Getting ideas for an academic

study: conceptual and empirical

A Presentation in the Toulouse Graduate

School, University of North Texas
Charles Blankson, Ph.D. Department of Marketing & Logistics, College of
Business

06/26/21
UNT Ph.D. Degree
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• Observation and interaction with
subjects/objects
• Personal experience
• Curiosity
• Personal deduction
• Purposeful reading of current business/social
conundrum or challenge or interest or text book
• Media and public information on an issue (issues)
• Following an expert’s study or guidelines (e.g., a
committee member’s research stream).
Recent Ph.D. titles from the Department of Marketing
& Logistics, UNT

• My committee membership
•  Dr. Tanawat (Tom) Hirunyawipada (Ph.D. in Marketing,
University of North Texas) Title: How Componential Factors
and Constraints Enhance Creativity in New Product Ideation.
Accepted a position at University of Dayton – Dayton, OH.
2007
 
• Dr. Clinton Amos (Ph.D. in Marketing, University of North
Texas). Title: The Impact of Visceral Influences on
Consumers’ Evaluation of Potentially Misleading Advertising.
Accepted a position at Augusta State University, SC. 2008
 Ph.D. titles contd.
• Dr. Lilly Ye (Ph.D. in Marketing, University of North Texas).
Title: The Impact of Gender Effects on Consumers’
Perceptions of Brand Equity: A Cross-Cultural Investigation.
Accepted a position at Frostburg State University, MD. 2008
 

• Dr. Gary Ray Holmes (Ph.D. in Marketing, University of North

Texas). Tile: Symbolic Visuals in Advertising: The Role of
Relevance. Accepted a position at Drury University, MO.
2008
 
 Ph.D. titles contd.
• Dr. Selcuk Ertekin (Ph.D. in Marketing, University of North Texas).
Title: An Assessment of Consumers’ Willingness to Patronize
Foreign-Based Business Format Franchises: An Investigation in
the Fast-Food Sector. Accepted a position at South West Missouri
State University, MO. 2009
 
• Dr. Stanley Coffie (Ph.D. in Marketing, Birkbeck College,
University of London, UK). Title: A Strategic Market Positioning
Typology for Service Organizations in Ghana. Accepted a position
at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration
(GIMPA), Accra, Ghana. 2011
 
 Ph.D. titles contd.
• Dr. Sally Samih Baalbaki (Ph.D. in Marketing, University of
North Texas). Title: Consumer Perspective of Brand Equity
Measurement: A New Scale. Accepted a position at
Metropolitan State University of Denver, CO. 2012
 

• Dr. Trang P. Tran (Ph.D. in Marketing, University of North

Texas). Title: Regulatory Orientation, Message Framing and
Influences on Customer Behaviors. Accepted a position at
SUNY – Oneonta, NY. 2012
Recent Master’s Degree Dissertations
• Mr. Emre Barali (MA Marketing). Dissertation title: An
Investigation of Congruence between Companies Positioning
Strategies and Target Customers’ Perceptions of Positioning
Messages, 2010, Kingston University Business School, London,
UK. Co- supervisor
 
• Ms. Alexandra Araujo Alvarez Jimenez (MA Marketing).
Dissertation title: The Impact of Mergers in Positioning, 2010,
Kingston University Business School, London, UK. Co-
supervisor
 
 Master’s Degrees contd.
• Ms. Lilian Andrea Diaz Quintero (MA Marketing).
Dissertation title: The Interrelationship between Variables
that Influence Consumers’ Perceptions toward Advertising,
2010, Kingston University Business School, London, UK. Co-
supervisor

• Mr. Behic Aydin (MA Marketing). Dissertation title:

Relationship between size of the Company and Positioning
Strategies, 2010, Kingston University Business School,
London, UK. Co-supervisor
 Undergraduate Honors Program
• Miss Jennifer Ditrich, undergraduate (BA Business
Administration) Honors Program. Thesis title: The Effect of
Advertising on Female Body Images, January 2005 – May
2005, Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus, New York,
USA.
 
• Mr. Joseph Ambrogio (BA Business Administration) Honors
Program. Thesis title: College Students’ Choice Criteria of
Credit Card Brands: A Replication Study, January 2004 – July
2005, Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus, New York,
USA.
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• What is the definition of the Ph.D. degree?
• What are the expectations at UNT?
• What is the purpose of your study?
• What is (are) the theoretical foundation(s) of the area
of interest
– Seminal/original scholarly papers – who are the
authorities?
– What is the state of the literature? Who has done what?
– Determination of gaps in the literature
• How will you examine the research questions?
– What is the research context and why is it important?
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• The theoretical review, observations, consultations
with experts will help you focus on particular area
that has strong theoretical foundation on which to
claim legitimacy.

• Anchor your study within your discipline – with the

purpose of increasing knowledge in your field.

