Doctoral Research Areas and Dissertation Topics 2027
The 2027 offer includes both broad research areas and more specific dissertation topics. Some research areas are accompanied by examples of possible topics. Applicants should consult the relevant supervisor to refine their research problem, objectives and research design.
1. Strategy, Governance and Entrepreneurship
This area covers organisational transparency, entrepreneurship support and finance, social entrepreneurship, and responsible business development.
doc. Mgr. Ing. Pavel Král, Ph.D.
Research area: Organizational transparency and opacity
Examples of specific topics:
- Strategies of organisational transparency and opacity
- A process study of the implementation of pay transparency
This supervisor also offers a research area under Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Human Resource Management.
doc. Ing. Ondřej Dvouletý, Ph.D., MSc.
Contact: ondrej.dvoulety@vse.cz
Topics
- Heterogeneous effects of entrepreneurship support policies
- Economic impacts of non-financial entrepreneurship support
- The economic sustainability of social enterprises and its determinants
- Entrepreneurial heterogeneity in motivations and lifestyles
- Crowdfunding as a source of finance for entrepreneurship and business growth
Amitabh Anand, Ph.D.
Contact: amitabh.anand@uni-corvinus.hu
Topics
- Entrepreneurship with Purpose: Sustainability, Spirituality, Ethics, and Mindfulness for Responsible Growth
- Entrepreneurship and SMEs growth and survival during uncertainty, displacement, and geopolitical tensions
This supervisor also offers topics under Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Human Resource Management.
2. Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
This area covers consumer decision-making, interactions with AI, brand communication, corporate responsibility, sustainable consumption, price dynamics, and product presentation in e-commerce.
doc. Ing. Tomáš Kincl, Ph.D.
Consumer decision-making and choice delegation in interactions with artificial intelligence
Acceptance of recommendations, delegation of decisions to AI, autonomy and control over choices, and changes in consumer behaviour resulting from experience with AI.
Moral evaluations of brand conduct and consumer responses to violations of social and ethical norms
Attributions of responsibility and blame, consumer animosity and moral emotions, brand rejection or support, and consumer responses to remedial actions and changes in brand conduct.
doc. Ing. Michal Novák, Ph.D.
Topics
- “When we say it is AI-generated”: The impact of AI-generated content disclosure on trust, persuasiveness and loyalty
- AI authorship and the “authenticity penalty” in emotional brand communication
Tahir Islam, Ph.D.
Topics
- Video platforms and their role in shaping consumer engagement and purchase intention
- CSR authenticity and greenwashing as drivers of consumer trust and corporate reputation
This supervisor also offers a topic under Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Human Resource Management.
doc. Ing. Pavel Syrovátka, Ph.D.
Contact: pavel.syrovatka@vse.cz
Topics
- Sustainable household consumption and emerging patterns of consumer behaviour
- Price dynamics in selected markets
Ing. Jiří Filip, Ph.D.
Topics
- The benefits of analysing the visual and tactile properties of materials for e-commerce
- Generative modelling of product appearance in arbitrary environments
3. Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Human Resource Management
This area covers employee behaviour, leadership, human resource management, reward systems, ethics, and knowledge management in organisations.
doc. RNDr. Lenka Komárková, Ph.D.
Contact: lenka.komarkova@vse.cz
Topics
- The role of person–organisation value congruence in employees’ innovative work behaviour
- Healthspan as a strategic pillar of sustainable human resource management in the context of an ageing workforce
- Factors influencing quiet quitting in the non-profit sector: The role of organisational learning
- Mechanisms through which green servant leadership influences employees’ pro-environmental behaviour: Positive and negative effects
doc. Mgr. Ing. Pavel Král, Ph.D.
Research area: Rewards in organizations
Examples of specific topics:
- Alternative outcomes of performance-related pay and the conditions under which they arise
- The effects of financial pressure on managers
This supervisor also offers a research area under Strategy, Governance and Entrepreneurship.
Tahir Islam, Ph.D.
Topic
- Servant leadership, psychological empowerment, and knowledge hiding in hybrid work environments
This supervisor also offers topics under Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.
Amitabh Anand, Ph.D.
Contact: amitabh.anand@uni-corvinus.hu
Topics
- Dark side of enterprises: ethical conflicts, misconduct, fraud, knowledge hiding and deception
- Taboos in workplace: employee romance, sleeping at work, adult entertainment products, etc.
- Organizational knowledge management and employee behaviours
This supervisor also offers topics under Strategy, Governance and Entrepreneurship.
4. Quantitative Modelling, AI and Decision Support
This area covers decision-making under risk and uncertainty, algorithmic decision systems, probabilistic models, machine learning, efficiency assessment, and resource allocation.
doc. Ing. Vladislav Bína, Ph.D.
Contact: vladislav.bina@vse.cz
Research areas
- Quantitative modelling and managerial decision support under risk and uncertainty
- Artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision systems in management
- Data-driven modelling, efficiency assessment and resource allocation in complex socioeconomic systems
Examples of specific topics across these research areas
- Robustness of managerial decision-making under deep uncertainty
- Decision-making under uncertainty, incomplete information and conflicting objectives
- Modelling the long-term effects of demographic, economic and institutional changes on socioeconomic systems
- Assessing efficiency and equity in the allocation of scarce resources
Ing. Jiří Vomlel, Ph.D.
Topics
- Decision Modeling under Uncertainty: Influence Diagrams and Bayesian Networks in Management
- Adapting software applications to users’ needs and levels of expertise
- Machine learning methods for extracting structural knowledge from data
Jiří Vomlel supervises doctoral research within SALOME III, the joint laboratory of the Faculty of Management, Prague University of Economics and Business, and the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences. His research involves mathematics, algorithms, machine learning and applied statistics. These topics are suitable for applicants interested in mathematical and computational methods. Applicants primarily interested in qualitative research or theoretical work without these methods may find that his research focus is not a suitable match for their objectives.
5. Healthcare and Tourism Management
This area covers the organisation and financing of healthcare services, the digital transformation of patient pathways, tourism modelling, residents’ and visitors’ relationships with destinations, and participatory destination governance and resilience.
doc. Ing. Peter Pažitný, Ph.D.
Topics
- New organisational models for healthcare providers
- Modern healthcare provider payment mechanisms in the context of New Public Management
- Redesigning patient pathways through digital technologies and AI
doc. Ing. Petr Štumpf, Ph.D.
Research area: System dynamics modelling for decision support in tourism destination management
Example of a specific topic:
- Simulating overtourism dynamics and assessing scenarios for mitigating its negative impacts in selected destinations
Research area: The role of residents’ and visitors’ social identity in tourism destination management and marketing
Example of a specific topic:
- The role of a sense of belonging to place in the behaviour of visitors and residents in tourism destinations
Mgr. Ing. Martin Luštický, Ph.D.
Contact: martin.lusticky@vse.cz
Topics
- Applying adaptive co-management in participatory tourism destination governance
- Building tourism destination resilience through stakeholder engagement
- Community well-being as a dynamic driver of tourism destination development