Abstract
This article reports results of a field study undertaken with 34 marketing doctoral program advisors. The respondents were contacted through the mail and asked to identify the differentiating characteristics of their most successful dissertation-stage doctoral candidates. The doctoral advisors who participated also were asked to provide suggestions on dissertation topic identification, chairperson selection, committee management and coordination, and proposal development. Results indicate that successful dissertation-stage doctoral candidates are perseverant, intellectually curious, and methodologically competent, and that they possess strong interpersonal skills. The findings have direct and meaningful implications both for doctoral candidates and faculty involved in doctoral education.
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