Writing a DBA Dissertation: The Business Problem and the Contribution to Practice

A DBA dissertation addresses a problem that businesses face, and its test is whether a manager reading it could act differently afterward. Many DBA students arrive from careers in industry and write the first draft as a business report. Others write it as a PhD with a corporate example. Committees want something in between: a study built on scholarly methods that answers a practical question.

For how the degree compares with a PhD and an EdD, see PhD vs EdD vs DBA.

The business problem

Many programs ask students to state the problem at two levels, a general business problem and a specific one. The general problem describes the issue in the wider business world. The specific problem narrows it to what you will study. A general problem might concern the loss of skilled employees in small manufacturing firms. A specific one would name what is unknown, such as the strategies that managers in those firms use to keep skilled workers. Some programs use this exact pattern and some do not, so check your template.

Whatever form your program uses, the problem statement does three things. It shows with evidence that the problem exists, using industry data, published studies, or reports from professional bodies. It shows who bears the cost, whether employees, customers, or the business. And it shows what remains unknown. A problem built only on your own experience at work will not satisfy a committee, because they cannot check it. Our article on problem and purpose statements covers the writing.

Choosing a framework

The framework gives the study a way of looking at the problem. Frameworks used in DBA research include the resource-based view of the firm, transformational leadership theory, the technology acceptance model, and institutional theory, among many others. Choose by asking what the theory explains, and whether that matches your problem. A study of how managers keep skilled workers could draw on a leadership theory or a motivation theory. A study of why firms adopt a new system could draw on the technology acceptance model.

Whichever you choose, cite the originators of the theory, build the interview or survey instrument from its constructs, and return to it in your findings. Our article on theoretical and conceptual frameworks shows how to carry a framework across the chapters.

Designs and data

Qualitative case study is common in DBA research, usually with interviews of managers or executives, supported by company documents. Quantitative designs, such as surveys and analysis of firm or industry data, are also common. A mixed design is acceptable when each part has a clear job. Match the design to the question, and show the match in Chapter 3. Our Chapter 3 guide covers the chapter.

Business research raises its own practical issues.

Access. Studying a firm usually needs written permission from someone with authority to give it. Request it early, and get it in writing, because the IRB will ask for it. Our articles on getting IRB approval and reporting it in Chapter 3 describe the process.

Confidential information. Firms often will not release financial or strategic data unless you agree to protect it. Say in the dissertation how you protected the firm's identity and how you handled documents.

Your own position. If you work in the industry or the firm, explain your role and how you managed it. A manager interviewing her own team faces the same questions of power and bias that an EdD student does.

Small samples. A study of senior executives rarely has a large one. Justify it, as our article on a smaller sample size explains, and state the limits on what the findings cover.

The contribution to practice

DBA examiners ask what your study contributes to practice, and often ask for it in so many words. Answer it in Chapter 1, where you state the significance, and again in Chapter 5, where you show it from your evidence.

A contribution is specific. "The findings can help organizations improve performance" says nothing. Compare "Managers in small manufacturing firms can use the retention practices that participants described, such as structured training and regular feedback, to reduce turnover among skilled workers." That names the audience, the practice, and the basis in the data. Chapter 5 covers how to build it.

Many programs also expect a contribution to theory, even if a smaller one. Say whether your findings support the framework, qualify it, or point to a gap in it.

What committees flag most often

• A business report in place of a study, with advice but no method.
• A problem without evidence beyond the writer's career.
• A framework named in Chapter 2 and never used again.
• Claims about "all firms" from a handful of interviews.
• A contribution to practice stated in general terms.
• Confidentiality promises that the data collection does not support.

If you want an independent read on whether your problem, framework, design, and contribution line up, our dissertation manuscript review tests the dissertation as one argument, and a chapter review examines a single chapter. The research and the decisions stay yours.