Call for Applications for the Doctoral Programme in Business Administration

BLOCKCHAIN – 5 POSITIONS

1. Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
   The third wave of crypto (after the invention of digital money & Bitcoin in 2009 and the creation of programmable smart contracts & Etheruem in 2015) is centered around the creation of open, algorithmic, censorship-resistant applications that enable all financial services (banking, lending, exchanges, insurance, etc) to be implemented without intermediaries. Research proposals in DeFi will focus on studying business model innovation, user adoption, economic and societal implications, and similar aspects of the DeFi phenomenon. The ideal PhD candidate will have a background in Computer Science, Finance/Economics, Business Administration or similar and will already have gained practical experience in using and understanding the prospects and limitations of existing DeFi applications and protocols.
   Research Advisor: George Giaglis, Professor, [email protected]
2. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and asset tokenization
   Digital collectibles have emerged as a distinct class of crypto tokens, enabling users to mint, acquire, trade and own unique pieces of digital art or other artifacts. However, the applications of so-called non-fungible tokens (NFTs) extend beyond art to include proof of ownership of real-world assets (e.g. real estate), assets held in metaverses (e.g. virtual worlds) and new types of rights (e.g. right to a share of someone’s future income streams). Research proposals will focus on studying NFT-enabled disruption of the real world and/or new virtual worlds, business model innovation, economic and societal implications, and similar aspects of the NFT phenomenon. The ideal PhD candidate will have a background in Computer Science, Finance/Economics, Business Administration or similar and will already have gained practical experience in using and understanding the prospects and limitations of existing NFT and asset tokenization applications.
   Research Advisor: George Giaglis, Professor, [email protected]
3. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)
   DAOs enable the creation of new forms of organization, sometimes consisting entirely of computer code and being algorithmically governed based on rules by their creators. DAOs represent a departure of the industrial-era paradigm of corporations, enabling ad-hoc organizational arrangements that are based on programmable trust. Research proposals in the DAO space will focus on studying this emerging form of organizational design and understanding its future potential, application areas, but also limitations. The ideal PhD candidate will have a background in Business Administration, Finance/Economics, Social Sciences or similar as well as existing know-how in what DAOs are and how they operate.
   Research Advisor: George Giaglis, Professor, [email protected], new forms of organizational design, personal data markets, etc.
4. Blockchain for Humanity (2 positions)
   The world is continually looking for pioneering, cutting-edge solutions, both in terms of applications and policies in order to promote environmental sustainability, improve quality of life, boost competitiveness and employment, fight hunger and human trafficking, provide health and energy to all, and eradicate poverty. The tech revolution, with pandemic acceleration, has opened up new avenues of employment and socioeconomic growth (SDG9, SDG10). However, it has further exacerbated the inequality gap, abandoning people to further poverty and low-skilled exploitation whilst vast tracts of innovation are taking place without the presence of many people around the globe, missing opportunities to develop appropriate knowledge, skills (SDG4), or access, to benefit from technological trends, requirements and transformation presented in a tech enabled world.  Research proposals in this area, will contribute to the scientific knowledge and applications of blockchain and other emerging technologies that will enable the design and implementation of applications to advance sustainable development and push forward for policies for social good, leaving no one behind, and for preserving a healthy planet for the future generations.
   Research Advisor: Soulla Louca, Professor, [email protected]

FINANCE – 1 POSITION

1. Applied Finance
   This post is for a PhD candidate who is interested in enhancing his/her knowledge, critical and analytical skills, using real-life data analysis. The research could be applied in local or international markets, combining theory and informed decision-making in a trending topic. Topics could be related to Investments/Portfolio Analysis, Corporate Finance, Financial Risk Management, International Finance, Financial Modelling and Forecasting, Big Data, Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Business/Entrepreneurship. The candidate is expected to have a background in quantitative methods and statistical analysis.
   Research Advisor: Haritini Tsangari, Professor, [email protected]

