phd digital business strategy

• Courses for Individuals

Digital Strategies for Transforming Your Business

Digital Business

Certificate Credits

- Digital Business & IT

- Operations

- Strategy & Innovation

• Participants

Course Highlights

• Provides a powerful framework for transforming businesses on two dimensions—knowing customers better and optimizing business design
• Leaves you with the tools to think about and communicate your business strategy internally, make decisions about what to focus on next, and critically consider developing important capabilities
• Confers a certificate of course completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management

Featured Content

Why attend Digital Strategies for Transforming Your Business?

In this period of digital disruption, businesses focused narrowly on value chains are at a disadvantage. Next-generation enterprises need to think more broadly about their business ecosystems, leverage digitization strategy to understand their customers better, and establish options for future success. Drawing on cutting-edge research, this course engages participants in a framework for seizing on all the above.

To thrive in a digitized universe, merely tweaking the management practices that led to past success will not be enough. Businesses of all sizes need to evaluate the strategic implications of digital disruption and create a future-proofed digital business model. Many enterprises will need to completely reinvent their organizations and substantially change their processes.

Despite this urgency, leaders often lack a common language to assess the degree of threat that digital disruption poses to their business and—more importantly—the language to create a compelling vision for their enterprise’s success.

Drawing on cutting-edge research conducted at MIT Sloan’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) , this course provides a powerful framework for transforming businesses on two dimensions: knowing customers better and optimizing business design.

Course Experience

Through hands-on assessments, exercises, lectures, case studies of high-performing companies, and lively discussions, you will endeavor to answer key questions that will ultimately inform your organization’s digitization strategy including:

• Which digital business model is best for your enterprise’s future?
• What is your digital competitive advantage?
• How will you innovate to reinvigorate and renew your digital business model?
• Do you have the crucial capabilities to reinvent the enterprise?
• Do you have the metrics, governance, and leadership to make the transformation happen?

Learn more about the live online experience . 

Applying to the Course

We accept enrollments until the offering reaches capacity, at which point we will maintain a waitlist. Many of the courses fill up several weeks in advance, so we advise that you enroll as early as possible to secure your seat.

You can begin the application process by using the red 'Enroll Now' bar at the bottom of the screen.  

Health and Safety

See our on campus healthy and safety policies.

Have Questions?

Contact us if you would like to speak with a program director or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to common questions about our courses.

Upon successful completion of your course, you will earn a certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This course may also count toward MIT Sloan Executive Certificate requirements.

This course will provide you with the:

• Tools to think about and communicate your digital business strategy internally
• Ability to make decisions about what to focus on next
• Critically consider developing important capabilities

At the end of the three days, you will leave with a better understanding of:

• Where your enterprise is right now and how well (or poorly) you are positioned for digital transformation
• What your business is best at
• What your customers want
• What level of threat you face from digital disruption
• How your business needs to change to mitigate threats and seize opportunities
• How to begin to create a compelling vision for your enterprise’s success

This course will also equip you with an understanding of:

• Four proven business models and three key sources of advantage for the digital era
• The difference between “industries” and “ecosystems” and the importance of the latter
• What business capabilities your organization needs to strengthen
• The role of management and the board in business strategy transformation—and what guardrails leadership requires to keep this transformation on track
• The importance of partnerships in creating integrated solutions that solve customer problems (and make your business a destination)
• How to measure the success of your business model

Hear from a past participant:

Sample Schedule—Subject to Change

This course is designed for senior executives and managers at division or corporate levels, including:

• VPs and EVPs
• CIOs and IT Leaders
• Corporate Planners, Strategists, and Strategic Planners
• VPs of Operations
• Senior Marketing Executives
• Senior Business Development Executives
• Senior Project Managers
• Product Development Managers
• Innovation Officers

We encourage you to join with colleagues or a team from your organization as this will allow you to work together on your digital business plan over the three days. There are also team discounts available for 3 or more. 

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Very knowledgeable and approachable faculty and researchers. Great content and opportunities to network.

—Past Participant Alaide B.

Enroll Now!

How to overcome obstacles to digital business transformation, digital transformation for family-owned companies, what it means to be a ‘future-ready’ firm, if you’re not focusing on customer experience in digital transformation, you’re losing value, is your company seizing its digital value, become future ready with mit cisr research scientist stephanie woerner, the recommender revolution, step up or step away: assessing leadership in the era of purpose, how to coordinate multiple pathways to digital transformation, to woo more customers, try a ‘domain mindset’, new study finds many leaders lack skills to lead digital transformation, the transformation of recommendation, the next generation enterprise: four business models for thriving in the digital era, the unavoidable future of advice, course offerings.

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From the Strategy Ph.D. Liaison

"As the Strategy area Ph.D. liaison, I welcome you to the study of strategic management at UCLA Anderson. Our program has a strong analytical orientation. Students take courses in strategic management, economics and other fields. The Strategy area at the UCLA Anderson School of Management administers the program. If you are motivated to create new knowledge and innovative research to help advance the field of business strategy, we encourage you to get in touch and apply."

Olav Sorensen Ph.D. Strategy Ph.D. Liaison

Explore the Program

Sample publications.

The Role of Chance Encounters in Silicon Valley Innovation Dee Gill UCLA Anderson Review

As Silicon Valley legend has it, back in the day semiconductor hotshots gathered at Walker’s Wagon Wheel to drink and gossip and, by the third beer, a new technology breakthrough had often been devised. Repeated millions of times over, at any place but the office, chance encounters have kept Silicon Valley cranking out patents — and technology startups — faster and more profitably than any other region of the world.  

Read Publication

Doctors, Subjected to Peer Comparison, Felt Increased Burnout Carla Fried UCLA Anderson Review

If there’s a work cohort we all have a vested interest in keeping happy and healthy, it is primary care doctors. By one estimate published in 2021, the U.S. is expected to be short by between 17,800 and 48,000 primary care physicians by 2034, and nearly one-third of current primary care docs reported being burned out.  

In a Boom, Incumbent Firms Can Redeploy Workers to Rapidly Expand Michael Totty UCLA Anderson Review

It is a new economy truism: Nimble startups have an edge over larger, well-established companies. New ventures are more innovative and can be better attuned to the markets they operate in, while incumbents, constrained by their existing operations, may be less able to commit resources to new ones.  

Household Energy Efficiency: Not All Upgrades Are Created Equal Michael Totty UCLA Anderson Review

Energy efficiency seems to offer one of those rare “everybody wins” solutions. It can save money on electricity bills, fight climate change, make it unnecessary for utilities to build new power plants and create jobs, and, by some estimates, save $2 in benefits for each dollar invested.  

Cause and Effect in the Complex World of Corporate Decision Making Dee Gill UCLA Anderson Review

Establishing links between cause and effect is a core function of scientific research, and one that we now know is far more difficult than previously thought. In the past decade, concerted efforts failed to replicate hundreds of studies published in prestigious journals, particularly in medicine and social sciences. This “replication crisis” has led to a flood of new research methods aimed at weeding out hidden factors that lead scientists to mistake mere correlations for causation, for actions that actually lead to change.  

Alumni Success

David Bardolet (’08)

Dissertation: New Perspectives on Capital Allocation

David Bardolet's research interests include behavioral strategy, resource allocation and corporate strategy. His work has been published in Strategic Management Journal and Industrial and Corporate Change, as well as in edited collections from Oxford University Press and Kluwer. Mentored at UCLA Anderson by Professor Craig Fox, he is a collaborator at the Fox Uncertainty Lab.

Vanessa Burbano (’15)

Dissertation: Three Essays on Corporate Social Responsibility

Now an Assistant Professor of Management in strategy at Columbia Business School, UCLA Anderson alumna Vanessa Burbano focuses her research topics on the intersection of corporate strategy and social/environmental issues, and on employee motivation. Her research has been awarded by the Strategic Management Society and the Strategy Research Foundation. Having joined Columbia in 2015, Burbano earned her Ph.D. from Anderson in 2011 and has also worked as an Associate at Goldman Sachs and as a Strategy Consultant at Monitor Group.

Bennett Chiles (’17)

Dissertation: Shrouded Information and Strategic Transparency: Three Essays on Price Obfuscation

UCLA Anderson graduate Bennett Chiles has previously worked in strategy consulting, data analytics, and the non-profit sector. Now, she's an Assistant Professor of Management in strategy at Columbia Business School, having joined in 2017. Chiles' research looks at issues at the intersection of competitive strategy and behavioral economics, focusing on information disclosure and deceptive business practices. She received her Ph.D. from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2017.

Sara Parker Lue (’13)

Dissertation: Conflict of Interest and Incentives in Health Care

After graduating from UCLA Anderson with a Ph.D. in 2013, Sara Parker Lue joined Rutgers Business School as an Assistant Professor of Management and Global Business. She focuses on teaching business policy and strategy, along with health care strategy, while her research focus is on strategic human resources, organizational economics of health care, boundary of the firm, impact of reputation on agency issues, and regulatory policy. Lue also earned her M.A. in Economics from UCLA in 2010.

James Owen Ostler (’13)

Dissertation: Strategic Risk Taking Under Competition

James Ostler earned his Ph.D. from UCLA Anderson in 2013, and has since become an Assistant Professor of Strategy at the University of Michigan Ross School of business. His research focuses on decision making under uncertainty, exploring how business decisions are made based on expectations of an uncertain future. Ostler has also worked at start-ups, and as a consultant for a Fortune 500 company.

Belen Villalonga (’01)

First academic placement: Harvard Business School Dissertation: 'Chop Shop' Valuation Models and the Diversification Discount

Belen Villalonga has written numerous articles on how family ownership and control influence the management and governance of firms as well as their performance. Her award-winning research has been published in leading academic journals and cited over 750 times in academic publications, and has been featured in CNBC, NPR,  Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, Expansion, Financial Times, Forbes, International Herald Tribune  and many other international business publications. Since 2006, Villalonga has served as an independent director on the board of Acciona, a family-controlled Fortune Global 500 company in the infrastructure and renewable energy businesses.

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• Strategy and Innovation

• Concentrations
• Information Technology Management
• Operations Management
• Organizational Behavior

A doctoral degree from Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business prepares you to pursue a faculty career at a research-oriented academic institution. Faculty enjoy high salaries, autonomy, an intellectually stimulating job, and the opportunity to teach and work with bright students. 

Why Strategy and Innovation?

The field of strategy is concerned with explaining and predicting firm-level differences in performance. The intersection between strategy and innovation is particularly fertile because of the growing role of innovation-based products and processes, and the critical role technological capabilities play as a source of competitive advantage. The intersection between strategy and innovation is also particularly relevant for technology-based new ventures. The areas of strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship offer excellent job prospects for Ph.D. graduates.

Why Georgia Tech?

We are one of the leading academic groups with a research focus specifically on the intersection of strategy and innovation. Students can customize their curriculum by selecting from courses offered at Georgia Tech and top-tier partner institutions and they have access to outstanding research infrastructure such as a Census Research Data Center. Given the small size of the program, we place a strong emphasis on mentorship, allowing students to learn from a diverse faculty.

Our Ph.D. program emphasizes the early involvement of students in research projects with internationally recognized faculty. Our research is interdisciplinary, often applying economic thinking and integrating insights from other areas such as sociology, psychology, and management.

Faculty members publish in high-impact management journals such as Management Science, Organization Science, Research Policy, and Strategic Management Journal as well as in top journals in related fields such as Science, Nature, RAND Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economics and Statistics . Our faculty hold positions as journal editors and members of editorial boards, leadership positions in professional associations, and research appointments at highly selected bodies such as the National Bureau of Economic Research. Faculty members regularly share their knowledge with managers and entrepreneurs and have been invited to join as policy advisers to the Council of Economic Advisors and Committees of the National Academies. 

