Call for Applications for the Doctoral Programme in Business Administration

Subject of the Call

For the Spring 2021 semester, the University of Nicosia announces the opening of  (4) positions for admission to the Doctoral Programme (PhD) in Business Administration.

School: School of Business
Duration: 3 years
Number of Positions: Four
Selection Criteria: Preselection on the basis of evaluation of qualifications, proposal, and possible personal interview
Application Deadline:  5th January 2021
Start Date: February 2021
Language: All aspects of the posts below are to be conducted in English (application submission, proposal, programme study, thesis)

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One (1) post in Finance:

One (1) post in the area of Finance, and specifically one (or a combination) of the following areas:

  • Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors
  • Blockchain and Governance
  • Blockchain and Accounting and Controls
  • Decentralized Autonomous Organisations (from a governance point of view)
  • Market-based Empirical Research on one of the following topics:
  • Market Behaviour of Cryptocurrencies
  • Corporate Social Responsibility and Reporting
  • Socially Conscious Investing

For this post, the candidate should have a strong background in quantitative methods (Econometrics or Statistics) proven by previous quantitative research or work experience or by having successfully completed advanced courses in Econometrics or Statistics. Moreover, the candidate should have a background in either Finance, or Accounting, or Economics, or Financial Mathematics, or Financial Econometrics or similar discipline (Bachelor or Masters degree).

Research Advisor: Dr Ifigenia Georgiou, [email protected]

Three (3) posts in Marketing:

One (1) post in Marketing, in one or a combination of the following areas:

Area A:

A strong emphasis is placed on strengthening environmental awareness of the youth generation through education and other forms of engagement. Pupils and students have the potential to become ambassadors for climate change, sustainable development and environmental protection by sharing their knowledge, experience and engagement with their families, local communities, and public and private decision makers as well as through the use of social media. For this area, it is required to potentially develop a framework that will foster the development and implementation of a multi stakeholder perspective for the development and assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes of consumers and particularly young consumers on climate change and sustainable development. Taking into consideration the natural resistance to individual behavioural changes and to collective changes in social practices, as well as the NGOs and stakeholders, and international best practices, and the power of social media.

Area B:

Enabling citizens to act on climate change, for sustainable development and environmental protection through education, citizen science, observation initiatives, and civic engagement. The active role of citizens and their direct involvement is essential to address climate change. For this area, it is required to potentially examine how corporations can directly involve citizens and communities in contributing to climate action and protecting the environment, thereby encouraging them to change their personal behaviour and their mind sets, reducing their carbon and environmental footprint and take action at the individual and collective level.

Area C:

Knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding and its impact on Internal Branding during the COVID-19 – a multi-stakeholder perspective within large corporations.

Area D:

Consumer Generated Marketing and the creation of brand love through the use of Social Media by Generation Z consumers (the changing media landscape and brand touchpoints).

Area E:

Viral Marketing, eWOM and Integrated Marketing Communications.

For this post, the candidate should have a strong academic foundation, an excellent command of the English language, apply for a full-time (or mostly so) Ph.D. student position, and aim at a career in academia and/or research.

Research Advisor: Prof Ioanna Papasolomou, [email protected]

One (1) post in Marketing, in the general area of “Strategic Marketing of Real Estate Development Companies”

Real Estate (R.E.) development is a significant part of the economy and one with unique characteristics, owing to the attributes of the product, the industry structure, the complexity of the process, the size of investments and the fragmentation of the market.

Research proposals, of primarily qualitative nature, are thus invited that aim to investigate subjects such as ‘the nature of the market for R.E.’, ‘(strategic) marketing mix designs versus product/segments’, ‘innovative business models for local and/or international R.E. marketing’, ‘strategic marketing partnerships/collaborations in R.E.’, ‘R.E. business internationalisation’, ‘R.E. industry analysis towards [specific/stated] strategic marketing goals’ etc.

For this post, the candidate should have a strong academic foundation, an excellent command of the English language, apply for a full-time (or mostly so) Ph.D. student position, residing in Cyprus, and aim at a career in academia and/or research. Research

Advisor: Prof Alkis Thrassou, [email protected]

One (1) post in Marketing, in the general area of “Cyprus as the Origin [and/or Stepping Stone] for Professional Services’ Internationalisation – A strategic Marketing Perspective”.

Cyprus, through a combination of its geography, its human resource education and competencies, its history and other factors, offers professional services (P.S.), across the typological spectrum, to many countries in its geographical region and beyond. These services (accounting, finance, consulting etc) are exported through both local companies and international ones using Cyprus as a regional base.

Research proposals, of primarily qualitative nature, are invited to investigate, through a Strategic Marketing perspective, topics such as ‘international strategic market penetration of CY P.S.’, ‘strategic partnerships/collaborations for internationalization of CY P.S.’, ‘an analysis of Cyprus as a stepping stone for P.S. internationalization to and/or from the EU’, ‘comparative P.S. industry internationalization practices and outcomes’ etc.

For this post, the candidate should have a strong academic foundation, an excellent command of the English language, apply for a full-time (or mostly so) Ph.D. student position, residing in Cyprus and aim at a career in academia and/or research. Research

Advisor: Prof Alkis Thrassou, [email protected]

Admission Requirements and Procedures

  1. An accredited master’s degree.
  2. Very good academic record.
  3. Proof of high English proficiency. This is provided by EITHER a degree from an English-speaking university OR TOEFL (paper-based test 600, computer-based test 250, internet based test 100) OR IELTS 6.5.
  4. An initial 2000-word research proposal outlining the research theme with relevant literature in the field of proposed study, aim, objectives, specific research questions, possible gap/s and proposed research methodology.
  5. A Personal Statement of 500 – 1000 words outlining applicants’ individual competences and strengths and providing their reflections regarding the expectations and value of the programme as well as to their personal advancement and career development, and a clear commitment and motivation to make a contribution to the field.
  6. Letters of Recommendation – Two recommendation letters from individuals who have known the applicant in their educational or professional capacity.