Self-funded PhD opportunities in the Queen Margaret Business School

The QMU self-funded PhD for September 2026 and January 2027 will be allocated to some of the advertised research topics:

Project Title: AI Adoption - Barriers, Benefits, and Governance in the Third Sector
(Reference: BUS 26-01)

Project Overview: 

The third sector - encompassing charities, social enterprises, nonprofits, and advocacy organisations — is at a critical inflection point with artificial intelligence. While AI tools have proliferated rapidly across commercial and public sectors, their uptake in values-driven organisations has been uneven, under-theorised, and poorly governed. This creates both a practical problem for the sector and a significant academic opportunity.

The sector is characterised by a profound gap in adoption strategy which is compounded by resource constraints as well as disparity. For the many SME community-based organisations that form the backbone of the Scottish third sector, this is particularly acute.

Directions of sub-projects could be:

• Intelligence Without Equity? AI Adoption, Capacity, and the Digital Divide in the Third Sector
• Governing Good Technology: AI Policy Frameworks for Values-Driven Organisations
• From Exploration to Implementation: Strategic AI Adoption in Under-Resourced Third Sector Organisations

We welcome applications that explore this topic from a range of methodological and theoretical perspectives, including qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method approaches.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Mo Yan

Prof. Stephania Paladini

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Project Title: AI-enabled Work and Employee Psychological Wellbeing: Navigating Engagement, Identity, and Silent Withdrawal (Reference: BUS 26-02)

Project Overview: 

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into workplaces is rapidly reshaping job roles, work processes, and employee experiences across industries. While AI offers opportunities for efficiency and innovation, it also raises important questions about employee wellbeing, identity, job security, and the nature of meaningful work.

This project seeks to investigate how AI-enabled work environments influence employees’ psychological wellbeing, engagement, and behavioural responses. In particular, it will examine emerging issues such as emotional strain, reduced sense of purpose, and forms of silent withdrawal (e.g. quiet quitting), alongside potential positive outcomes such as empowerment and skill development.

There is scope to explore the organisational and contextual factors that shape employee responses to AI, such as leadership practices, trust in technology, perceived fairness, and workplace support systems. These may be examined within sector-specific contexts such as services, hospitality or knowledge-intensive work.

This project aims to contribute to ongoing debates on the future of work by providing theoretical insights and practical implications for organisations navigating AI-driven transformation. We welcome applications that explore this topic from a range of methodological and theoretical perspectives, including qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method approaches.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Kamelia Chaichi

Dr Susanne Ross

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Project Title: Virtual Influencers as Catalysts for Positive Societal Change: Roles, Practices and Measurable Outcomes in Digital Communities (Reference: BUS 26-03)

Project Overview: 

Virtual influencers have moved beyond novelty and are now an increasingly visible part of digital marketing and online culture. They are computer-generated social media personas that can interact with audiences, endorse brands and cultivate ongoing digital relationships. Recent work suggests that their appeal lies partly in their controllability, strategic consistency and ability to align with particular campaign values, but it also highlights continuing concerns around authenticity, trust, accountability and ethical design (Audrezet et al., 2025; Davlembayeva & Papagiannidis, 2026)

This PhD project invites applicants to investigate how virtual influencers may contribute to positive societal change within digital communities. The project may explore whether and how virtual influencers can support advocacy, prosocial behaviour, awareness-building or civic engagement around issues such as sustainability, wellbeing, inclusion or social justice. It may also examine the conditions under which such efforts are perceived as credible and effective and how measurable outcomes such as engagement, trust, community participation, behavioural intention or digital activism can be assessed.

The topic is particularly suited to candidates interested in digital marketing, consumer behaviour, AI-mediated communication and the social implications of emerging platform technologies. It offers scope for work across branding, ethics, digital communities and behavioural outcomes and could be approached through qualitative, quantitative, experimental, or mixed-method designs.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Abhilash Sugunan Nair

Dr Kamelia Chaichi

References

Audrezet, A., Koles, B., Guidry Moulard, J., Ameen, N. and McKenna, B. (2025) ‘Virtual influencers: Definition and future research directions’, Journal of Business Research, 200, 115647. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115647

Davlembayeva, D., and Papagiannidis, S. (2026) Are virtual influencers the future of influencer marketing? Newcastle University. Available at: https://from.ncl.ac.uk/are-virtual-influencers-the-future-of-influencer-marketing

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Project Title: Female Influencers as Purpose-Driven Ventures: Digital Entrepreneurship, Identity and Social Value (Reference: BUS 26-04)

Project Overview: 

Influencers increasingly occupy a distinctive position between entrepreneurship, branding and cultural production. Many develop highly visible digital ventures that are not solely commercial, but also framed around empowerment, wellbeing, sustainability, advocacy or community. At the same time, these ventures are shaped by platform logics, audience expectations and wider social norms around credibility, authenticity, gender and visibility.

