The Satisfaction of DBA Graduates : A Matter of Return on Investment and Promotion

The Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) is a very particular doctoral programme as it combines the business and academic worlds through a single research project. DBA candidates come mostly from top-management positions in business and have decided to enter an academic process to produce applied research to solve real business problems. The specificity of this programme can also allow drastic career changes from business to the academic world depending on the initial motivation of candidates.This article puts forward a statistical analysis to bring a better knowledge of DBA alumni satisfaction. Our objective is to gain a better understanding of what DBA students can expect after completing the programme. This statistical processing aims to support our identification of concepts that strongly affect the satisfaction of graduates. Positivism epistemological philosophy has been chosen to criticise the literature review on education in using a particular sample of DBA graduates. Two multivariate regression analyses address the two following stakes:- DBA alumni satisfaction: a matter of return on investment;- DBA as a catalyst for career progression and earning increase.Our research on DBA alumni is expected to bring a contribution to the programme's governance and to lead some universities/business schools toward best practices by taking into account the important stakes of DBA programmes. This research should also bring a contribution to our personal development as a DBA alumnus and a DBA student. The in-depth understanding of motivations and outcomes of DBA studies in business and academic world shall lead us to take up the process with consciousness of potential strengths and limitations of the programme