via registry usually within 60 days. 

• Application form (domestic students)
• Application form (international students)
• Fees and Financial Assistance

Candidates may enrol for a PhD degree at any time during the year.

More information for overseas students, including the current fees and information about the university, is available from the International Students website.

University Scholarships are available for outstanding candidates. Some funding may be available for tutoring/research assistantships. A limited number of Departmental Scholarships are also available, and currently cover annual tuition fees at the domestic rate.

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Provision of Resources for PhD students

All departments in the College of Business and Economics provide PhD students with: office space equipped with ergometrically compliant furnishings and equipment (e.g. desks, chairs, computers); access to printing, internet, photocopying etc.; formal supervision at intervals negotiated with supervisors. More specialised support would be considered by the HoD and potential supervisors at the time of registration. Other financial support (e.g. for research, attendance at a doctoral colloquium, etc.) is available on a contestable basis through the College Research Committee.

 

PhD Theses Completed or in Progress

• Ahmed Uzair Aziz: Consumer Retail Spending: Impulse buying, retail payment methods and the role of consumer personality characteristics
• Amr Sedgi Yagoub Abdallah: Exploring the Impact of Leadership and Managerial Framing Approaches on the Sensemaking of Frontline Employees at Times of Change
• Jeremy Ainsworth: An Examination of Consumer Response to Change in Online Retail Environments
• Zuliyanti Hanizan Ainul Azyan:
• Puck Algera: Between Utopia and Reality: Realising a Corporate Purpose Beyond Profit Within the Complexity of Organisational Life
• Paula Arbouw: Sustainable corporate branding: Exploring the effects of corporate endorser type and corporate brand coherency
• Therese Arno: Creating Networks to Manage Carbon Emissions in a Government Regulated Environment
• Arif Ashraf:
• Paul Ballantine: Examining the Role of Emotions as  Mediator of Interface Design Effects in an Online Retail Setting
• Stephen Batstone: Risk Aversion in a Hydro Electricity Market: Gaming, Storage & Contracts
• Gavin Bell: Nonconvex Network Optimisation: Solution Methods and Applications
• Joanne Bensemann: Copreneurship in Rural Tourism: Exploring Women's Experiences
• Jo Berg: International Alliances Involving New Zealand Companies
• Adrian Bradshaw: The Impact of Information Systems Consultants on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Theory of the Firm Perspective
• Ian Brooks: Weighing Up Change: A Grounded Theory Explaining The Response Of Middle Managers To Organisational Change
• Bhujanga Chakrabarti: Optimal Reactive Power Management in Electric Power Systems
• Jeffrey Dalley: The Seesaw of Organisational Social Capital Flows: Inside the 'black box' of social exchange
• Michael Darby: Exploring the Development of Creative Capabilities in Creative Firms
• Herb deVries: A Study into the Influence of Migration, Settlement, Cultural and Business Factors on Immigrant Entrepreneurship in New Zealand
• Anton de Waal: New Product Development: A Study of the Adoption, Usage and Impact of Tools Among Small Firms
• Michael Duncan: Change in New Zealand Electricity Companies: A Study of Organizational Response to a Deregulated Market
• Alexander Dunn: A Multi-Criteria Approach to the Evaluation of Food Safety Interventions
• Anisur Rahman Faroque: Networks and international entrepreneurship (IE): The effects of networks on the international performance of international new ventures (INVs)
• Callum Floyd: An Organisation Theory Perspective on Choice of Franchising Form
• Thomas Forster: Management of Utilities
• Mark Fox: Studies of Corporate Governance in New Zealand
• Geoff Goodhew: Cognition and Management: Managerial Cognition and Organisational Performance
• Kodicara Asoka Gunaratne: The Support Need of Entrepreneurial Small Business at the 'Post Startup' Stage of Development
• Toby Harfield: Competitive Strategies and Structures in Three New Zealand Industries: Through a Postmodern Lens
• Mohammad Babul Hasan: Optimization of Production Planning for a Quota-Based Integrated Commercial Fishery
• Mark Hinton: Achieving Collaborative Advantage in the Construction Industry Supply Chain
• David Ivory: Voices of Enterprise: Power in Enterprise Education within a New Zealand Secondary School