MARKETING – 2 POSITIONS

1. Marketing (2 positions in any of the following areas)
   1. Consumers have the potential to become ambassadors for climate change, sustainable development, and environmental protection by sharing their knowledge, experience and engagement with their families, local communities, and public and private decision makers as well as using social media. Equally, corporations have the power to directly involve citizens and communities in contributing to climate action and protecting the environment, thereby encouraging them to change their personal behaviour and their mind sets, reducing their carbon and environmental footprint and act at an individual and collective level. Researchers can adopt a multi stakeholder perspective for the development and assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes of consumers and particularly young consumers on climate change and sustainable development. Taking into consideration the natural resistance to individual behavioural changes and to collective changes in social practices, as well as the NGOs and stakeholders, and international best practices, and the power of social media. The focus is on exploring the increasing importance of environmental sustainability and the implications that this might have on organisations, consumers, and society.
      Research Advisor: Ioanna Papasolomou, Professor, [email protected]
   2. COVID-19 has had a profound impact on society and the workforce. For many if not all organisational members, the workload at least doubled because of the transition to remote learning, adjustments to constantly changing learning environments, planning for contingencies and a heightened struggle to balance work, life, and family responsibilities. Explore Internal Marketing strategies, tools, challenges, and benefits in the context of the new environment created by the pandemic within different organisational settings.
      Research Advisor: Ioanna Papasolomou, Professor, [email protected]
   3. The role new technologies play in terms of service quality and customer satisfaction especially in the context of the new competitive environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The study can explore how new technologies are challenging companies today, how new technologies have helped businesses to cope with the challenges created by the pandemic, how the pandemic has shaped the marketing and corporate communications fields, and how these new technologies could be used to offer businesses and customers a more direct and interactive way to communicate with audiences, and especially those new generation consumers who are intertwined with digital technologies. The study can also explore whether new technologies have sustaining or disruptive effects on organizations. How organisations can strategically approach and integrate these new technologies into their organisational infrastructure, processes and organizational structure. And in general, uncover the ethical, social and long-term consequences that need to be addressed.
      Research Advisor: Ioanna Papasolomou, Professor, [email protected]
   4. Consumer Generated Marketing and Social Networking Applications. Undoubtedly marketers are operating within an increasingly changing media landscape and dealing with consumers who seek information by using multiple brand touchpoints. In addition, marketers are faced with audiences that are becoming more critical, sophisticated, informed, mobile, and technology oriented. Businesses need to accept the growing power and potential of consumer generated content which in turn raises several challenges as well as new opportunities for consumer engagement, differentiation, gaining a competitive advantage and growth.
      Research Advisor: Ioanna Papasolomou, Professor, [email protected]
   5. Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication in a marketing context:  eWOM  refers to “a consumption experience shared by customers who purchase the product, experience the service, or interact with the brand shared”. Explore this powerful consumer driven tool from a marketing perspective and in the context of different stakeholders, organisational settings, and demographic markets.
      Research Advisor: Ioanna Papasolomou, Professor, [email protected]
   6. Integrated Marketing Communications: Changes, Challenges, Barriers and Benefits.
      Research Advisor: Ioanna Papasolomou, Professor, [email protected]

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS – 1 POSITION

1. AI enabled management of school units
   This PhD thesis will examine the use of AI theory and tools towards the support of decision making within the context of school units. More specifically, the PhD thesis will examine how deductive logic and tools based on deductive logic can be applied to resolve dilemmas regarding the contextual and operational constraints that affect decision-making within a school environment. This PhD thesis is interdisciplinary  and is refers to formal logic systems, deductive logic, AI-enabled tools, decision making process and legislative frameworks. For the latter part, a member from the supervisory committee will have specialization in Law. The candidate is not expected to have background in Law, but he/he should be able to demonstrate experience or extensive understanding of formal logic systems and familiarity with school units’ management issues.
   Research Advisor: Angelika Kokkinaki, Professor, [email protected]