DPhil Management | Saïd Business School

About the programme

Our doctoral training will immerse you in all aspects of academic life.

You will be both a student and a junior research colleague. We provide courses in a wide variety of research methods and you will work closely with your supervisors to define your research question and develop your thesis. In addition, you will have opportunities to gain teaching and research assistant experience and become involved with the intellectual community within both Saïd Business School and the wider University. You will attend academic conferences, make presentations, organise lectures and seminars and contribute to management and academic decisions.

Both of our doctoral programmes run in parallel, with only differences in taught courses and preparation for writing in relevant journals to your subject of choice.

We have deliberately kept the programmes small which means that in the vast majority of cases, students are fully funded to allow them to devote their energies to research. The DPhil corresponds to a PhD degree offered at most other universities.

Supervision

You will be assigned two supervisors to act as your academic advisers and mentors.

Your supervisors will be in your specialist area of interest. It is important you identify that there are faculty at the school who work in your area of interest who could potentially supervise your thesis. You can note within your application if you're interested in a particular research area and working with a specific faculty member.

You will work closely with your supervisors to define your research question and develop your thesis. It is an important relationship and also a very personal one: it is shaped by you, your supervisors and the ways you interact. You will have a minimum of nine meetings, or equivalent per year.

The allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of Saïd Business School. It is not always possible to accommodate student preferences to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside Saïd Business School.

Potential supervisors

You do not need to contact any faculty in advance of making your application. In the application form you can indicate your preferred supervisor(s) and they, along with other related faculty will review your application.

Below is a list of faculty open to supervising DPhil students this coming year.

Research areas and supervisors

Entrepreneurship, strategy, and technology management

Pinar Ozcan - Pinar specialises in qualitative research in strategy and entrepreneurship, particularly in technology markets. Her current research includes AI and business models in tech start-ups (e.g, fintech), digital transformation and platform strategies.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Ivona Hideg - Ivona’s main programme of research includes workplace equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). In her work, she focuses on gender, but also examines issues surrounding race, ethnicity, language and accent including intersection of various identities that we all hold.

Grounded in psychological theories and using experimental methodology, Ivona’s work seeks insights on root causes of inequities in the workplace, such as persistent underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions and other male-dominated fields (ie entrepreneurship).

By doing so, Ivona seeks to develop and test solutions for greater equity, inclusion and career outcomes of traditionally disadvantaged groups.

Global strategy and comparative institutional analysis

Mari Sako - Mari's main areas of expertise include global strategy, comparative institutional analysis, outsourcing and offshoring, professional services firms and professions, artificial intelligence (AI) and business models.

Her current research examines the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal services, conducted as part of a UKRI-funded programme. Doctoral applications are most welcome from students in social sciences, who can work with Mari on exploring the impact of AI on:

business models
the future of work
technology startup ecosystems in professional services (such as law and accounting).

She is open to doctoral research proposals in this and related fields of research.

Matthew Amengual - Matthew focuses on the comparative political economy of sustainable and inclusive development. His research has investigated on how institutions and contestation shape outcomes for firms, workers, and communities.

His current work investigates labour standards in global supply chains, seeking to understand how interactions between multinational firms, suppliers, civil society organisations, and states can create conditions for improved working conditions. He utilises a wide range of empirical approaches, including qualitative case studies and a range of quantitative methods.

Matthew is interested in supporting doctoral students seeking to work in:

Governing standards in global supply chains
Sustainability challenges in global markets
Institutional change and weakness in regulatory governance

Akshay Mangla - Akshay's interests lie in questions of when, why and how states build institutional capacity to perform their core functions in developing countries. Within this broad agenda, his ongoing research investigates the causes and consequences of institutional reform initiatives within frontline agencies of the Indian state (eg primary education and the police).

He is also examining how non-state actors, including private firms and civil society organisations, engage with the frontline state during policy implementation, thereby influencing bureaucratic effectiveness and the quality of public services. He is interested in advising DPhil students working on these and related topics in the political economy of development.

Artificial intelligence and media management

Alex Connock - Alex is an Oxford academic in the media business and author of the 2022 book Media Management and Artificial Intelligence: Understanding Media Business Models in the Digital Age, plus the 2024 follow-up title Media Management and Live Experience: Sports, Culture, Entertainment and Events.

Alex is Senior Fellow at Saïd Business School, teaching Marketing and Media Business courses at BA, MBA and EMBA level. He co-launched and ran Oxford postgraduate diploma in Artificial Intelligence for Business from 2021-3. and is Lecturer at St Hugh’s College, Oxford in Management.

Alex’s research interests are in the fast-growing and commercially significant space where AI meets media creativity and discovery.

Operations management and business analytics

Agni Orfanoudaki - Agni conducts research at the intersection of machine learning and optimisation with applications in the industries of healthcare and insurance. Her research agenda primarily focuses on developing new methods and models for healthcare practitioners using data-driven techniques. She is also studying the implications of these models on automated decision making, addressing the implementation challenges of machine learning algorithms in practice.

Areas of interest:

Business analytics
Healthcare operations
Algorithmic insurance
Personalised medicine

Organisation studies and strategy

Eero Vaara - Eero’s research focuses on organisational and strategic change. His work deals with:

strategy process and practice research
studies of radical change, such as mergers and acquisitions
work on institutional change and legitimation
research on multinational corporations, nationalism and globalisation.

He is a world-leading expert especially in communicative and discursive perspectives. Eero combines practically relevant topics such as strategy work and management of post-merger integration with deep theoretical and methodological reflection on organisational and strategic processes and practices.

Eric Zhao - Eric's research is cross-disciplinary in nature and sits at the intersection of strategic management, organisation theory and entrepreneurship. He is actively involved in four major research areas:

optimal distinctiveness
institutions and entrepreneurship
resource and resourcefulness
resilience and crisis.

His 2017 SMJ article 'Optimal Distinctiveness: Broadening the Interface between Institutional Theory and Strategic Management' and his solo-authored book 'Optimal Distinctiveness: A New Agenda for the Study of Competitive Positioning of Organizations and Markets' are widely regarded as foundational contributions to the burgeoning literature on optimal distinctiveness.

Violetta Splitter - Violetta’s research focuses on organisational and strategic change. In particular, her work deals with:

strategy process and practice research
open strategy
open organising
power in strategy making

Violetta is a leading expert in practice-theoretical perspectives on strategising and organising. Violetta combines practically relevant topics such as (open) strategy work with deep theoretical and methodological reflection on organisational and strategic processes and practices.

Scenario planning

Rafael Ramirez - Rafael researches scenario planning and ground breaking research on interactive value and networked strategy, which has led to widely cited papers in the Harvard Business Review, the Strategic Management Journal and to the development of the Oxford Collaborative Strategy Lab.

Social entrepreneurship

Alex Nicholls - Alex's main areas of expertise include:

impact investing
impact measurement
social entrepreneurship
public policy and social innovation
systems change
social movements

His current research explores the materiality of impact risk - in terms of both financial and impact outcome risk, the use of AI in impact measurement and reporting, and historical patterns of ethical consumption. He is open to doctoral research proposals in these areas as well as others.

Supply chain management

Steve New: Steve has interests across the field of supply chain management, including how firms' practices relate to questions of ethics, human rights and sustainability. He has particular interest in the impact of commercial practices and inter-organisational power.

His recent work has focussed on questions of supply chain transparency, wages within supply chains and the challenge of incorporating ESG criteria in procurement from smaller companies.

Sustainability and commons governance

Juliane Reinecke - Juliane’s research explores how organisations can address various sustainability challenges including climate change, human and labour rights, and sustain the global commons. As no business can address these systemic challenges alone, a particular focus of her research lies in how multiple stakeholders collaborate to create novel governance solutions. Current projects include collective action for labour rights in the Bangladesh garment supply chain and the role of institutional investors, particularly pension funds, in the transition to a net zero economy.

Juliane welcomes candidates pursuing interdisciplinary approaches and/or using qualitative methodologies, such as ethnography.

Systems complexities

Harvey Maylor - Harvey is open to a range of lenses being brought to bear on systems complexities and the ‘lived experience’ of systems leaders. Particular areas of interest include:

What is the impact on performance of the relationship between the NEO profile of an individual and the complexities of the system that they are charged with leading?
Is there a moral limit to the complexity we should ask organisational leaders to face? And is there an impact on the delivery of public value of high levels of complexity?
What is the impact of systemic voids on the delivery of grand challenge objectives?
Systems of routines: linking the areas of routine dynamics and systemic design as a tool for organisational analysis.

System design, forecasting, human algorithm interaction

Kejia Hu - Kejia's work orbits around a central tenet: unlocking business value from data, but doing so together. This emphasis on harmonious human-AI interaction underlines her research, reflecting the conviction that data's true potential is tapped not just through technology but with collective human insight and collaboration.

Her expansive collaborations with Fortune 500 entities and industrial pioneers are a testament to her profound expertise, yielding research that resonates in top-tier academic journals and bears multiple research and best paper awards.

Technology, innovation and transformation

Richard Cuthbertson - Richard's research interests focus on the operations of innovation, turnaround, and transformation involving the firm, their supply chains, and third parties, such as government and trade associations. Recent research includes an examination of the dynamic capabilities of grocery retailers, the organisation and operations of leading technology companies, and the green transition in traditional industry sectors, such as steelmaking.

Research

Review some current research taking place around the school including from our DPhil students and alumni

Review articles and podcasts written by our researchers at Oxford Answers.

Learn more about becoming a researcher from Andromachi Athanasopoulou, who graduated in 2007 and is now an Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Queen Mary University London and an Associate Fellow at Oxford Saïd.

Manuel Hepfer, recent graduate of the DPhil in Cybersecurity and Management Studies, has written an article on steps businesses can take to boost their resilience to cyberattack.

Ali Aslan Gümüsay, Michael Smets and Tim Morris published an article on religious diversity at work in the Harvard Business Review. An excerpt of their article 'God at work': engaging central and incompatible institutional logics through elastic hybridity, published in the Academy of Management Journal.

In his first year, current DPhil student, Alex Rustler co-authored a paper alongside faculty member, Matthew Amengual on public perceptions of business involvement in human rights violations.

Assessment and programme milestones

Our DPhil offers students the opportunity to engage with internationally renowned faculty who are here to help you become an academic scholar.

You will be initially admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). You are required to take three core courses in quantitative and qualitative research methodology during your first year.

Introduction to management research methods
Statistical research methods
Management and organisation theory

During second and third terms, you will undertake advanced research methods training and, in consultation with your supervisor, select specialist courses, available from a choice of topics relevant to area of interest.

Examples of specialist elective courses previously available:

Political economy
Organisational theory
Foundations of strategy
Social network analysis

Advanced methodology courses:

Advanced qualitative research methods
Advanced quantitative research methods

Following successful completion of all necessary courses and within a maximum of six terms as a PRS student (and normally by the fourth term) you will be expected to apply for transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status.

A successful transfer of status from PRS to DPhil status is required to be able to show that your proposed thesis gives a clear indication of whether it would be reasonable to consider submission within the course of a further three terms, if work on the thesis continues to develop satisfactorily. Students who are successful at transfer will also be expected to apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status within nine terms of admission, to show that your work continues to be on track.

Both milestones normally involve an interview with two assessors (other than your supervisor) and provide important experience for the final oral examination.

You will be expected to submit a thesis, which provides a significant and substantial contribution to the field of learning in management, which should not exceed 100,000 words after four years from the date of admission. It should be good enough to be published in book form or as a series of academic articles. To be successfully awarded a DPhil in Management you will need to defend your thesis orally (viva voce) in front of two appointed examiners.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations where it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

The faculty has made me feel like a junior colleague from the very start and they offer the chance to work together on their research projects.

Magdalena Plesa

Current DPhil in Management student

Benefits and opportunities

Benefits

Engage with internationally renowned faculty
Conference and research funding
Training in principal research methods at both at Saïd Business School and wider University

Opportunities

Paid teaching and research assistant opportunities
Contribute to management and academic programme decisions through student representation on committees
Postgraduate careers resources

Colleges

You will become a member of an Oxford college. Your college is both an academic and social community that will enrich your time at Oxford. It offers everything from formal dinners and balls to sports and lecture series.

The Oxford college system enables you to interact with students and faculty from other disciplines. Some colleges provide also accommodation for students.

College experience

Oxford University college guide

Who can apply

Our candidates are passionately intellectual people with a superlative academic record and are committed to a career in academia.

DPhil in Management

You will require:

a good undergraduate degree: 2.1 (GPA 3.5 or its equivalent)
GMAT or GRE test results
TOEFL or IELTS test results (If you are not from an English speaking majority country)
three pieces of written work, including a well-developed research proposal
three academic references
£20 application fee

Successful applicants typically have a distinction in a Master’s level degree in addition to their undergraduate studies, but exceptional applicants from undergraduate programmes in relevant subjects will be considered.

Application requirements

Application process

Applications for October 2025 entry closed on 13 December 2024.

Complete applications received by the deadline will be considered. You will be informed by late January if you have been shortlisted for interview.

Final decisions will be communicated by the end of February.

There are nine shared places available for the DPhil Finance and DPhil Management. The average number of applications for entry between 2021 and 2023 was 94.

Application advice

These videos will help you understand the qualities we are looking for.

Fees and funding

The course fee in 2025-26 is £25,160 for both home and overseas students.

The programme is four years in duration. Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). Please be aware that fees usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Following the period of fee liability, you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Additional cost information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Scholarships and funding

Doctoral students admitted to our programme receive full funding over four years. This includes course fees and an annual living expenses stipend. To maximise the overall availability of funding for candidates, we will identify suitable alternative scholarships and may ask you to submit funding applications. We also ask that you identify and pursue any other funding opportunities, including external funding.

For some scholarships you are required to submit a scholarship essay and/or tick the relevant box in the Funding section of the application form.

Cost of living

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course. Please read the University's living expenses page for information about likely living costs for 2025-26.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.

Scholarships and funding

Contact

Please contact us if you have any queries.
dphil.admissions@sbs.ox.ac.uk