We host, co-sponsor, and participate in leading research conferences such as the Roundtable for Engineering Entrepreneurship Research (REER) and the Consortium for Competitiveness and Cooperation (CCC). Our weekly research seminar attracts presenters from institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the Max Planck Institute. Ph.D. students actively participate in these events, providing them with opportunities to learn from internationally leading scholars and to grow into the professional community.

What Does the Program Cost?

We fully fund all admitted students for at least five years, including a tuition waiver and a stipend to cover living expenses. Successful program completion will require a significant investment of time and effort, which is most likely to pay off for students with a clear interest in a research-oriented faculty career.

Tuition and Financing

Application process, the application deadline is jan. 6 for admission the following fall semester (starting mid-august)., strategy and innovation news.

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• Undergraduate
• Master of Accounting
• Full Time MBA
• Evening Executive MBA
• Weekend Executive MBA
• Charlotte Executive MBA

PhD in Strategy

Strategy and entrepreneurship.

As a strategy doctoral student, you have direct access to and work closely with UNC Kenan-Flagler’s renowned faculty. Strategic management is the bedrock of our research and provides a platform for additional focus areas: entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainable enterprise and information technologies.

The Strategy PhD Program prepares you to produce high-quality research as a faculty member at a top business school.

Our rigorous program draws from such disciplines as economics, psychology and sociology to inform research in the area of strategy and entrepreneurship. Although some students have completed graduate work before enrolling in the PhD program, it is not necessary.

Typical course schedule by year

During the first two years of the PhD program, your courses develop the tools you need to produce high-quality research. Sample classes include:

• Economic Foundations of Strategy
• Behavioral Foundations of Strategy
• Organizational Theory Macro-Organizational Behavior
• Seminar in Strategy: Topics might include international business, qualitative approaches to research, social networks, innovation and entrepreneurship, and simulation models.
• You will write an original research paper under the supervision of a faculty member for presentation and critique.
• Research Methods I
• Research Methods II
• Statistics I
• Econometrics

You also take classes in other disciplinary areas such as economics, sociology and psychology. We maintain close ties with the Duke University faculty and you may take approved doctoral level courses at its Fuqua School of Business.

• A comprehensive written examination covers all of the organizational behavior and leadership courses taken in the first two years of the PhD program.
• An oral presentation of your current research
• Full-time research
• With consent of your advisor, you may attend/participate or present at external national or international conferences after your second year.
• Dissertation and Oral Defense is expected prior to the end of your fifth year.
• Preparing for the job market
• You may take any elective course offered by UNC Kenan-Flagler or other UNC or Duke departments with guidance from your advisor.
• Students are invited to participate in all related research seminars and guest speakers offered at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

View our current Strategy and Entrepreneurship PhD students .

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Learn together with your colleagues

Participants report that enrolling in a program with colleagues fosters collaborative learning and amplifies their impact.

Please provide your details to get more information about the group-enrollment pricing.

The benefit of learning together with your friend is that you keep each other accountable and have meaningful discussions about what you're learning.

Congratulations!

Based on the information you provided, your team is eligible for a special discount, for Digital Transformation Playbook: Leverage Technology to Innovate Your Business starting on September 19, 2024 .

We’ve sent you an email with enrollment next steps. If you’re ready to enroll now, click the button below.

Digital Transformation Playbook:

Leverage Technology to Innovate Your Business

Get Your Brochure

September 19, 2024

6 weeks, online 4–6 hours per week

PROGRAM FEE

US$2,800 and get US$280 off with a referral

For Your Team

Enroll your team and learn with your peers

LEAD THE FUTURE WITH A DIGITAL-FIRST MINDSET

More than ever, digitization is imperative for businesses to sustain competitive advantages and foster innovation. To design and successfully implement digital transformation initiatives, leaders need to be equipped with the right technical knowledge, strategic frameworks, and leadership best practices. Stanford Graduate School of Business, with its deep roots in Silicon Valley, has developed a unique curriculum to guide you on your digital transformation journey.

of new value created in the economy over the next decade will be based on digitally enabled platform business models.

Source : The World Economic Forum

of all information and communications technology (ICT) investments by the end of 2024 will be direct digital transformation investments.

Source: IDC’s 2021 FutureScape

Key takeaways.

• DEMYSTIFY THE TECH: Discover the endless application possibilities of AI and ML, cloud, automation, IoT, AR, and VR technologies to support digital transformation initiatives, and build your vocabulary to communicate more effectively with technical specialists.
• LEVERAGE THE TECH: Evaluate the capabilities of these technologies to create business value.
• DEVELOP YOUR STRATEGY: Develop strategies for shaping organizational culture and capabilities to achieve digital transformation.

This program is ideal for professionals and leaders who are:

Building a strong digital culture across their organization, aiming to exceed customer expectations and achieve operational efficiencies to remain competitive through digital initiatives.

Planning to initiate technical projects or have stepped into roles that require a digital-first mindset for driving digital transformation in their departments.

Exploring growth opportunities through digitization and aspiring to broaden their digital knowledge.

Program Modules

• Define the benefits of digital transformation and how it can be applied to challenges faced by organizations to innovate
• Identify digital transformation solutions that address organizational needs and new business models
• Evaluate the capabilities of cloud services to address business needs or capture new opportunities.
• Design a business experiment in which you will explain how to use data analytics and visualization to facilitate business decision making.
• Explore the capabilities and limitations of technologies.
• Articulate the business values and trade-offs of implementing technologies, focusing on opportunities for automation within your organization.
• Evaluate your familiarity with data and gain a deeper understanding of how to apply it to a given business need.
• Identify ways to avoid common pitfalls that hinder data projects.
• Distinguish between three types of machine learning algorithms and how to apply them to address business needs and opportunities.
• Discuss best practices and common pitfalls of artificial intelligence and machine learning implementation.
• Develop a digital transformation road map by evaluating digital initiatives and defining short- and long-term strategic goals
• Formulate strategies to transform individual behaviors and organizational culture to support digital transformation.

For more information on the curriculum, please download the brochure:

Program Walk-Through

Access to Stanford Graduate School of Business proprietary strategy tools and frameworks

Manageable time investment (4-6 hours/week)

Live sessions with faculty

Playbook assignments for you to apply the learnings to your own role or industry

Networking with global peers

Featured case study and industry examples

Feedback on assignments to ensure the relevance of the program material

Certificate of Completion from Stanford Graduate School of Business

Featured Program Elements

The Digital Transformation Canvas

The Digital Transformation Canvas is a five-point framework that helps you flesh out your digital initiatives, which are the basis of your digital road map.

The Benefits, Assets, Threats, and Liabilities (BATL) Framework

The proprietary BATL framework is a tool to help leaders assess new ventures, whether they are internal or external.

Original Case Study

Innovation at Volkswagen: The Story of Digital: Lab by Professor Yossi Feinberg, Mitchel Scott, and Amadeus Orleans.

Capstone Project

Putting all of the elements into practice, you will define your goals, create a digital roadmap, flesh out the initiatives, and outline the next steps to support the implementation of this strategy—giving you a practical game plan to kick-start progress.

Meet The Faculty

Jonathan Levav

King Philanthropies Professor of Marketing

Yossi Feinberg

The Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Economics

Jonathan Levav King Philanthropies Professor of Marketing Jonathan Levav received his PhD in marketing from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and his AB in public and international affairs from Princeton University. He is the winner of the Hillel Einhorn Young Investigator Award, awarded biennially by the Society for Judgment and Decision-Making. He is a two time winner of the Distinguished Teaching award. His work has been published in numerous academic journals, including the Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, and Nature. In addition to his academic work, Jonathan serves as an advisor to many early-stage start-ups.

Yossi Feinberg The Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Economics Yossi Feinberg joined Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1998. Apart from being a recipient of the distinguished teaching award, he serves as an editor and reviewer for many leading economic journals. In addition to his academic achievements, Yossi has been a consultant for organizations in various industries, including technology, media, and healthcare. He is also the faculty director of Stanford Ignite, a global innovation program at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Featured Guest Speakers

Yael Garten PhD, Director of AI/ML Data Science & Engineering, Apple, and Board Member at Levi Strauss & Co.

Tomek Staszelis MBA, Polpharma

Markus Sieger CEO Polpharma Group, and Vice President of Medicines for Europe

Folasade Ayoola PhD, MBA, Co-Founder/CSO, ElectricFish, and candidate for PhD in Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford

Cristian Corotto Chief Digital Officer, ABB Turbocharging

Sean Pegado Product Analytics Manager, Cisco Meraki

Ravi Teja Chikkam Senior Data Scientist, Cisco Meraki

Mohammed AlShammasi CEO Derayah Finance

Chris Elles Managing Director of Rolling Thunder Harley-Davidson

CERTIFICATE

Upon completion of this program, you will receive a certificate of completion from Stanford Graduate School of Business that you can share with your professional network.

How do I know if this program is right for me?

After reviewing the information on the program landing page, we recommend that you submit the short form above to gain access to the program brochure, which includes more in-depth information. If you still have questions on whether this program is a good fit for you, please email [email protected] , and a dedicated program advisor will follow up with you very shortly.

Are there any prerequisites for this program?

Participants must be 18 years old or above to apply to this program. Some programs do have prerequisites, particularly the more technical ones. This information will be noted on the program landing page and in the program brochure. If you are uncertain about program prerequisites and your capabilities, please email us at [email protected] for assistance.

Note that, unless otherwise stated on the program web page, all programs are taught in English, and proficiency in English is required.

What is the typical class profile?

More than 50 percent of our participants are from outside the United States. Class profiles vary from one cohort to the next, but, generally, our online certificates draw a highly diverse audience in terms of professional experience, industry, and geography—leading to a very rich peer learning and networking experience.

At what other dates will this program be offered in the future?

Check back to this program web page or email us at [email protected] to inquire whether future program dates or the timeline for future offerings has been confirmed.

How much time is required each week?

Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page.

How will my time be spent?

We have designed this program to fit into your current working life as efficiently as possible. Time will be spent among a variety of activities, including:

• Engaging with recorded video lectures from faculty
• Attending webinars and office hours as per the specific program schedule
• Reading or engaging with examples of core topics
• Completing knowledge checks/quizzes and required activities
• Engaging in moderated discussion groups with your peers
• Completing your final project, if required

The program is designed to be highly interactive while also allowing time for self-reflection and demonstrating an understanding of the core topics through various active learning exercises. Please contact us at [email protected] if you need further clarification on program activities.

A dedicated program support team is available 24/5 (Monday to Friday) to answer questions about the learning platform, technical issues, or anything else that may affect your learning experience.

How do I interact with other program participants?

Peer learning adds substantially to the overall learning experience and is an important part of the program. You can connect and communicate with other participants through our learning platform.

What are the requirements to earn the certificate?

Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week, so you can gauge what will be required before you enroll. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page. All programs are designed to fit into your working life. This program is scored as a pass or no pass; participants must complete the required activities to pass and obtain the certificate of completion. Some programs include a final project submission or other assignments to obtain passing status. This information will be noted in the program brochure. Please contact us at [email protected] if you need further clarification on any specific program requirements.

What type of certificate will I receive?

Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a smart digital certificate. The smart digital certificate can be shared with friends, family, schools, or potential employers. You can use it on your cover letter or resume or display it on your LinkedIn profile. The digital certificate will be sent approximately two weeks after the program end date, once grading is complete.

Can I get a the hard copy of the certificate?

No, only verified digital certificates will be issued upon successful completion. This allows you to share your credentials on social platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Do I receive alumni status after completing this program?

