PhDs in business: Nonsense, or opportunity for both?

Abstract

The potential value of a PhD holder to the prosperity of an employing company and, by extension, to the country in which the firm is located, is recognized in principle. Yet this recognition does not always translate into practice. Interviews with managers from private companies, journalists specializing in higher education, young PhD graduates, institutional members, and researchers from the public sector in France highlight some of the reasons why this might be so. Corporate recruitment practices, universities’ resistance to change, and the ambitions of the PhD students themselves are identified as impediments to the hiring of PhDs in the private sector. Developing a professional doctorate program, improving the dissemination of information about the value of a PhD degree, and developing and leveraging PhD graduates’ networks may help boost the number of PhDs in the business arena.

What value do PhD graduates offer? An organizational case study

“…Firms may fail to recognize the benefits of the PhD (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018), not believe a PhD adds value beyond a Master's (Kyvik & Olsen, 2012, Norway), or be suspicious of PhDs (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018;Kulkarni et al, 2015: US). This may contribute to an unwillingness to invest the resources to ensure PhDs remain (Adams et al, 2006: Australia).…”

“…This may contribute to an unwillingness to invest the resources to ensure PhDs remain (Adams et al, 2006: Australia). 3 Instead, firms prefer to hire those with lower qualifications (Thune et al, 2012: Norway) as Masters' easily adapt to organizational needs (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018), and more highly educated employees may expect a salary premium (Kulkarni et al, 2015). As a result, the majority of employers who hire PhDs have done so unintentionally (Purcell et al, 2005: UK).…”

“…As to recruiting strategies, a higher qualification than required may be included in a list of 'preferred qualifications', and some managers are willing to hire individuals whose education exceeds job requirements (Kulkarni et al, 2015) if they have good interactive and project management skills (Purcell et al, 2005). Still, a key concern is a private sector work experience (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018) since such experience suggests candidates can function in that setting (Diamond et al, 2014: UK).…”

“…Employers value PhDs' critical, systematic and analytical thinking, complex problemsolving (Kulkarni et al, 2015), leadership skills (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018;de Grande et al, 2014), and creativity (Diamond et al, 2014). The value of such skills is recognized across a variety of positions .…”

“…The value of such skills is recognized across a variety of positions . However, communication, especially in teams, is a common concern amongst employers (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018;Diamond et al, 2014;Purcell et al, 2005), though Diamond et al (2014) noted strength in writing reports and presenting information to others. Other concerns about hiring PhD holders include lack of organizational skills, little knowledge of business milieus (Cousten & Pignatel, 2018;Purcell et al, 2005), less practical orientation (Teelken, 2018: Netherlands), and slower work pace (Diamond et al, 2014;Teelken, 2018).…”