• The theoretical review will help you demonstrate your

thorough comprehension of your field of study and be
able to intelligently critique others’ study.
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• The left & right (this or that) stages:
– Select and refine a topic:
– Look at the “limitations and future research directions of
previous or current journal articles or Ph.D. dissertations”
– Review the literature – be a critical reader of articles
– Summarize and identify key issues
– Write, i.e., put it on paper –
write down your ideas as
they occur – use a note pad.
Write everyday, not every week.
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• Read, summarize, critique and identify key issues from
each article read – place these in a Table format
– List all references, e.g. Yadav, Manjit S. (2010), “The Decline of
Conceptual Articles and Implications for Knowledge Development”,
Journal of Marketing, 74(1), 1-19 (or see the journal)
• For each article, identify the purpose/objectives/research
questions
• Conceptual framework – literature base/theory
• Propositions/hypotheses or statement of aim and objectives
• Research method(s) used
• Results/findings
• Conclusions
– Now, what do you see as the gaps for research?
 Table 1
Conceptualization of CBBE Construct

Dimensions Constructs Conceptualization Seminal Contributions

Aaker (1991, 1996)
The ability for a buyer to recognize or
Brand Biel (1993)
recall that a brand is a member of a
Awareness Keller (1993, 2003)
certain product category.
Yoo & Donthu (2001)
Aaker (1991, 1996)
The other informational nodes that are
Biel (1993)
Salience Brand linked to a brand node in memory, and
Keller (1993, 2003)
Equity Association they contain the meaning of the brand
Pappu et al. (2005)
for consumers.
Yoo & Donthu (2001)
The degree to which consumers feel Aaker (1991, 1996)
Brand that a brand is different from Agarwal & Rao (1996)
Uniqueness competing brands – how distinct it is Carpenter et al. (1994)
relative to competitors. Netemeyer et al. (2004)

Chauduri & Holbrook

Brand The degree of affect or feelings for or (1992)
Attitude against a brand. Low et al. (2000)

Aaker (1991, 1996)

Attitudinal Consumers’ judgment of the overall Agarwal & Rao (1996)
Perceived
Equity excellence of a brand relative to Lassar et al. (1995)
Quality
alternatives. Pappu et al. (2005)
Yoo & Donthu (2001)
Agarwal & Rao (1996)
Perceived
Assessment of the utility of a brand. Lassar et al. (1995)
Value
Netemeyer et al. (2004)

Aaker (1991, 1996)

Proclivity to be loyal to a focal brand
Brand Chaudhuri (1999)
demonstrated by the intention to buy
Relationship Loyalty Lassar et al. (1995)
the brand as a primary choice.
Equity Yoo & Donthu (2001)
Brand The intensity of a person’s specific Fournier (1998)
Attachment emotional bonds with a brand. Thomson (2006)
Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• Develop precise conceptual definitions for the
constructs and measurements – either
borrowed from the literature or DIY
• Constructs are the building blocks of theory. And
without well-developed conceptual definitions for the
constructs, it becomes difficult/impossible to develop a
coherent theory.
• Without a definition, you cannot measure a
concept/construct.
• Avoid pseudo definitions.
 Issues about definitions of constructs
• Definitions are important (Pastrana et al., 2008); they serve as
the impetus for conducting consistent research in social
phenomena; positioning is no different.
– “Despite the extensive research in the concept of positioning, a review of
the literature indicates a level of ambiguity and inconsistency associated
with the definition of the positioning. Accordingly, scholars have
documented the “absence of a clear, universally accepted definition of
the construct” (Kalafatis et al., 2000) and the lack of abiding themes
capable of reflecting the basis of positioning frameworks in the
literature (Hooley, Greenley, Fahy, and Cadogan 2001; Levitt 2002;
Piercy 2005; Schultz 2006). This quandary however, has resulted in
inconsistent (and in some instances, inaccurate) conceptualization, and
research in positioning” Blankson, Dai, and Boatswain (2013 – on-going
study).
 Getting ideas for Ph.D. study
• Evaluate the hypotheses before designing the empirical
study
• Are the hypotheses clearly written?
• Is each of the hypotheses falsifiable/testable?
• Do any of the hypotheses involve truism or tautologies?
• Are any of the hypotheses trivial to raise questions about the
methodology?
• Is any of the theoretical rationale provided for each hypothesis
compelling?
• Are there any additional theoretical arguments that would strengthen
the conceptual support for the hypotheses?
• Do the hypotheses to be tested represent a cohesive set?
Follow typical examples in articles and adapt to suit your study.

Aggressively solicit criticism of your conceptual framework.

 Identify the intended contributions of the
study
1. Conceptual contributions:
– Improved conceptual definitions of the original
constructs
– The identification of and conceptual definition of
additional constructs to be added to the conceptual
framework (e.g., additional dependent, independent,
mediating, and/or moderator variables).
– The development of additional theoretical linkages
(research hypotheses) with rationale
– The development of improved theoretical rationale
for existing linkages.
 2. Empirical contributions
• Testing a theoretical linkage between two
constructs that has not previously been tested.
• Examining the effects of a potential moderator
variable on the nature of the relationship
between two constructs
• Determining the degree to which a variable
mediates the relationship between two
constructs
• Investigating the psychometric properties of an
important scale.
 3. Methodological contributions
• Reduce the potential problems with shared method variance
through the use of multiple methods of measurement

• Increase the generalizability of the research through more

appropriate sampling procedures

• Allow the investigation of plausible “third-variable explanations”

for the results of past studies

• Enhance the construct validity of key measures through the use of

refined multiple-item measures and/or the use of measurement
approaches that do not rely on self-reports.

• Scale development and validation of a concept/construct.

 Designing the empirical study
• Bear in mind, nothing can be done to improve
the research methodology once the data have
been collected.
• Also, if the data are seriously flawed, no amount
of re-writing of the
manuscript/thesis/dissertation can overcome
weakness of the methodology.

So, prior to embarking upon the data collection,

seek critical feedback on the research designs.
 Pretest your Questionnaire
• Subject your already critiqued questionnaire to
rigorous pretest by experts – dissertation
committee, other faculty members.
• Then administer the refined questionnaire to a
pre-test of say, 30 participants/respondents (e.g.,
students, university secretaries/administrators,
members of the general public, managers etc.).
• Remember to document all these procedures as
appropriate in your methodology.
And finally…………Dr.
 Understanding literature review
• http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/lit-review/