No, there is no alumni status granted for this program. In some cases, there are credits that count toward a higher level of certification. This information will be clearly noted in the program brochure.

How long will I have access to the learning materials?

You will have access to the online learning platform and all the videos and program materials for 12 months following the program start date . Access to the learning platform is restricted to registered participants as per the terms of the agreement.

What equipment or technical requirements are there for this program?

Participants will need the latest version of their preferred browser to access the learning platform. In addition, Microsoft Office and a PDF viewer are required to access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts.

Do I need to be online to access the program content?

Yes, the learning platform is accessed via the internet, and video content is not available for download. However, you can download files of video transcripts, assignment templates, readings, etc. For maximum flexibility, you can access program content from a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device. Video lectures must be streamed via the internet, and any live stream webinars and office hours will require an internet connection as well. However, these sessions are always recorded, so you may view them later.

Can I still register if the registration deadline has passed?

Yes, you can register up to seven days after the published start date of the program without missing any of the core program material or learnings.

What is the program fee, and what forms of payment do you accept?

The program fee is noted at the top of this program web page and is usually referenced in the program brochure as well. Flexible payment options are available (see details below as well as at the top of this program web page next to FEE).

What if I don’t have a credit card? Is there another method of payment accepted?

Yes, you can do a bank remittance in the program currency via wire transfer or debit card. Please contact your program advisor or email us at [email protected] for details.

I was not able to use the discount code provided. Can you help?

Yes! Please email us at [email protected] with the details of the program you are interested in, and we will assist you.

How can I obtain an invoice for payment?

Please email [email protected] with your invoicing requirements and the specific program you’re interested in enrolling in.

Is there an option to make flexible payments for this program?

Yes, the flexible payment option allows participants to pay the program fee in installments. This option is made available on the payment page and should be selected before submitting the payment.

How can I obtain a W9 form?

Please email us at [email protected] for assistance.

Who will be collecting the payment for the program?

Emeritus collects all program payments, provides learner enrollment and program support, and manages learning platform services.

Are there any restrictions on the types of funding that can be used to pay for the program?

Program fees for Emeritus programs with Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education may not be paid for with (a) funds from the GI Bill, the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008, or similar types of military education funding benefits or (b) Title IV financial aid funds.

What is the program refund and deferral policy?

For the program refund and deferral policy, please click the link here .

Still Not Sure?

Continue exploring available programs.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at [email protected] or Schedule a call with one of our Program Advisors or call us at +1 401 443 9709   (US) / +44 127 959 8043  (UK) / +65 3129 4367 (SG)

Early registrations are encouraged. Seats fill up quickly!

Flexible payment options available. Learn more.

Doctoral Programs

• Harvard Business School →
• Doctoral Programs →

New Ideas for a Changing World New Ideas for a Changing World    

Phd programs  , accounting & management, business economics (includes finance), health policy (management), organizational behavior, technology & operations management, admissions  , unlock your phd journey with full financial aid  , placement  , research community  .

Hila Lifshitz-Assaf

Filippo Mezzanotti

Sarah Wolfolds

Patricia Satterstrom

Anastassia Fedyk

Alexandra C. Feldberg

Rohan Kekre

Do Yoon Kim

Talia Gillis

Erica Moszkowski

Sagar Saxena

Aurora Turek

A Jay Holmgren

Evan DeFilippis

Kala Viswanathan

Ahmmad Brown

Ximena Garcia-Rada

Patrick Ferguson

Byungyeon Kim

Ta-Wei "David" Huang

Mengjie "Magie" Cheng

Omar Olivarez

Dafna Bearson

Justine Murray

Celia Stafford

Olivia Zhao

Rowan Clarke

Jaylon Sherrell

Elliot Tobin

Fanele Mashwama

Maria Roche

Charles Wang

Student Research  

Investor influence on media coverage: evidence from venture capital-backed startups.

• 02 JUN 2024
• Faculty Research

Moral Incoherence During Category Emergence: The Contentious Case of Connected Toys

• 29 MAY 2024

The Value of AI Innovations

• 21 MAY 2024

Find a Current Student

What are you looking for?

Strategy and International Business ​PhD/PhD by Published works​​

• Courses by subject

Postgraduate PG

PhD: Full Time 2 years - 4 years or Part Time 3 years - 6 years PhD by Published Works: Part Time 1 year - 2 years

October, March

Get in touch

For questions regarding study and admissions please contact us:

UK/EU Students enquiries

[email protected] 0300 303 2772

International Students enquiries

[email protected] +44 (0)1604 893981

​If you are a graduate in Business Studies or Management or a similar discipline, this Strategy and International Business PhD / PhD by Published Works programme offers an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge and research skills. This PhD programme will offer you the opportunity to undertake original research in Strategy and International Business. Our postgraduate research students are drawn from all over the world, and you will benefit from a dynamic research environment including supervision from internationally renowned Faculty of Business and Law , dedicated support, and outstanding facilities. In this programme, you will develop your critical thinking, intellectual capacity, and creativity. Successful oral defence (viva voce) of the final thesis will provide you with the highest qualification that any UK university can award. It will also offer you an excellent opportunity to develop your career in academia or move into higher management positions in the industry.

Find out more about the following Research institutes and centres:​

• Centre for Sustainable Business Practices (CSBP)
• Centre for Global Economic and Social Development (GESD)

The closing dates for applications for the October intake is 1 August, and for the March intake is 11 December.

Updated 16/04/2024

• ​Learn from leading research institutes and centres
• ​Join an internationally renowned faculty
• Preparing Next-Generation Researchers​
• We emphasise real world relevance as a core value
• Helping to define the Strategy and International Business research agenda
• Regular research seminars, conferences and research activities led by our Research Centres and the Graduate School  

Course Content

The Strategy and International Business PhD programme is a way for you to hone your specialism in the area, and to improve your skills in research, academic writing, presentation, and practice. While developing and setting up your research projects, you will initially receive general and project-specific training to enable you to conduct your research effectively and independently.  As a PhD student, you will be assigned a supervisory team consisting of a Director of Study (DOS), and first and second supervisors. Our students are required to work independently on their research, under the advice and guidance of their supervisory team. Due to the nature of PhD study, our students spend a large amount of time studying and engaging in independent research. Students are required to have supervision meetings regularly to discuss their progress, devise an action plan for the next steps of their research or project, and to receive suggestions from their supervisory team on how to improve their project.

Normally, our PhD students are registered for an MPhil and are expected to transfer from the MPhil to a PhD programme within the first twelve months of their study. The transfer process requires students to produce a substantial piece of work (e.g., literature review and proposed methods chapters) and apply for ethics approval. Students will be required to present their written piece of work to an academic audience and then proceed for an internal viva examination with an academic member of staff at the faculty as examiner. The transfer viva process, appointment of the internal examiner, and approval of ethics documents are all subject to approval by the university research committees.

Research topics

​​The Strategy and International Business Subject Group is home to academics with extensive subject and research experience in most aspects of Strategy and Business. We can supervise topics including:

• Business Strategy  ​
• Social Responsibility
• ​Business Ethics ​
• Business Sustainability
• ​Expectation gap ​
• Education pedagogy and Strategy
• ​International business (emerging market firms) ​
• International Business (Cross-Cultural Management) ​
• Cross-cultural Management ​
• Strategic Management of MNEs and International Business ​
• Creative Research Methods
• ​Environmental psychology & Consumer behaviour

​​The key requirements for a successful application are:

• A first or upper second-class (2:1) honour degree, or master’s degree from a UK university or international equivalent in a relevant subject area
• ​A well-developed research proposal

​Students with lower-level qualifications, or qualifications in a different subject area but relevant experience, will also be considered on an individual basis.

As part of the selection process, all suitable candidates will be required to attend a formal interview to assess their suitability to pursue a PhD at the University of Northampton.

​English Language Requirements 

​Applicants whose first language is not English are expected to have obtained an overall score of 7.0 in IELTS, with no element below 6.5 especially in writing (or equivalent). Applications with IELTS lower than 5.5 in all components will not be considered.

​All offers of a place on the programme are subject to:

• ​successful interview by the University
• ​suitable Research Supervision Support

​For your application to be successful your academic credentials are important. We pay close attention to the suitability of our candidates for both the programme and the research interest of our team of academics. PhD applicants are assessed based on their previous academic performance, the quality of their research proposal, and the availability of suitable members of academic staff to supervise the chosen research topic.

​For additional information on how to apply to study with us, how to find a potential Supervisor and what documents you are required to provide with your application, please see our  How to Apply page . ​

2024/25 Tuition Fees

Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 2024/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

Doctor Of Philosophy Degrees

Including: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) practice based in the Arts, Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

• UK – Full Time: £5,500
• UK – Part Time: £2,775
• International – Full Time: £15,950
• International – Part Time: £7,450

Doctor of Philosophy Degrees by Means of Published Works

• UK – Part Time: £3,500
• International – Part Time: £7,650

Please visit the funding pages and our scholarship pages for more details on how to fund your study.

2023/24 Tuition Fees

Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 23/24 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

• UK – Full Time: £5,340
• UK – Part Time: £2,695
• International – Full Time: £15,480
• International – Part Time: £7,245
• UK – Part Time: £3,400
• International – Part Time:  £7,460

Chijioke Uba

Senior Lecturer in International Business

Faculty of Business and Law

Tiju Kodiyat

Head of Strategy & International Business

Ade Ige-Olaobaju

Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Mgmt

Careers and Employability

A PhD in International Business and Strategy from UON can open doors to a successful career. This includes academia, or moving into higher management positions in large multinationals, leading consulting firms, or governmental and non-governmental organisations worldwide. The University of Northampton has an excellent Careers and Employability Service who are dedicated to equipping students with the skills to thrive, adapt and innovate in our ever-changing world.

Our PhD students have access to exceptional research facilities such as:

• Dedicated PhD study area with computer and printer in the Learning Hub
• Skills support for PhD students ​
• ​Teaching and Research Assistant opportunities should you meet the requirements  ​
• Excellent social groups for student meetings and engagement ​
• Spacious individual and group working space and discussion areas
• ​Well-equipped library with access to academic e-books, journal articles and learning resources for on-site and off-site study ​
• Library and Learning support for PhD students ​
• Opportunities for research collaboration with staff and students ​
• Opportunities to become members of the Research Centre/s aligned to their PhD ​

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Stanford Online

Your guide to understanding digital transformation strategy.

Acquiring and utilizing technology to enhance operations is more essential than ever — and businesses know that.

The 2020 Salesforce “State of the Connected Customer” report highlighted how 66% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and meet their expectations . To do that, enterprises are undergoing digital transformations.

Identifying the need for a digital transformation is the first step. The second is understanding what an achievable digital transformation strategy must include, the benefits it provides, and how to execute digital innovation across your organization.

What is a digital transformation strategy?

Digital transformation is reshaping how businesses operate . Organizational leaders are leveraging technological tools to create more streamlined and efficient processes, resulting in a better customer or user experience (UX). Your digital business transformation strategy is the detailed plan that outlines how your organization will use technology to establish or enhance processes, culture, and the experiences customers have with your brand.

If digital transformation means modifying or adopting new technology to drive innovation across all departments, then your digital transformation framework is the blueprint your organization uses to achieve this. Imagine your digital transformation strategy as a detailed map that guides your business through a successful evolution.

There are five key focus areas where businesses can leverage digital transformation to create more connected and cohesive experiences. They include:

• Product or service offerings
• Decision-making
• Organizational structure

Additionally, there are four types of digital transformation that your organization may pursue:

Process transformation This type of digital transformation focuses on using analytics, KPIs, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other tools to improve internal processes and operations. Ultimately, corporations use process transformation to identify areas where procedures could improve and leverage digital solutions to make said processes more streamlined and cohesive, resulting in operational efficiency.

Business model transformation Through business model transformation, leadership teams have the power to modify traditional enterprise structures and improve efficiency. This type of digital transformation can be cumbersome, as it involves redefining the foundational building blocks of how a business operates and delivers its products or services. However, the result is a business model that adapts to and produces what consumers are looking to attain.

Domain transformation Domain transformation modifies how a company’s website is structured. This type of digital transformation is critical for the e-commerce sector, as it can completely redefine how users interact and do business with a brand.

Organizational transformation Successful digital transformation requires the cooperation of an entire organization. By leveraging organizational transformation, leadership teams ensure internal teams are learning technical skills and applying those skills to everyday tasks. Ideally, organizational transformation leads to more flexible workflows, a greater need for continuous data measurement, and a cohesive business ecosystem where all members are aligned in achieving the same goals.

Benefits of digital transformation

Your business transformation strategy will seek to enhance how your organization operates. Mastering the transformation empowers your organization to optimize performance, boost customer retention and engagement, and advance growth. Meanwhile, enterprises without digital transformation strategies will have difficulty developing new capabilities to modernize their business models and ensure enjoyable consumer experiences.

More specifically, digital transformation will allow your business to:

Use customer insights to bolster engagement and retention Digital transformation allows your organization to gather customer feedback and incorporate those insights into its business strategy. In doing so, you create a customer-centric approach that can provide consumers with more personalized messaging and, ultimately, better experiences. CommerceNext’s “Year of the Customer” report found that 2020 saw a 10% increase (39% to 49%) in businesses prioritizing personalization tactics to improve customer retention.

Develop data-driven strategies Through digital transformation, your enterprise can quickly collect real-time data and convert those metrics into valuable insights. Then, you can use these data-driven insights to form the foundation of business and marketing strategies.

Allow for more productive resource allocation A key benefit of digital transformation is its ability to consolidate resources, assets, and tech tools. By creating a central depository, you have better visibility over processes. This allows you to visualize workflows, identify areas of improvement, and efficiently allocate resources like labor and budgeting.

Increase agility, productivity, and sales With the right processes and tools in place, your team can implement more structured workflows, automate wherever possible, integrate data into existing campaigns, and build an agile enterprise. These elements work together to create cohesive operations that drive new sales.

Driving forces behind a digital transformation strategy

When getting started with digital transformation , there are three essential forces that drive the strategy:

• Adopting a digital-first mindset
• Creating a digitally literate culture
• Using data to ensure continuous evolvement

First things first, your digital transformation journey will require every member of the organization to adopt a digital-first mindset. While the world has been progressively becoming more digitally savvy, the in-person barriers due to COVID-19 have accelerated the need for efficient technology. From scheduling doctor visits to ordering takeout delivery, digital tools have weaved their way into every area of our lives. Therefore, businesses need to be ready and willing to adopt these new technologies to meet consumer demand.

But a digital-first mindset alone isn’t enough to power a successful digital transformation — you also need to become digitally literate. Your business must be adopting new technology and ensuring that they are being used as efficiently as possible. Therefore, the second driving factor of implementing a digital transformation strategy is enforcing effective onboarding and training sessions to create a digitally literate team.

Finally, the third driving force of digital transformation is continuous evolvement. Through consistent research and data collection, businesses can use valuable insights to identify and drive enhancements. These enhancements may be internal, such as refining repetitive tasks that put additional stress on team members, or external, like improving website flow to create a better customer experience. By leveraging data, businesses will continue to make essential improvements that allow them to maintain a competitive advantage within the marketplace.

Developing a digital transformation strategy

To lead a digital transformation strategy , you need to:

• Determine what type of digital transformation approach your business will take
• Assess the capabilities that contribute to your business’s success — such as your tech stack, talent, and operational workflows
• Identify the gaps in your current tech stack and customer experience, then determine what digital capabilities you can harness to overcome them
• Dedicate sufficient resources to ensure you have the right people and tools in place to execute your strategy

From there, it’s essential to identify digital disruption barriers that prevent you from accomplishing your transformation. Elements like a lack of urgency, vision, agile digital technology, and incentives disrupt the digital transformation process. Therefore, it’s paramount to create a clearly-defined digital transformation strategy that ensures all members are aligned and equipped to achieve the results you’re striving to accomplish.

But wait — how will you know if your enterprise is making progress? When building out your digital strategy, put proper metrics and benchmarks in place to measure performance and ROI — then make adjustments based on those results.

Dive deeper into digital transformation strategy with Stanford Online

The time is now! Begin executing a digital transformation strategy with the help of our experts and educators. Learn more about our Digital Transformation Program and how it can empower you to implement a successful digital transformation across your organization.

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Doctorate in Philosophy Digital Transformation and Innovation

* Please note that the former title of this program was: Doctorate in Philosophy Electronic Business.

• Degree offered: Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD)
• Registration status options: Full-time
• Language of instruction: English
• within four years of full-time study
• Academic units:  Telfer School of Management ,  Faculty of Arts ,  Faculty of Engineering ,  School of Electrical and Computer Science

Program Description

The Digital Transformation and Innovation program is a multi-faculty collaboration between the Telfer School of Management, the Faculty of Arts, and the Faculty of Engineering to train highly qualified professionals to create, manage and research the profound change to our world that is happening as a result of electronic digital technology. At its heart, the technology enables the collection and communication of huge amounts of data that transforms how business and society works. It also creates a new online environment where the experience of business and social interactions by individuals is being reinvented. Innovation is an important aspect of the program to emphasize the re-invention and creative design of user experiences in business and social interactions. 

For more information please see the DTI Student Association webpage.

Main Areas of Research

Research in the Digital Transformation and Innovation program is multi-disciplinary and involves collaboration between professors and students in Telfer School of Management, Faculty of Arts, and Faculty of Engineering. Design is a significant aspect of research in Digital Transformation and Innovation. This includes: design and implementation of applications, information design, visual literacy, user experience, and audience research. 

Telfer School of Management

• Digital Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Customer Experience Design and Relationship Management
• Business Analytics and Business Intelligence
• Health Systems Innovation and Management
• Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategic Management
• Business Technology Management (including IT Diffusion, Adoption and Consumerization)
• Globalization, Governance, and Sustainability

Faculty of Arts

• Algorithmic culture, platformatization, and datafication
• Information and communication regulation and policy
• Privacy and surveillance
• Cultural, economic, political, and social impacts of innovation in digital networks and applications
• Information governance and ethics

Faculty of Engineering

• Applied Data Science
• User Experience
• Digital Health
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things

Other Programs Offered Within the Same Discipline or in a Related Area

• Master of Science Digital Transformation and Innovation
• Master of Digital Transformation and Innovation 
• Master of Digital Transformation and Innovation with Concentration in UX Design
• Master of Digital Transformation and Innovation with Concentration in Applied Data Science

Fees and Funding

• Program fees

The estimated amount for  university fees  associated with this program are available under the section  Finance your studies .

International students enrolled in a French-language program of study may be eligible for a  differential tuition fee exemption .

• To learn about possibilities for financing your graduate studies, consult the  Awards and financial support  section.
• Programs are governed by the  general regulations  in effect for graduate studies at the University of Ottawa.
• In accordance with the University of Ottawa regulation, students have the right to complete their assignments, examinations, research papers, and theses in French or in English.

Program Contact Information

Graduate Studies Office, Faculty of Engineering STE 1024 800 King Edward Ave. Ottawa ON Canada K1N 6N5

Tel.: 613-562-5347 Fax.: 613-562-5129 Email:  [email protected]

Twitter | Faculty of Engineering Facebook | Faculty of Engineer

For the most accurate and up to date information on application deadlines, language tests and other admission requirements, please visit the  specific requirements  webpage.

To be eligible, candidates must:

• MSc in Digital Transformation and Innovation, in Management, in Health Systems, or in Systems Science;
• MASc in Electrical and Computer Engineering;
• Master of Computer Science;
• Master of Information Studies;
• MA in Communication;
• A master's in a related, relevant discipline.
• International candidates must check the admission equivalences for the diploma they received in their country of origin.
• Exceptionally, applicants holding a master's degree without thesis may be considered provided their file includes scholarly publications or equivalent evidence of their capacity for advanced research.
• Identify at least one professor in the program whose research interests correspond to yours and who is willing to supervise your research and thesis. We recommend that you contact potential thesis supervisors as soon as possible. 
• DTI 7100, or an equivalent course.
• At least one course (3 units) in a field other than the candidate's chosen field of research, to be chosen from the list of optional courses in the program. 
• The additional coursework is defined by the Admissions Committee, in consultation with the potential supervisor and the Graduate Studies Committee, and is specified in the student's letter of admission. 

Language Requirements

Most courses are delivered in English as the international language for advanced information technology. However, the program will provide an appropriately supportive environment for francophone students to develop professional competence in technical English at their own pace. Students have the right, as stipulated in the University's bilingualism regulations (Academic Regulations I-2), to complete all their work, including their thesis, in the official language of their choice (French or English). There are fully bilingual professors and advisors who can support students in French.

Applicants whose first language is neither French nor English must provide proof of proficiency in the language of instruction through one of the following two requirements or one of the language tests below.

• Proof of completion within the last five years, of a previous degree program in an English language university.
• Proof of recent prolonged residence and exercise of a profession in an English speaking country (normally at least four years over the last six years).

Language tests recognized by the University of Ottawa:

• TOEFL minimum score of 600 (paper-based) with a minimum score of 50 on the written and 50 on the spoken or a minimum score of 100 (internet-based).
• IELTS minimum score of 7 for 3 of the 4 tests (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking) and a minimum score of 6 in the fourth test.
• A score of at least 14 on the CANTEST, with no individual test score below 4.0, along with a minimum score of 4.5 on the oral component of the test.
• Candidates are responsible for any fees associated with the language tests.
• Test scores cannot be more than two-years-old as of September 1 of the year of potential entry into the program. 
• The admission requirements listed above are minimum requirements and do not guarantee admission to the program.
• Admissions are governed by the  general regulations  in effect for graduate studies.

Fast-Track from Master's to PhD

Students enrolled in the MSc program in Digital Transformation and Innovation at the University of Ottawa may be eligible to fast-track directly into the doctoral program without writing a master's thesis, provided the following conditions are met:

• Completion of 12 units of MSc courses with a minimum average pf 8.5;
• Written recommendation from the proposed PhD thesis supervisor;
• Written recommendation from the Graduate Program Committee.

Requirements for this program have been modified. Please consult the  2023-2024 calendars  for the previous requirements.

Students must meet the following requirements: 1

The requirements outlined above are minimum. For information about additional courses, please see the Admissions Requirement section.

The optional course must be selected from the list of courses in the student's chosen field and must be preapproved by the Thesis Advisory Committee

The comprehensive examination is a two-part examination (written and oral) this is overseen by the Advisory Committee. Once the written exam has been passed, the student proceeds to the oral. A student who fails either component of the exam is allowed to repeat it the following term. A second failure in either component leads to withdrawal from the program. The comprehensive examination must normally be completed within 4 terms of commencing the program and, at the latest, by the end of the fifth term. Failure to sit and pass the examination by the deadline counts as a failure. Further details about the comprehensive exam are posted on the program's website. 

The thesis proposal, prepared under the direction of the thesis supervisor, must be defended to the satisfaction of the Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The proposal must normally be successfully completed by the end of the fifth term. In the event of failure, the proposal can be resubmitted and defended the following session at the latest. A second failure leads to withdrawal from the program. The proposal must be successfully defended before submitting it to the research Ethics Board (if required) and before undertaking and independent data collection. Further details about the thesis proposal are posted on the program's website. 

Students are responsible for ensuring they have met all of the thesis requirements .

Lists of Optional Courses 

Research Fields & Facilities 

Located in the heart of Canada’s capital, a few steps away from Parliament Hill, the University of Ottawa is among Canada’s top 10 research universities.

uOttawa focuses research strengths and efforts in four Strategic Areas of Development in Research (SADRs):

• Canada and the World
• Molecular and Environmental Sciences

With cutting-edge research, our graduate students, researchers and educators strongly influence national and international priorities.

DTI 5100 Introductory Seminar (1.5 unit)

Course Component: Seminar

DTI 5115 Communication Ethics (3 units)

Emphasis on the significance of ethical principles and responsibilities of public communicators, as well as sanctions faced when communicators fail to uphold these principles. Critique of self-regulation of the media. Analysis of argumentation. Study of legal precedents with respect to defamation.

DTI 5124 Internet Technologies and Mobile Commerce (3 units)

An examination of current Internet technologies, protocols and wired and wireless infrastructures. Analysis of current Internet-based businesses and consumer applications and services. Discussion of mobile commerce business models and strategies and their relevant technologies. Hands-on experience with discussed technologies and applications. Students will complete a project demonstrating and analyzing how an Internet-based application or service could be applied in their field of graduate study.

Course Component: Lecture

The courses DTI 5124 , GNG 5124 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5125 Data Science Applications (3 units)

Analysis and design of various data cleaning, wrangling, blending, and visualization, statistical inference, classification, clustering, regression, and content analysis methods. Use of machine learning algorithms to extract meaningful information from data to make decisions. Formulating analytics problems for business and developing, evaluating, and maintaining machine learning models. Analyzing, generating, and communicating insights on the models. Hands-on experience with an integrated set of current data analytics, data mining, and machine learning tools.

Courses CSI 5155 , CSI 5387 , DTI 5125 , DTI 5126 , DTO 5120 , GNG 5125 , MIA 5126 , SYS 5170 cannot be combined for units

DTI 5126 Fundamentals for Applied Data Science (3 units)

Essential data science concepts relevant to practical applications are covered including: problem formulation; data acquisition; data pre-preprocessing, modeling and statistical analysis. Hands on experience with data science tools and techniques including: supervised and unsupervised machine learning; presentation of results; applications in areas such as accounting, finance, marketing and supply chain management.

Courses DTI 5126 , DTI 5125 , DTO 5120 , IAI 5120 , MIA 5126 , SYS 5170 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5175 Mobile Commerce Technologies (3 units)

Wireless and mobile electronic commerce architecture and applications. Electronic banking, digital cash. Wireless exchanges, business models. Fixed and mobile wireless networks. Routing techniques. Content presentation. Security issues and solutions. Satellite networks for electronic commerce. Overview of relevant standards, protocols and technologies. Case studies.

DTI 5310 Ethics for Design, AI, and Robotics (3 units)

Artificial Intelligence technologies are becoming ever more present in applications like: automated vehicles and mobility-as-a-service (e.g. driving and system-level control algorithms); business intelligence (e.g. predictive resource allocation); consumer electronics (e.g. social robots and smart speakers); healthcare (e.g. image classification in medical imaging); the justice system (e.g. recidivism prediction and sentencing); and weapons systems (e.g. targeting and kill decision-making). Many of these applications are raising significant ethical concerns. A range of topics in applied technology ethics are examined through the lens of contemporary philosophy and applied ethics texts and popular media articles. Practical frameworks, methodologies and tools for anticipating, and addressing, ethical issues are introduced through hands-on, group-based design thinking workshops and projects.

Courses CSI 5195 , DTI 5310 , DTO 5310 , SYS 5170 , SYS 5295 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5380 Systems and Architectures for Electronic Commerce (3 units)

Content and transactions in e-commerce systems. System architecture with a focus on frameworks, tools and development process. Application frameworks. Information management. Security, standards, and regulatory compliance. Current research issues. Hands-on experience with an integrated set of current e-commerce tools. E-commerce development project.

DTI 5389 Electronic Commerce Technologies (3 units)

Introduction to business models and technologies. Search engines. Cryptography. Web services and agents. Secure electronic transactions. Value added e-commerce technologies. Advanced research questions.

The courses DTI 5389 , DTO 5389 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5501 Fondements de gestion pour les affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Théorie des organisations et modèles d'affaires. Cadres d'analyse de gestion. Modèles de l'avantage compétitif. Introduction aux modèles de marketing. Chaînes de valeur. La gestion par les processus. Gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement. Gestion de la qualité. Gestion des ressources humaines.

Volet : Cours magistral

DTI 5502 Fondements des technologies de l'information pour les affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Technologies d'Internet. Développement d'applications Web. Fondements des réseaux. Gestion des données et résolution de problèmes. Gestion de bases de données et d'entrepôts de données. Outils logiciels.

DTI 5503 Fondements des statistiques pour les affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Théorie élémentaire des probabilités. Statistiques descriptives. Corrélations. Tables de fréquences. Tableaux croisés. Tests statistiques. Analyse multivariée.

DTI 5902 Projet de stage en entreprise / Industry Internship Project (6 crédits / 6 units)

Projet encadré par un expert de l'industrie et un professeur qui supervise le projet. Les projets internationaux (emplacement ou expert du secteur) sont autorisés. / Project mentored by an industry expert and a professor who co-supervise the project. International projects (location or industry expert) are permitted.

Volet / Course Component: Recherche / Research

Préalable : GNG 5301 . Les cours DTI 5902 , GNG 5902 ne peuvent être combinés pour l'obtention de crédits. / Prerequisite: GNG 5301 . Courses DTI 5902 , GNG 5902 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5990 Études dirigées / Directed Readings I (1.5 crédit / 1.5 unit)

DTI 5991 Études dirigées / Directed Readings II (1.5 crédit / 1.5 unit)

DTI 6102 User Experience Principles and Practices (1.5 unit)

User experience (UX) facets including functionality, usability and desirability as key success factors for technology adoption and acceptance; Human-computer interaction (HCI) theories; UX frameworks and patterns for interaction design, information design, and visual design; UX management best practices; UX design methods and tools; UX evaluation and usability engineering.

The courses DTI 6102 , DTI 6103 , DTO 6106 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6103 User Research (1.5 unit)

Understanding users’ behaviours, needs, motivations and challenges in user experience (UX); Common user research methods including interviews, surveys, focus groups, contextual inquiries; Principles and guidelines for generative & evaluative research; methods in qualitative and quantitative user research; Tools and techniques for in-person and remote research, and moderated vs automated approaches; heuristic evaluations and usability testing.

The courses DTI 6103 , DTI 6102 , DTO 6106 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6104 Interaction Design (1.5 unit)

Principles of interaction design (IxD); Usability heuristics for user interface (UI) design; IxD tools and techniques including sketching, wireframing, and prototyping; UI design patterns for navigation, landing pages, search, and e-commerce; IxD best practices for mobile application design.

The courses DTI 6104 , DTI 6105 , DTO 6107 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6105 Design Thinking (1.5 unit)

Design thinking as a collaborative creative process for problem-solving and designing human-centered solutions. Design thinking for driving business innovation, new product development, and customer experience. Best practices for design inspiration, ideation and implementation; essential design research skills for empathy, listening, collaboration, observation, critical analysis, and experimentation. Design Thinking tools and techniques including visualization, mapping, storytelling, rapid prototyping, and testing.

The courses DTI 6105 , DTI 6104 , DTO 6107 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6130 Web Services (1.5 unit)

Web services business models and strategies. Enterprise Application Integration and Service Oriented Architectures. Web services technology standards. Consumer and enterprise adoption of web service technologies and platforms such as Mashups and Cloud Computing.

DTI 6160 Cyber Security Systems and Strategies (3 units)

User, data and network security principles. Information systems security standards. Security risk analysis frameworks. Overview of cyber security mechanisms including authentication, access control, data encryption and integrity, and Public Key Infrastructure. Cyber security including security in the wireless, cloud and IoT environments. Payment card industry security standards and compliance.

The courses DTI 6160 , MIA 6160 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6180 Strategic Knowledge Management (1.5 unit)

Leveraging a firm’s intellectual capital to enhance organizational performance. Business analysis frameworks, strategy roadmaps and enterprise architectures relevant to the planning and execution of knowledge management initiatives in organizations. Using the web to maximize knowledge acquisition and sharing among employees.

The courses DTI 6180 , MIA 6180 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6210 Electronic Commerce Architecture (1.5 unit)

Three-tier Architecture. Building an e-Commerce Site. Client and Server side Scripting. Interactivity. E-Commerce Data bases. E-CRM. Wireless Internet and m-Business. Intermediaries and Software Agents. XML applications.

DTI 6220 Data Analytics and Business Intelligence (1.5 unit)

Introduction to business data collection, data pre-processing, data warehouses, data marts, and online analytical processing. Data mining tasks including classification, clustering and association rules. Data mining model building, tools and techniques including decision trees, neural networks, and regression analysis. Application of these techniques in business including CRM, target marketing, credit scoring, churn, survival analysis, and fraud detection.

DTI 6230 Business Process Management and Performance Measurement (3 units)

Hands on introduction to Business Process Management Technologies. Review of the latest concepts for using technology to improve performance of business processes. Analysis of advances in Internet-enabled B2B and enterprise business models with emphasis on service-oriented and event-driven architecture. Introduction to current performance measurement tools and the role of data science in business process management. Example applications such as supply chain management, order processing, and health care process management will be studied.

Course Component: Laboratory, Lecture

DTI 6240 Mobile Commerce (1.5 unit)

M-Commerce business models and strategies, Wireless technology standards and evolution. Industry analysis and value creation frameworks. Diffusion and adoption of M-Commerce technologies. Demand-side and supply-side enterprise applications of M-Commerce.

DTI 6250 Document Engineering for Digital Transf. and Innovation (1.5 unit)

Digital Transf. and Innovation from a Document Engineering Perspective. E-documents as the basis for DTI relationships. Modelling DTI documents and Processes. XML as a vehicle to defining a formal structural and semantic definition for electronic documents. XML syntax, styles and transformations, Document Type Definitions, and schema languages. XML Vocabularies for DTI. XML standards, specifications, and software architectures for DTI. E-documents within the enterprise. E-document exchanges for multi-company business activities.

DTI 6260 Integrated Networks for the Enterprise (1.5 unit)

OSI reference model. LAN characteristics. Interconnecting LAN. Interconnecting with TCP/IP. Routing protocols. IPv6. WAN options. Security protocols. VPN. Enterprise-Wide Solutions.

DTI 6287 Business Intelligence Technologies & Big Data Analytics (1.5 unit)

Business Intelligence (BI) as a concept; review of major BI tools and methods; identification of the right types of BI for different types of decision making environments; introduction to Big Data; business applications of Big Data; review of the supporting technologies such as data bases and data warehouses and Big Data Platforms for integrating structured and unstructured data including Hadoop, sandbox analytics; Streaming Analytics, and advances in data warehousing appliances that accelerate analytics.

Courses DTI 6287 , ADM 6287 and ADM 6275 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6300 Topics in Digital Transformation and Innovation (3 units)

Recent and advanced topics in the field of Digital Transformation and Innovation and its related areas. Topics vary from year to year.

DTI 6301 Topics in Digital Transformation and Innovation (1.5 unit)

DTI 6302 Topics in Applied Data Science (3 units)

Recent and advanced topics in the field of Applied Data Science and its related areas. Topics vary from year to year.

DTI 6303 Topics in Applied Data Science (1.5 unit)

DTI 6304 Topics in User Experience Design (3 units)

Recent and advanced topics in the field of User Experience Design and its related areas. Topics vary from year to year.

DTI 6305 Topics in User Experience Design (1.5 unit)

DTI 6402 Affective and Persuasive Computing (3 units)

Overview of human affective models and affect modalities. Design and development of affect estimation algorithms using artificial intelligence. Modality fusion and multimodal affect estimation. Persuasive technology and its applications. Persuasion design and persuasive strategies. Application of persuasive strategies in serious gaming. Current challenges in the fields of affective computing and persuasive technology.

DTI 6700 Thèmes choisis en affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Sujets actuels et avancés en affaires électroniques et disciplines connexes. Les sujets varient d'une année à l'autre.

DTI 6701 Thèmes choisis en affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

DTI 6900 Stage international / International Work Term (3 crédits / 3 units)

Expérience pratique dans un milieu de travail international. Noté S (satisfaisant) / NS (non satisfaisant) selon les résultats de rapport écrit et l'évaluation de l'employeur. / Practical international experience.

Volet / Course Component: Cours magistral / Lecture

DTI 6950 Lectures dirigées / Directed Readings (1.5 crédit / 1.5 unit)

DTI 6997 Projet de recherche / Research project (6 crédits / 6 units)

Le sujet de recherche, ainsi que le professeur qui va le diriger, doivent être approuvés par la direction du programme avant l'inscription à la troisième session. Le sujet peut être de nature théorique (par exemple, une évaluation de la documentation ou une étude de la littérature scientifique) ou appliquée (par exemple, des études de cas). Un mémoire, d'une cinquantaine de pages, doit être rédigé et approuvé par le professeur qui le dirige ainsi qu'un autre professeur. / The research topic and the professor who will direct it must be approved by the program director prior to registration in the third session. The topic can be theoretical (for instance, based on a documentation assessment or a review of the scientific literature) or applied (based on case studies). A research paper, about 50 pages long, must be written and approved by the project director and another professor.

DTI 7100 Research Methods in Digital Transf. and Innovation (3 units)

Philosophy of Science. Research problem definition. Research Designs. Experimental Research. Modeling principles: analytical modeling and simulation. Measurement and scaling. Sampling. Hypotheses testing and statistical significance. Multivariate Analysis. Mathematical properties of computational problems: decidability and computability. Qualitative methods. Writing a Research Manuscript. Presentation of research results.

DTI 7101 Research Workshop in Digital Transf. and Innovation (1.5 unit)

Writing a Research Project proposal including problem formulation and work plan. Essentials of graduate report writing, information management, literature search techniques and reference management. Research ethics including academic integrity and avoiding academic fraud.

DTI 7102 Interdisciplinary Research Methods in Digital Transf. and Innovation (1.5 unit)

Writing a Thesis Proposal. Research design. Introduction to positivist and interpretive approaches, behavioral and design science research, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and sampling strategies and techniques.

DTI 7103 Visual Literacy and User Experience Design Principles (3 units)

Fundamentals of visual, interaction and motion design theories and principles as they relate to User Experience Design (UXD). A series of hands-on workshops and assignments focus on building visual literacy through guided observations, visual design critiques, and visual redesigns of existing screen-based digital products (i.e. website, interactive kiosk interface, mobile app etc.). Students will complete a design project. Students will conduct research and scholarship in visual literacy, and UXD and justify their design decisions in writing.

The courses DTI 7103 , DTO 7103 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 7990 Proposition de thèse / Thesis Proposal

DTI 8101 Interdisciplinary Doctoral Seminar in Digital Transformation and Innovation I (3 units)

Recent developments in Digital Transformation and Innovation research. Critical analysis of theories, models, and methods. Critical synthesis of the field literature from different perspectives. Students will write a systematic survey paper of the literature relevant to their research in one of the three fields of the program. The paper must be in a different field from that selected for the paper in DTI 8102 . Course reserved for students in the Digital Transformation and Innovation PhD program.

DTI 8102 Interdisciplinary Doctoral Seminar in Digital Transformation and Innovation II (3 units)

Recent developments in Digital Transformation and Innovation research. Critical analysis of theories, models, and methods. Critical synthesis of the field literature from different perspectives. Students will write a systematic survey paper of the literature relevant to their research in one of the three fields of the program. The paper must be in a different field from that selected for the paper in DTI 8101 . Course reserved for students in the Digital Transformation and Innovation PhD program.

DTI 9997 Projet de thèse doctoral / Doctorate Thesis Proposal

DTI 9998 Examen général de doctorat / Comprehensive Exam

Undergraduate Studies

For more information about undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa, please refer to your faculty .

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

For more information about graduate studies at the University of Ottawa, please refer to your academic unit .

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Business Administration Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree

Request Info about graduate study Visit Apply

Advancing your knowledge and practice through research and the exploration of the latest trends and biggest challenges found at the intersection of business and technological innovation.

Overview for Business Administration Ph.D.

The Ph.D. in business administration is designed to inspire and train scholars to identify, investigate, and solve novel business challenges that influence business and society, particularly, those that are triggered by technological changes. Our program has a sharp emphasis on the effects of technological innovation on discipline-based theories and research. Our faculty adopt an apprenticeship model in working with students to become independent scholars, cutting-edge researchers, and well-trained educators at research-oriented universities.

The program offers three areas of specialization:

Digital Transformation: Digital transformation emphasizes the integration of digital technologies that have altered the marketing of products and services, as well as the management of information systems. In this area of specialization, you will study the design and development of digital artifacts and their implications for interpersonal interaction, analyze the modes of human information processing in digitally transformed business contexts, and theorize the emergence of new business models and ways of organizing in digitally immersive environments.

Strategy and Innovation: A distinct feature of 21st century competition is the pivotal role played by technological innovation as a competitive advantage for organizations. In the strategy and innovation specialization, research emphasizes the growing role of technological capabilities and innovation-based products and processes as a source of competitive advantage. You will acquire knowledge and skills to address novel research questions about firm-level strategy and innovation-related challenges faced by managers and policy makers.

Finance and Accounting: The finance and accounting specialization emphasizes new challenges and research areas that have emerged from technological innovations within finance and accounting disciplines. These areas include FinTech, high-frequency trading, alternative trading systems (dark pool and ECNs), crowdfunding platforms, P2P lending platforms, blockchains, cryptocurrencies, data analytic tools in auditing and credit rating, digital transformation of SEC filings and corporate disclosures. In this area of specialization, you will study the antecedents and consequences of technology in finance and accounting.

Online Graduate Information Sessions

Join us to learn how graduate business programs at RIT help further your career objectives.

Learn more and register

At the intersection of innovation, technology and business, Saunders faculty consistently publish their research in elite journals across the following three Ph.D. specialty areas.

• Digital Transformation
• Finance and Accounting
• Strategy and Innovation

Learn more about Business Administration Ph.D. research

Ettore Spadafora

Michael Palanski

Ashok Robin

Featured Work

Research Insights: Health Communication Technology and COVID-19

Emi Moriuchi, Quang Bui

The effects of dashboards and tracking apps on gaining compliance

Research Insights: The Interplay of Sustainability and Accounting

The dynamics between auditors' sustainability focus and their clients' reporting activities

Research Insights: Cognitive Dissonance in investor decision-making

Zhijian Huang

Good news, bad news: How cognitive dissonance plays a role in investor decision-making

Featured Profiles

Ph.D. student from Iran

Ph.D. student, Negin Haghi from Iran

Ph.D. student from Delta, Nigeria

Ph.D. Student, Cindy Achedu Okoh from Delta, Nigeria

Ph.D. student from Trivandrum, India

Ph.D. student, Biju Babukutty Varghese from Trivandrum, India

Latest News

February 9, 2024

Doctoral degrees continue to expand

RIT’s Ph.D. programs continue to grow. Today, RIT enrolls more than 450 doctoral students, including a record 112 new Ph.D. students who started last fall.

September 13, 2023

RIT president charts vision for future during State of the University Address

In his welcome to the community for the start of a new academic year, RIT President David Munson asserted the university is well positioned to thrive while laying out “challenges, opportunities, and vision” for RIT’s future.

August 24, 2023

Saunders College of Business at RIT launches innovative Ph.D. in business administration

Saunders College of Business is entering its first cohort of students into the college’s new Ph.D. in business administration this fall, marking the university’s inaugural social sciences doctoral program. The program is designed to inspire and train scholars to identify, investigate, and solve unique business challenges that influence business and society.

Curriculum for 2023-2024 for Business Administration Ph.D.

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

Business Administration, Ph.D. degree, typical course sequence

Focus Areas

Students must declare a focus area in either Finance & Accounting, Strategy & Innovation or Digital Transformation. The tables below detail the courses for each focus area and corresponding support area and graduate electives.

Finance and Accounting Focus Area Courses

Finance and Accounting Support Area Courses

Strategy & Innovation Focus Area Courses

Strategy & Innovation Support Area Courses

Group a courses.

Group B Courses

Digital Transformation Focus Area Courses

Digital Transformation Support Area Courses

SCB Graduate Electives

Please discuss with your advisor about which electives aligns with the focus area

* Students can take either ACCT-858 or FINC-858, not both

** Students can take either MGIS-812 or MKTG-81, not both

Admissions and Financial Aid

This program is available on-campus only.

Full-time study is 9+ semester credit hours. International students requiring a visa to study at the RIT Rochester campus must study full‑time.

Application Details

To be considered for admission to the Business Administration Ph.D. program, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

• Complete an online graduate application . 
• Submit copies of official transcript(s) (in English) of all previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work, including any transfer credit earned.
• Hold a baccalaureate degree (or US equivalent) from an accredited university or college.
• A recommended minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (or equivalent).
• Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae.
• Submit a statement of purpose for research which will allow the Admissions Committee to learn the most about you as a prospective researcher.
• Submit two letters of recommendation .
• Entrance exam requirements: GMAT or GRE required. No minimum score requirement.
• Writing samples are optional.
• Submit English language test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic), if required. Details are below.

English Language Test Scores

International applicants whose native language is not English must submit one of the following official English language test scores. Some international applicants may be considered for an English test requirement waiver .

International students below the minimum requirement may be considered for conditional admission. Each program requires balanced sub-scores when determining an applicant’s need for additional English language courses.

How to Apply   Start or Manage Your Application

Cost and Financial Aid

An RIT graduate degree is an investment with lifelong returns. Ph.D. students typically receive full tuition and an RIT Graduate Assistantship that will consist of a research assistantship (stipend) or a teaching assistantship (salary).

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Digital Business Strategy

How to design, build, and future-proof a business in the digital age.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Copyright year: 2024
• Audience: Executive leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, professional advisers, students in digital transformation, business and strategy.
• Front matter: 17
• Main content: 396
• Coloured Illustrations: 61
• Keywords: Digital Transformation ; Digital Strategy ; Digital Business ; Business Strategy ; Digitisation ; Innovation
• Published: November 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9783111034713
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Ph.D. in Business with a Management and Strategy Area of Focus

Please note: This degree program is designed as a joint program between Management and Strategic Management & Public Policy, so the coursework consists of core courses as well as courses that are specific to one of those two fields.

Program and Curriculum

Learn about the program's curriculum and comprehensive examination requirement.

Learn More About the Program & Curriculum

Admission and Financial Aid

Learn about admissions and the costs of pursuing a Ph.D. in management and strategy, and explore a variety of resources available to help finance your degree.

Learn More About Admission and Financial Aid

An overview of the research activities of our students and faculty.