• Peter Jackson: Generation Investment Incentives & Risk in Electricity Markets
• Christopher Jansen: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Develop the Leadership Capability of Directors of Adolescent Focussed NGO's in NZ
• Rhonda Kantor: Toward a Model of Ethnic Entrepreneurship Dynasties
• Andrew Kerr: Stochastic Dynamic Programming Applied to Medium-term Reservoir Management: A Utility Maximising Approach
• Allen Lim: The effects of visual vividness in mobile advertising when presented in the context of consumer goals and product involvement
• Ashley Lye: The Initiation and Development of Exporter-Importer Relationships
• Jye Ying Lu: An Exploratory Study on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Malaysia: National and Organisation Centric Perspectives
• Indrajanaka Mahakalanda:
• Regina Martin: The Application of Positive Leadership Theory in a New Zealand Law Enforcement Organisation
• Sharifah Zannierah B Syed Marzuki: Understanding Restaurant Managers' Expectations of Halal Certification in Malaysia
• Oliver McCahon: Scenario Generation for use in Strategic Optimization
• Chadinee Maneesoonthorn: An Empirical Examination of the Effects of Permission Interactivity, Vividness and Personalisation on Consumer Attitudes Within an E-mail Marketing Approach
• Aldene Meis Mason: A Comparison Between Indigenous Sami Herding of Rangifer tarandus and Indigenous Inuit Hunting of Rangifer tarandus: Implications for Subsistence and Commercialization
• Seyed Saeed Mir Vahedi: Entrepreneurial Marketing: The effect of entrepreneurs' social and intellectual capital on SMEs' Marketing Practices
• Jeni Moir:
• Sussie Morrish: Portfolio Entrepreneurs: Antecedents of Business Cluster Development
• Jens Mueller: Movements of the Long White Cloud of Governance: Shifts in attitudes to governance in New Zealand
• Poh Yen Ng: Developing Strategies for Sustainable Fast Growth: Perspectives from the Asia Pacific
• John O'Sullivan: Comparing Maori & Pakeha Enterprise Start-up or Foundation Narratives in the South Island
• Nitha Palakshappa: Examination of Collaborative Business Relationships in New Zealand
• Nicola Petty: Using Student Perceptions to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Education for High School Students with Vision Impairment
• Heather Philip:
• Eruera Ropata Prendergast-Tarena:
• Ranga Ranathunga Arachchige: A Market Mechanism for the Optimal Control of Groundwater and Surface Water Pollution From Nitrates
• Michelle Renton: Influencing Consumer Perceptions of a Social Issue: An Experiment on the Effects of Credibility of the Source, Message Sidedness and Inward/Outward Focus on Consumer Attitudes Toward Genetically Modified Foods
• Brendan Ring: Dispatch Based Pricing in Decentralised Power Systems
• Antonio A. Pinto Rodriguez: Smart Market for Runoff and Sediment Discharge
• Achinto Roy: Challenges of Corruption-related Decision-making in the Multinational Business Arena
• Tristram Scott: Hydro Reservoir Management for an Electricity Market with Long Term Contracts
• Leelanga Dananjaya Buddhakoralalage Seneviratne:
• Stephen Starkey: Urban Water Scheduling: Enhancing Allocation With Market Pricing Mechanisms
• Mark Stewart: Processing Capacity and Service Provision Problems in Telecommunications and the Internet
• Paul Stewart: Intertemporal Considerations in Supply Offer Development in the Wholesale Electricity Market
• Yi-Ping Su: Tourism Business Responses to Climate Change: The Case of Taiwanese Tourist Hotel
• Ekaterina Surovaya: Consumer Generated Advertising
• Maryam Tehrani:
• Chatchai Thnarudee: Interaction Dynamics of Strategic Planning within M-Form Based Forms
• James Tipping: The Analysis of Spot Price Stochasticity in Deregulated Wholesale Electricity Markets
• Dao van Truong:
• Bernard Walker: For Better or for Worse: Employment Relationship Problems under the Employment Relations Act 2000
• Matthew Walley: The Association Between Psychological Attributes and Organisational Performance in New Zealand Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
• Anna Walls: How Civil Engineers Deal With Difficult Projects
• Anthony White: The Export Performance of NZ Based Manufacturers
• Russell Wordsworth: How People Leave Their Jobs: An empirical test and extension of the unfolding model of voluntary turnover
• Lillian Zhao:

Contact Information

Dr Sarah Wright
Co-ordinator, Management PhD Programme
Phone: 64-03-364-2987 Ext: 3570
Fax: 64-03-364-2020

Department of Management
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand