Dr Who? Identity crucibles and the DBA doctoral degree

Kirk, S, Foster, C, Kougiannou, N ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6422-3831, Parry, E and Collins, C, 2025. Dr Who? Identity crucibles and the DBA doctoral degree. British Journal of Management. ISSN 1045-3172

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Abstract

This paper explores the triggers and identity crucibles facing professional doctorate students pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). Unlike prior research, which centres on full-time PhD students, our study examines the identity work of DBA students, many of whom do not foresee a transition to academia. Through 35 semi-structured interviews, we explore the identity work involved in ‘becoming a doctor’ and the identity crucibles that DBA students encounter. We identify the internal and external triggers that lead to identity work and identity crucibles, with their accompanying emotions, and examine how these crucibles are resolved. This research develops current thinking in critical management education, revealing how DBA students do not uniformly aspire to become practitioner-scholars or academics. Instead, they start and end their doctoral studies from various and different identity positions, highlighting the complexity of these long, intellectually challenging programmes. By exploring the triggers, identity crucibles and resolutions, this study offers a nuanced understanding of the DBA student experience and provides valuable insights into how these individuals can be supported throughout their doctoral studies. This support enhances retention and completion rates for those tasked with managing these programmes and reduces the likelihood of losing exceptional scholars/practitioners.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	British Journal of Management
Creators:	Kirk, S., Foster, C., Kougiannou, N., Parry, E. and Collins, C.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	5 February 2025
ISSN:	1045-3172
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1111/1467-8551.12896 DOI 2369557 Other
Rights:	© 2025 The Author(s). British Journal of Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Academy of Management. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	10 Feb 2025 09:13
Last Modified:	10 Feb 2025 09:13
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52995

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