Staff research interests in this group cuts across four main domains including, marketing strategy and performance; product development and innovation; buyer behaviour; and the management of supply (value) chains and market delivery systems. Overview Projects cover a wide range of themes ranging from the marketing department’s influence on organisational performance, determinants of marketing innovation, brand and product development success, and pricing, advertising and distribution effectiveness, to marketing information/decision-support systems utilisation, value co-creation by open innovation, and consumer evaluation and processing of product communications. The group has a long tradition in its sectoral focus on the food industry which has complemented its aim of promoting empirical, international and interdisciplinary research to enhance marketing theory and practice. Ongoing and future projects will continue to extend its sectoral foci to emerging market economies, high-technology and new (social and digital) media environments. In addition, the group’s empirical and policy-oriented work is supported by the strong links with industry and an international network of research partners. Location You will be based either at the Canterbury or Medway campus, depending on where your first supervisor is based, for the duration of your PhD. Should you be based at Medway you will be expected to travel to Canterbury for compulsory modules and events run by the Graduate School. There is a regular University shuttle bus, which runs between Canterbury and Medway during term-time, this service is free for students. About Kent Business School Kent Business School has over 25 years’ experience delivering business education. Our portfolio of postgraduate programmes demonstrates the breadth and depth of our expertise. Academic research and links with global business inform our teaching, ensuring a curriculum that is relevant and current. We are ranked as a top 30 UK business school for the standard of our teaching and student satisfaction. We also hold a number of accreditations by professional bodies. Studying at Kent Business School (KBS) gives you the opportunity to increase your employability with real-life case studies, a student council and a business society. We have strong links to local and national organisations providing opportunities for projects, internships and graduate placements. The School attracts many high-profile speakers from industry and has included visits and lectures from staff of the Bank of England, BAE Systems, Barclays, Lloyds Insurance, Cummins, Delphi and Kent County Council. The School currently has 60 PhD students, who form a dynamic and close-knit research community. National ratings In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, we were placed 25th (out of 101 institutions) in the UK for research intensity in business and management studies and 98% of our research was judged to be of international quality. The School’s environment was judged to be conducive to supporting the development of research of international excellence. The School was also ranked 24th for its breadth and depth of research across the whole community of research active staff by the Association of Business Schools.