This PhD project invites applicants to explore female influencers as purpose-driven ventures, with particular interest in how social media creators build brands, communicate purpose and create value across digital platforms. The project may examine how gendered expectations shape entrepreneurial identity work, how followers interpret purpose-led influencer activity or how female influencers navigate tensions between advocacy and monetisation. The topic offers scope for research across digital marketing, entrepreneurship, gender studies and consumer culture and may be approached through a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Recent work on entrepreneurial digital identities, influencer labour and purpose/authenticity tensions offers promising foundations in this area (Cuevas et al., 2024; Heeris Christensen et al., 2024; Walter et al., 2024; Hanek et al., 2025)

Supervisor Details:

Dr Susanne Ross

Dr Abhilash Sugunan Nair

References

Cuevas, L. M., Lee, S. H., & Recalde, D. (2024). Fashion Influencer Moms on Instagram: Exploration of Their Affective Labor and Self-Presentation Practices. Social Media + Society, 10(4), p.2.

Hanek, K. J., Bendell, B. L., Sullivan, D. M., & Zinoviev, D. (2025). Being all things to all people: How gender shapes entrepreneurs’ multifaceted digital identities on X. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 43(6), 631-656.

Heeris Christensen, A.-B., Gyrd-Jones, R., and Beverland, M. B. (2024). Dialectical Emotional Labour in Digital Person-branding: The case of digital influencers. Organization Studies, 45(4), 571-591.

Walter, N., Föhl, U., Sander, F., & Nies, A. (2024). Act as you preach! Authentic brand purpose versus “woke washing”. Journal of Business Research, 184, 1-14

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Project Title: Social Enterprise Financial Sustainability & Community Wealth Building
(Reference: BUS 26-05)

Project Overview: 

The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2026, designed to ensure consistent implementation of the CWB model of economic development across Scotland. The Act specifically includes supporting social enterprise and cooperative development, community land and energy ownership, opening up procurement to local organisations, and boosting employee-owned companies. Crucially, beyond the pilots and the recently passed Bill, the next phase involves monitoring and evaluation — researchers are already asking what is next for CWB in Scotland and exploring emerging good practice at that level.

Directions of sub-projects could be:

• Sustaining the Mission: Financial Resilience Strategies in Scottish Social Enterprises
• Beyond the Grant: Revenue Diversification and Mission Integrity in Third Sector Organisations
• Anchor and Sustain: Financial Models for Community Wealth Building in Post-Legislation Scotland - East Lothian
• From Pilot to Policy: Evaluating Financial Sustainability Outcomes under the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026) - Using East Lothian as a Case Study

With potential opportunity to do cross-border comparative study with our connection to Ulster University.

• Comparative Financial Sustainability of Social Enterprises across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland

We welcome applications that explore this topic from a range of methodological and theoretical perspectives, including qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method approaches.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Mo Yan

Dr Susanne Ross

Dr Kevin Geddes

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Project Title: Psychological Mechanisms of Behavioural Interventions in Promoting Green Consumption (Reference: BUS 26-06)

Project Overview: 

Encouraging people to choose greener options is important in addressing the societal challenges of sustainability. But even if we want to be green, we do not always act that way. Behavioural interventions have been shown to help consumers make greener choices, yet there is still limited understanding of the psychological mechanisms through which different interventions operate.

This project investigates the psychological mechanisms through which different behavioural interventions influence green consumption. Candidates are encouraged to identify and focus on specific intervention strategies (e.g., normative messages, or other nudging techniques) through a critical review of the literature. The project may examine the effectiveness of these interventions within a specific consumption context, as well as their potential spill-over effects and longer-term impacts. The project is particularly suited to candidates interested in experimental research in consumer behaviour and behavioural science.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Kamelia Chaichi

Dr Cecilia Gladwell

Dr Yuanyuan Zhou

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Project Title: A paradigm shift from infinite tourism growth to exploring degrowth trajectories.(Reference: BUS 26-07)

Project Overview: 

Tourism growth trajectories are increasingly out of sync with planetary boundaries, far exceeding ecological limits and undermining the social needs of host communities. Degrowth frameworks such as Doughnut Economics are gaining traction in a tourism context. This offers ample opportunities to critically assess how current growth models drive ecological breakdowns (e.g. ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, climate change) and, more importantly, investigate how tourism degrowth paradigms can be implemented in practice in ways that align with the “safe and just operating space for humanity” (Raworth 2017). This project offers multiple research pathways, such as modelling tourism futures or exploring stakeholder perspectives and governance challenges through interviews and other participatory approaches.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Cecilia Gladwell

References:

Raworth, K. (2017) Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Random House Business.