Learn More About Program Research

The objective of the Management and Strategic Management & Public Policy doctoral program is to prepare students for research-oriented academic positions. The program is built on a strong foundation that consists of a critical mass of research-oriented faculty and a strong research climate. The program is cross-disciplinary by building on the faculty and research in both management and strategy. Students receive a foundation in both management and strategic management and public policy with the ability to focus on developing a research competence in a chosen field of study.

Students must meet all the general requirements of the doctoral program of the School of Business (see the Ph.D. Handbook), and meet any additional requirements of the student’s field of study.

Learn more about the Management/Strategic Management & Public Policy doctoral program at the GW School of Business from this open house on December 9, 2021.

Meet Our Doctoral Students

Lauryn Burnett

Doctoral Student of Management

Amando Cope

Ursula Martin

Urusha Thapa

Doctoral Student of Strategic Management and Public Policy

Doctoral Program Graduates and Career Placement

View the dissertation title, dissertation committee members, and current job titles of each graduate below their name.

Soolim Park (Ph.D. 2024)

• Natural Disasters and Firms’ Climate Change Mitigation (Jorge E. Rivera, Chair; Jorge Walter, Herman Aguinis, Jennifer Oetzel, Brendan Hurley)
• Assistant Professor, NEOMA Business School
• Google Scholar Profile
• Personal website

Hannah Kremer (Ph.D. 2022)

Sharing Without Caring: How Self-Concealment Influences Idea Creativity at Work (Margaret Ormiston, Chair; Herman Aguinis, Jack Goncalo, Katina Sawyer)

DEI Lead, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Joowon Lee (Ph.D. 2022)

Examining the Effects of CEO Big Five Personality Traits on Technological Innovation: Evidence from S&P 500 Firms (James R. Bailey, Chair; George T. Solomon, D. Christopher Kayes, Joonmahn Lee)

Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Kerrigan Unter (Ph.D. 2022)

• California Wineries and Climate Change: Extreme Weather Events, Resource-Supply Adaptation, and Wine Quality (Jorge Rivera, Chair; Magali Delmas; Martina Linnenluecke; Michael Mann; Jorge Walter)
• Postdoctoral research fellow for the Institute for Economy and the Environment at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
• Google Scholar profile

Isabel Villamor (Ph.D. 2022)

How Virtual Work Changes Implicit Leadership Theories: Consequences for Leaders’ Evaluation (N. Sharon Hill, Chair; Herman Aguinis, Margaret Ormiston, Lynn R. Offermann)

Assistant Professor, IESE Business School

Nawaf Alabduljader (Ph.D. 2018)

New Venture Team Personality and New Venture Success (George T. Solomon, Chair; Herman Aguinis, D. Christopher Kayes, Charles H. Matthews)

Assistant Professor, Kuwait University

Ravi Ramani (Ph.D. 2018)

Invigorated and Checked-In or Depleted and Checked-Out? A Person-Centric Examination of the Effects of Voice on Employee Burnout and Turnover Intention (Herman Aguinis, Chair; James R. Bailey, Jorge Walter, N. Andrew Cohen)

Assistant Professor, Morgan State University

Viviane Clement (Ph.D. 2017)

• From Adaptation to Transformation: A Resilience Perspective on Organizational Responses to Ecological Adversity (Jorge Rivera, Chair; Tima Bansal; Michael Mann; James Wade; Jorge Walter)
• Senior Policy Analyst, World Bank

Young Hun Ji (Ph.D. 2017)

Understanding the Gender Performance Gap Among Star Performers in STEM Fields (Herman Aguinis, Chair; N. Andrew Cohen, N. Sharon Hill, James B. Wade)

Senior Data Scientist, Aiven

Lili Yan (Ph.D. 2016)

• Corruption in a Multinational Context: Two Essays (Robert J. Weiner, Co-Chair; Timothy L. Fort, Co-Chair; Jennifer J. Griffin; Steven R. Salbu; Eun-Hee Kim)
• Assistant Professor of Business Ethics, St. Mary’s College

Yoona Youm (Ph.D. 2016)

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Business Groups: An Examination of Korean Business Groups, Chaebols, and the Initiation of CSR Programs (Jennifer J. Griffin, Chair; Susan L. Kulp; Vanessa Perry; Anupama Phene)
• Assistant Professor, Loyola University-Chicago

Kevin May (Ph.D. 2015)

• Entrepreneurial Founder Team Composition and Its Influence on Firm Performance: A Social Capital Perspective (George T. Solomon, Chair; Erik K. Winslow, N. Andrew Cohen, Vanessa G. Perry, Shivraj Kanungo)
• Assistant Professor of Practice, The Catholic University of America; Co-Founder, GenB, Inc.

Juan Roeschmann (Ph.D. 2015)

• Is Environmental Certification Associated with Price Premiums? The Case of Costa Rica Hotel and Community Certification Programs (Jorge Rivera, Chair; Eun-Hee Kim; Donald Hawkins; Jorge Walter; Robert Savickas)
• Consultant and Partner, RG Group

Smita Trivedi (Ph.D. 2014)

• Creating Livelihoods: Indian Women Entrepreneur Networks in the Context of Poverty (Timothy L. Fort, Co-Chair; Jennifer J. Griffin, Co-Chair; Stuart L. Hart; Vanessa G. Perry; Shaista E. Khilji; Alex V. Krasnikov)
• Associate Professor, San Francisco State University

Jeewhan Yoon (Ph.D. 2014)

• Team Learning and Financial Performance: The Effects of Psychological Safety and Team Supervisor Support (D. Christopher Kayes, Chair; Patrick P. McHugh, George T. Solomon, N. Sharon Hill, Lynn R. Offermann)
• Professor, Korea University

Vivianna Fang He (Ph.D. 2013)

• Learning from Failure: The Making of Entrepreneurial Leaders (George T. Solomon, Chair; James R. Bailey, Shyam Giridharadas, D. Christopher Kayes, Sheetal Singh)
• Associate Professor, University of St. Gallen

Patricia Kanashiro (Ph.D. 2013)

• Corporate Environmental Strategy: Institutional and Governance Perspectives (Jorge Rivera, Chair; Mark Starik; Rafael Lucea; Timothy Fort; Martha Carter)
• Associate Professor, Loyola University Maryland

Jae Hyeung Kang (Ph.D. 2012)

• CEOs' Transformational Leadership and Managers' Innovative Behavior: The Investigation of Intervening Effects in an Entrepreneurial Context (George T. Solomon, Chair; Erik K. Winslow, Sheetal Singh, D. Christopher Kayes, Ayman E. Tarabishy)
• Associate Professor, Oakland University

Crystal Han-Huei Tsay (Ph.D. 2012)

• Understanding Students' Adaptation to Graduate School: An Integration of Social Support Theory and Social Learning Theory (D. Christopher Kayes, Chair; Erik K. Winslow, N. Sharon Hill, George T. Solomon, Shyam Giridharadas)
• Deputy Head of the Executive Business Centre and Associate Professor, University of Greenwich

Charles Koerber (Ph.D. 2011)

• Lending to Low- and Moderate-Income Borrowers: The Impact of Lender Board Composition, Stakeholder Outreach, and Regulatory Environment (Jennifer J. Griffin, Chair; Timothy Fort; Vanessa G. Perry; J. Howard Beales, III; Ernie Englander)

Junghyun Lee (Ph.D. 2011)

• The Effects of Leadership Behavior on Workplace Harassment, Employee Outcomes, and Organizational Effectiveness in Small Businesses (Jaclyn M. Jensen, Chair; George T. Solomon, Tjai M. Nielsen, M. Susan Taylor, Lynn R. Offermann)
• Associate Professor, University of Michigan-Dearborn

J. Mark Phillips (Ph.D. 2011)

• The Entrepreneurial Esquire: Entrepreneurial Climate as a Mediator Between Transformational Leadership and Performance in Law Firms (Erik K. Winslow, Chair; George T. Solomon, James R. Bailey, Ayman E. Tarabishy, N. Sharon Hill)
• Associate Professor, Belmont University

Peter Tashman (Ph.D. 2011)

• Corporate Climate Change Adaptation, Vulnerability and Environmental Performance in the United States Ski Resort Industry (Jorge Rivera, Chair; Mark Starik; Tim Fort; Eun-Hee Kim; Jennifer Spencer)
• Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts-Lowell

David A. Tomczyk (Ph.D. 2010)

• The Relationship Between Long-Term Video Game Playing and Individuals' Entrepreneurial Traits and Intent: An Exploratory Study (George T. Solomon, Chair; Erik K. Winslow, John M. Artz, N. Sharon Hill, Ayman E. Tarabishy)
• Associate Professor, Quinnipiac University

Michelle Westermann-Behaylo (Ph.D. 2010)

• The relationship between corporate ethical climate and stakeholder management (Timothy L. Fort, Chair; Jorge Rivera; Shawn L. Berman)
• Faculty, University of Amsterdam

Timothy S. Clark (Ph.D. 2009)

• Strategic orientation toward sustainability: The role of investor relations officers (Mark Starik, Chair; Timothy Fort; Vanessa G. Perry)
• Associate Professor, Northern Arizona University (Retired)

George Hrivnak (Ph.D. 2009)

• Extending a model of leader-member exchange development: Individual and dyadic effects of personality, similarity and liking (Tjai M. Nielsen, Chair; James R. Bailey, Lynn R. Offermann)
• Associate Professor of Management and Associate Dean - Learning & Teaching, Bond University (Australia)

Kristin M. Lamoureux (Ph.D. 2009)

• Success factors of cross-sector volunteer tourism partnerships involving U.S. federal land agencies (Donald E. Hawkins, Chair; Larry Yu; Jorge Rivera)
• Director of the MSBA-HTM Graduate program and Collegiate Professor, Virginia Tech University

Lu Zhang (Ph.D. 2008)

• Corporate social responsibility, applicants' ethical predispositions, and organizational attraction: A person-organization fit perspective (Mary A. Gowan, Chair; Timothy Fort, Jaclyn M. Jensen, Patrick P. McHugh, Cynthia Kay Stevens)
• Associate Professor, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)

Elizabeth Alexander (Ph.D. 2007)

• The effects of institutional environment upon innovation and performance: Collaborative external knowledge strategies in the cellular telephone industry (Jennifer Spencer, Chair; Hildy Teegan; Ernie Englander; Bing-Sheng Teng; Paul Almeida)
• Reader in International Management, Head of Leadership, Work & Organisation Subject Group, Newcastle University

Jie Jiao (Ph.D. 2007)

• International acquisition strategies of Chinese firms: A multi -theoretic examination (Bing-Sheng Teng, Chair; Jiawen Yang; Ernie Englander; Lee Burke; Jennifer Spencer)
• Professor, Tsinghua University

Gary A. Bojes (Ph.D. 2006)

• Orchestrating strategy implementation: A grounded theory approach to environmental management in strategies focused on the Chesapeake Bay (Mark Starik, Chair; James Thurman; Richard Donnelly; Pradeep Rau)
• Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Thomas A. Hemphill (Ph.D. 2005)

• Cooperative strategy and technology standards-setting: A study of United States wireless telecommunications industry standards development (James Thurman, Chair; Robert Rycroft; Joel Cook; Ernie Englander; Nicholas Vonortas)
• David M French Professor and Professor of Management, The University of Michigan-Flint

Pramila Rao (Ph.D. 2005)

• Executive staffing practices in United States of America-Mexico business joint ventures (Paul M. Swiercz, Chair; John F. Lobuts Jr., Donna Lind Infeld, Hildy J. Teegen, Mary A. Gowan, Jennifer W. Spencer)
• Associate Professor of Human Resource Management, Marymount University

Kalpana Seethepalli (Ph.D. 2005)

• Risk, structure and performance: An analysis of private investor strategies in emerging economy electricity markets (Hildy Teegan, Chair; Jennifer Spencer; Mark Starik; Bing-Sheng Teng; Jonathan Doh)
• ESG Director, Deutsche Bank

