The process of theorizing and theory building in management research

Welcome to "The Process of Theorizing and Theory Building in Management Research"

Description
This is a generic, interdisciplinary, 5 ECTS PhD course. It aims to acquaint Doctoral Candidates (DCs) with the process of theorizing and theory building. We start from the premise that it is critical for DCs, regardless of their disciplines, research projects, progress, to master the craft of theorizing and theory building. By the end of the course DCs will have gained skills and knowledge in (a) gaining sensitivity to theoretical development during the literature review and data collection processes, and (b) analyzing and theorizing from extant knowledge and empirical data.

Every year our course gathers together Doctoral Candidates with diverse, multidisciplinary research interests: https://www.tbrp.business.aau.dk/doctoral-training/testimonials.

These are examples of research areas doctoral researchers bring to the course:

• Talent management in the financial sector: The impact of management quality in large commercial banks
• Innovation in sustainability-driven business modeling strategies: a study on apparel business systems in Bangladesh
• Revisiting Supply Chain Flows: A Road Map Through Paradox Theory
• Coopetition and Business Performance in Service Ecosystems: The case from stakeholder perspective
• The innovation chain and its influencing factors based on Big Science
• Innovation Impact of Big Science Organizations: Conditions, Interactions, and Knowledge Spillover
• Inter-organizational collaboration processes in digital forms of temporary organizing
• Strategic agility for digital entrepreneurship: Evidence from China
• Impact of Lean Supply Chain Management on business performance: The Role of the Context
• Cooperation and Competition in Innovation Ecosystems: A Complementors’ Perspective
• Explore the relationship between HQ and Subsidiaries in Danish MNEs
• Emerging Ecosystems of Educational Technology in Higher Learning: A Scope of Sociology of Technology
• Contextualizing Violence Prevention: Perspectives on How to Prevent Violence at Work
• Value Creation in Innovation Projects
• Indigenous approach to innovation in the context of China
• Innovating  the  Invisible  and  Intangible:  Value Creation in Service Innovation
• Explore how do fishing companies in the Faroe Islands approach strategy and innovation
• Investigation on Competitive Green Resources Products Business Model in Tanzania

The course website: https://www.tbrp.business.aau.dk/doctoral-training/phd-courses/theorising-and-theory-building  

Organizer
Romeo V. Turcan
https://vbn.aau.dk/en/persons/rvt

Internal: Romeo V. Turcan

External:
Andy Lowe, Dr., Grounded Theory Institute in California, US
Matthias Zach, Dr., Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Germany
Michal Lysek, Dr., Axis Communications, Finland

DL1: October 6, 2025 - Application Essay submission. 
DL2: October 10, 2025 - Notification of acceptance
DL3: October 20, 2025 - Registration and payment of the course fee.

Participation fee
Participation fee is 100 EUR (the fee applies to ALL applicants). The fee will cover costs related to coffee breaks, and two dinners during the week of the course. Each participant is responsible for his/her own travel and accommodation.

Link for payment:

Aalborg University - Events

Key literature

For assignment 1 there are 3-4 papers per group to be read and used as the basis for assignment 1.
For assignment 2 there is qualitative data set (1 document) to be read and used as the basis for assignment 2.
Before each lecture, there are 3-5 readings that are available in Moodle.

All registered participants receive at least two weeks before the start of the course access to the course intranet where they can download course material, incl., lecture slides, reading material, description of the assignments, and other relevant material, incl., administration related.

Important information concerning PhD courses
There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at phdcourses@adm.aau.dk When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.