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Project Title: Gender-Based Violence and Major Events (Reference: BUS 26-08)

Project Overview: 

Large-scale events such as festivals, sports gatherings and concerts can create vibrant social spaces, but can also expose attendees, staff, volunteers and artists to heightened risks of gender-based violence (GBV) thereby raising fundamental issues about safety. Women are disproportionately affected by the occurrence of GBV. Commentators have suggested that a range of factors, for example, spatial design, crowd density, alcohol use, staffing pressures, training gaps and inconsistent safety procedures can increase vulnerability to GBV and, furthermore, can limit opportunities for safe reporting or early intervention. This PhD topic investigates how GBV manifests in event settings for those attending or working at events, and explores how organisers understand, prevent and respond to these issues. In so doing, this work can generate insights that support safer event environments and more inclusive public spaces. We welcome applications that explore this topic from a range of methodological and theoretical perspectives, including qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method approaches.

Supervisor Details:

Dr Cathy Matheson

Dr Susanne Ross

Successful candidates are likely to have:

• a good qualification in the relevant topic: either a first class Honours degree or a Masters.
• dedication, enthusiasm and strong communication skills in both written and spoken English are essential.
• a valid IELTS certificate is required if English is not your first language and you have not completed a Masters degree from a UK institution or international institution where the course was delivered and assessed in English, within the last five years.
• applicants may come from the UK or any other country. Where applicable, international applicants must be able to meet the UKVI requirements to be granted a student visa.

An overview of the PhD, including key progression stages, can be accessed in the information we provide to current students. Guidance on applying for the PhD is provided on the Graduate School website.

You can apply online using the Admissions Portal. The application process includes completion of an application form and submission of supporting documentation, including a research proposal.

The online application form allows you to save your progress, and you will be able to complete your PhD application in multiple stages, if required.

Following submission of your completed application, you will receive a QMU applicant ID number. Please quote this in any correspondence you have with QMU.

Application form

Please pay close attention to the spelling of your email address within the online form, as this is how we will contact you about your application.

Please ensure you select the appropriate course with the corresponding bursary code for your application (e.g. BUR 25-XX).

Supporting information and documents

As part of your application, you will need to write a personal statement that sets out your experience, suitability for doctoral study, and motivation for applying to study on the QMU PhD programme.

You will also need to provide:

• the reference code for the topic you are applying for (e.g. BUS-26-XX);
• your PhD research proposal;
• copies of your degree certificate(s) and transcript(s);
• confirmation of your English language ability (if required); and
• copies of two letters of reference.

You will be able to upload these supporting documents as part of the application process. This is an important part of the admissions process, and without seeing supporting documents tutors will not have enough information to make a decision on your application. If you are currently undertaking a Masters or Honours Degree and therefore, don't yet have your transcript or certificate for this course, these can be provided at a later date following the submission of your application.

Please note that if your application is submitted with no research proposal or CV included, your application will not be considered.

PhD Research Proposal

All applicants to the QMU PhD programme must provide a proposal for research that has academic merit and is capable of generating new knowledge. We will use your research proposal to check how well you understand the research process

Your PhD research proposal should:

• be a maximum of 1000 words long;
• summarise what the research is about;
• set out why the research is important, making reference to current literature;
• identify provisional research questions; and
• suggest how the research questions can be investigated.

Please note that the research proposal must be written in your own words and should NOT include text that has been copied from books or articles. This is considered plagiarism and will lead to the automatic rejection of your application. In some cases, academic reviewers may submit research proposals to Turnitin in order to verify the legitimacy of the proposed research.

Qualifications (certificates and transcripts)

Please upload copies of your degree certificates and transcripts for any undergraduate or Masters degrees that you have completed or are about to complete.

Evidencing English language ability

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide an IELTS certificate or have completed a degree which was delivered and assessed in English within the last five years.

Only valid IELTS certificates are accepted as evidence of English language capability.  You need a score of 6.5 (with no less than 6.0 in each element).  IELTS certificates are valid for two years after the test date.

If you completed a degree, at a non-UK institution, that was delivered and assessed in English, then you will need to provide a formal letter from the institution, on headed paper, stating that your degree was delivered and assessed in English. 

If your documents are in any language other than English then they will need to be accompanied by a formal certified translation into English, by either the awarding institution or a sworn translator.

References

Two academic references are required.

Referees must provide your reference in the form of a formal letter on headed paper. The reference must be dated and signed (and ideally stamped). Please note that we may contact your referee to verify the reference letter prior to it being accepted.

Referee contact details should include a professional email account. Please do not provide personal email addresses for referees (such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo), as these will not be accepted.  

Application Date

Applications should be made by 11.59 pm on Sunday 17th May 2026. Please note that interviews will take place w/c 1st and 8th June 2026 on Microsoft Teams.

Apply Now

For further information regarding the PhD Programme please contact the Graduate School Team at graduateschool@qmu.ac.uk.

For further information regarding the Application process please contact Admissions@qmu.ac.uk.