Gurneeta Vasudeva (Singh) (Ph. D. 2005)

• How national institutions influence firms' knowledge -building alliance strategies: A longitudinal study of fuel cell technology development (Jennifer Spencer, Co-Chair; Hildy Teegan, Co-Chair; Nicholas Vonortas; Ernie Englander; Paul Almeida)
• Associate Professor, University of Minnesota

Souha Riad Ezzedeen (Ph.D. 2003)

• Rethinking Work-life Balance: Development and Validation of the Cognitive Intrusion of Work Scale (Paul M. Swiercz, Chair; William C. Adams, John F. Lobuts Jr., E. Gustave Marits, Gordon E. Dehler, John L. Glascock)
• Associate Professor, York University (Canada)

Stephen McGuire (Ph.D. 2003)

• Entrepreneurial organizational culture: Construct definition and instrument development and validation (Patrick P. McHugh, Chair; John F. Lobuts Jr., E. Gustave Marits, Richard G. Donnelly, Theorore H. Rosen, William R. Baber)
• Professor of Management, California State University at Los Angeles

James D. Oldson (Ph.D. 2003)

• A comparative analysis of the predictive strengths of an assessment center and a 360-degree evaluation process to forecast managerial performance in entry-level managers (Mark Starik, Chair; Kathryn Newcomer; Marilyn Liebrenz-Himes; Larry Williams; Charles Toftoy)

Jeffrey L. Cummings (Ph.D. 2002)

• Knowledge transfer across R&D units: An empirical investigation of the factors affecting successful knowledge transfer across intra- and inter-organizational units (James Thurman, Chair; Richard Donnelly; Ernie Englander; Bing-Sheng Teng; Nancy Dixon)
• Professor, Loyola University Maryland

Mark A. Heuer (Ph.D. 2001)

• Firm-stakeholder connectedness in the deregulating electric utility business: Exchange relationships in a network context (Mark Starik, Chair; Pradeep Rau; Ernie Englander; Bing-Sheng Teng; Sharon Levin)
• Associate Professor, Susquehanna University (Retired)

Jonathan P. Doh (Ph.D. 2001)

• Private investment, entrepreneurial entry, and partner collaboration in emerging markets telecommunications: The impact of country, industry, and firm-level factors (Hildy Teegan, Chair; Mark Starik; Aseem Prakash; Jennifer Spencer; Sidney Weintraub)
• Associate Dean of Research and Global Engagement; Herbert G. Rammrath Endowed Chair in International Business; Co-Faculty Director, The Elenore and Robert F. Moran Sr. Center for Global Leadership; Professor, Management & Operations, Villanova University

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Business Strategy

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Key Concepts

Who will benefit, mid-career professionals, general managers, consultants and investors.

What You Earn

Certificate of Completion

Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

Earn by: completing this course

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Prove your mastery of strategy

Earn by: completing any three courses within this subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

Creating Value for Customers

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Adding value through complements.

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How to Formulate a Successful Business Strategy

Our difference, about the professor.

Felix Oberholzer-Gee Business Strategy

Dates & eligibility.

No current course offerings for this selection.

All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization .

Learner Stories

Business Strategy FAQs

What are the learning requirements in order to successfully complete the course, and how are grades assigned.

Participants in Business Strategy are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This will mean meeting each week’s course module deadlines and fully answering questions posed therein. This helps ensure your cohort proceeds through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect participation in the social learning elements of the course by offering feedback on others’ reflections and contributing to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Business Strategy. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

What materials will I have access to after completing Business Strategy?

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program.

How should I list my certificate on my resume?

Once you've earned your Certificate of Completion, list it on your resume along with the date of completion:

Harvard Business School Online Certificate in Business Strategy [Cohort Start Month and Year]

List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

School: Harvard Business School Online Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program] Degree: Other; Certificate in Business Strategy Field of Study: Leave blank Grade: "Complete" Activities and Societies: Leave blank

Description: Business Strategy is a 6-week, 30-35 hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Business Strategy equips professionals with a simplified framework they can immediately apply to create value for customers, employees, and suppliers while maximizing returns and an organization’s competitive edge. Participants learn to evaluate trade-offs and align, prioritize, and formulate strategic initiatives for the greatest business impact.

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How to Build a Digital Marketing Strategy and Action Plan

What type of content do you primarily create?

Consider any kind of business, from a store that sells model trains to a law firm that sells legal representation to a restaurant that sells its food and unique ambiance: each has a product or service it wants a consumer to pay for. 

Most companies employ a marketing strategy of some kind to sell their product or service. These days, that strategy almost certainly involves using digital channels to make the world aware they exist and convince consumer to buy their stuff. If they don’t have a digital marketing strategy like that, they should. 

Digital marketing strategy is a subset or one piece of an overall marketing strategy. The basic goal of digital marketing is the same but uses exclusively digital technologies to accomplish the goal. Strategic digital marketing is driven by data, and digital marketers rely on information they can collect that will help them analyze consumer behavior, their engagement rate with their audience, and in turn, tailor their tactics to their audience.

What is a digital marketing strategy? 

A digital marketing strategy is a plan companies make to reach specific business goals using a mix of marketing channels. Before a company begins choosing its mix of paid, earned, and owned media, it needs to examine both its goals and its customer base. There are three important pillars in a digital marketing strategy:

• The user. Some digital marketers call this first pillar the “User Journey,” as it describes a potential customer’s interaction with a brand from discovery to loyalty. Consider the marketing funnel , which describes the stages in customer engagement, from awareness, to interest or evaluation, to purchase, to loyalty.
• Digital channels. Marketing channels are the different vehicles companies use to great touchpoints with their customers. Some examples of these are social media, referral traffic through other websites, organic searches (like Google), paid searches, and email marketing.
• Creative and content. The content you decide to place on digital channels is strategically motivated by the first two pillars. Once you understand your customer and how they’re most likely to engage with your business, you can get to the brass tacks of creative format (ad banners, video ads, text ads) and content (blogs, videos, infographics).

 6 key tactics of a social marketing strategy 

While a marketing strategy is the plan to help achieve your goal, the tactics of the strategy are the concrete steps embedded in your strategy to help you reach the goal. 

Some tactics used in a digital marketing strategy include, but are not limited to: 

• SEO. The idea behind search engine optimization is to get your content to rank high on Google (or Bing, if that’s your thing). Companies will incorporate certain keywords related to a search term or a series of terms onto their website, through the text on their homepage, or through a blog. Search engines find these key terms when a person searches for them, determine that the page will satisfy a user’s search, and will bump pages up in search order to the position the algorithm deems to be the most relevant for a search term. If Google robots decide your content is the best thing on the web for a specific term, then you get the number 1 spot.  
• Pay-per-click marketing. This form of paid advertising allows marketers to buy traffic that will direct from other websites or search engines. They’ll pay a fee each time the ad is accessed. It’s similar to SEO in that you get your website at the top of the search results page, but rather than doing it organically, you are paying for that privileged position. 
• Content marketing. By becoming a trusted source of information or a leading voice in their industry, companies can create loyal customers and build brand recognition. Content marketing is a long game—it may not have an immediate return on investment but can build long-term loyalty.
• Social media. According to the Pew Research Center , 72% of Americans today use some type of social media as of 2021. 7 in 10 Facebook users and 6 in 10 Instagram users visit their sites at least once daily. A company can use social media to disseminate information about themselves, their products, or to simply connect with their customers. You can also attract more eyeballs to your page by paying for post promotion, which will push your content in front of demographics who might be inclined to buy what you’re selling.
• Video production. In all the ways people consume media, video has skyrocketed most dramatically in the past two years. According to YouTube Internal Data , there has been an 800% increase in global watch time of ad-supported and purchased video in the last year. YouTube has over 2 billion active monthly users and streams more than 1 billion hours of video each day. A company can leverage those users and that time spent watching videos to their advantage by posting unique content, like behind-the-scenes tours of their operations or interviews with key employees. Similar to social media, video provides a way to connect with your customer base.  

How the digital marketing strategy process works

 As a digital marketer (or as someone who runs a small company and who wears many hats, including CEO, CFO, and CMO) you can understand the strategies behind digital marketing campaigns and tactics to employ, but getting started on actually executing the campaign is another beast entirely. Here is a step-by-step instruction checklist on beginning to create a digital marketing strategy. 

• Create buyer personas. Knowing your customer is different in the digital age. These days, companies build composite buyer personas using research, surveys, and interviews to understand their customer’s age, income, priorities, challenges, and concerns of their customers. By using web analytics tools, you can identify where website traffic originates, which assists in where to direct your paid or organic content. Figure out who your customer is so you can better tailor your campaign. Part of this process is understanding your audience and evaluating their behavior in the market (does your customer typically buy your product at a certain time of the year or month, for example). ‍
• Set marketing objectives to identify KPIs. Digital marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable business goals that help companies set expectations and track their return. The metrics a company might track include sales or leads, or even indicators such as the amount of time a potential customer spent browsing your site. You should determine which KPIs you will use to measure the success of your campaigns before you begin.  ‍
• Develop a strategic plan . In formulating your plan, you should evaluate your existing digital vehicles—that is how and where you are going to place ads or content (on which websites or posted to which social media accounts). You can then figure out which combination of owned, earned, and paid media you’ll use across these vehicles to diversify your marketing portfolio. For instance, digital assets are the sites and profiles your company owns, earned media is the exposure your company gains through press mentions or positive reviews, and paid media refers to channels on which you pay to advertise. Figure out how you are going to use each of these levers to your advantage. For example, you could place ads on different news sites about your product (which is digital marketing) in combination with a press release and launch event to get articles written about that product so customers see both the ads and a (hopefully glowing) review of your new product (which is more traditional marketing).  ‍
• Implement the plan. You’ve done all of this work and research, and it’s time to put it all into action. This could take days, weeks, months, or even years to complete so get ready for a ride. You might consider starting up your channels and then cross-promoting. For instance, promote a new website over social media. ‍
• Evaluate and analyze. Once your channels are up and running, you can track their success. If owned and earned media are booming, you might be able to ease up on paid media. Work through your initial strategy and adjust as needed depending on how the market responds.

3 digital marketing strategies that worked

Here are some well-known digital marketing strategies that have been successful using owned and earned media and employing a variety of tactics. 

• GoPro: Earned Media User-Made Video. The action camera company uploaded its first video to YouTube in 2009, but users surged during the Coronavirus lockdown. In 2021, its YouTube channel hit 10 million subscribers. Much of the content on GoPro’s channel was created by users, making it a wildly successful earned media campaign. GoPro encouraged its users to post their own adventures online and tag the company, which created a loyal community and promoted the product. ‍
• ‍ Wayfair: Owned Media Instagram Tags. The online home furnishings store created a digital marketing campaign in which Instagram users can buy products straight from the Instagram Shopping app. Consumers cut out the extra steps involved in leaving social media to go to a website, and Wayfair can boost its revenue right from Instagram. This is a quickly growing way of marketing to consumers, used both by influencers who make a profit on their referrals that sell through the shopping app, and by the merchants themselves who sell directly. ‍
• Red Bull: Owned Media Lifestyle News. As early as the 1990s, energy drink company Red Bull began sponsoring a “Flugtag” competition, a rally in which small teams build handmade contraptions powered by gravity and constructed of environmentally friendly materials, to see how far they can get over the water before they (inevitably) fall in. This fun and ingenious competition has been held in over 35 countries, and since the rise in social media, has been just one of Red Bull’s smart campaigns to sell buyers on a high-flying (literally) lifestyle, not just on the drink.

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