11485: Creating Impact Through Professional Doctorates: Publications, Challenges, and Long-Term Effects

The growth of professional doctorates, especially the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), highlights their increasing role in business education worldwide. These programs offer a unique opportunity to address pressing management challenges while driving meaningful changes in practice. DBAs often attract experienced managers who bring relevant, real-world problems into their research, enabling them to make a direct impact within their organizations. However, the impact of DBA programs is often constrained by several academic and structural limitations. Many dissertations remain confined to institutional repositories, limiting their visibility and scholarly contribution. Additionally, most DBA programs fail to align their research agendas with grand business and societal challenges. Furthermore, the long-term effects of these programs—on individual career trajectories, organizational practices, and societal outcomes—remain insufficiently explored. This PDW brings together academic directors from seven leading international DBA programs and a representative from the Executive DBA Council (EDBAC), a professional association, to discuss strategies for enhancing the impact of professional doctorates. The discussion focuses on three key areas: (a) developing sustainable pathways for publishing DBA research in high-impact outlets to amplify its academic and practical influence, (b) leveraging DBA programs to address grand societal and business challenges, fostering a stronger link between academia and business, and (c) exploring methods to plan, measure, and evaluate the long-term effects of DBA programs on individual careers, organizational transformations, and societal progress. By sharing insights and evidence, this PDW aims to inspire actionable strategies that will elevate the value and impact of professional doctorates globally.