The SMA Dissertation Competition recognizes outstanding doctoral research in the field of marketing. The competition encourages emerging scholars to showcase innovative ideas with firm conceptual and methodological grounding. Submissions may be early-stage proposals or completed dissertations, but all entries will be evaluated based on their scholarly merit, potential impact, and research rigor. The requirements and submission criteria are offered below:
Awards
- Best Proposal Award
$250 cash with no restrictions on use
Complimentary conference registration
Recognition and plaque at the awards ceremony
Presentation of the proposal in an Annual Conference Special Session
- Runner-up Proposal Award
$150 cash with no restrictions on use
Complimentary conference registration
Recognition and plaque at the awards ceremony
Presentation of the proposal in an Annual Conference Special Session
The winner(s) MUST attend the Society for Marketing Advances Annual Conference and present their research in order to receive their award. Students who do not win are still strongly encouraged to present their paper in a special doctoral dissertation session(s) at the conference.
Submission Deadline: August 31, 2026.
Submission Criteria and Procedures:
Eligibility
- Open to doctoral candidates and recent graduates (within 12 months of degree conferral).
- Submissions must represent the dissertation research of the entrant and must not have been submitted previously to this competition.
- Co-authored papers are not eligible; the dissertation author must be the sole author of the submission.
- Submissions must represent the dissertation research of the entrant and must not have been submitted previously to this competition.
- Doctoral students MUST register for and attend the 2026 SMA Annual Conference.
Format
- Proposals are limited to 25 double-spaced pages, including a title page (see below), an abstract (150-word limit), all figures, tables, and references.
- Documents must be formatted in MS Word, double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins all around.
- APA or AMA citation style.
- Authors should avoid identifying themselves, their advisor(s), or their university in the text. Please include the following info on a separate title page: title, author's name, institutional affiliation, postal mail address, e-mail address, telephone number, and name of primary dissertation advisor.
- Proposals are evaluated through blind reviews, and reviewer comments will be provided to the author.
Evaluation Process
All submissions will be blind reviewed by a panel of expert scholars with diverse methodological and topical expertise. Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
| Criterion | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Articulation of Research Objective(s) | Clarity, specificity, and scholarly significance of research aims/questions |
| 2. Relevance and Timeliness of Topic | Importance of the topic in advancing marketing theory or practice; alignment with current issues |
| 3. Conceptual Foundation | Strength and coherence of the theoretical basis; grounding in extant literature and logic |
| 4. Abridged Literature Research | Breadth, depth, and synthesis of relevant literature appropriate for the stage of the work |
| 5. Soundness of Methodology | Appropriateness, rigor, and justification of the research design and data analysis techniques |
| 6. Potential Contributions | Theoretical, methodological, or managerial insights; originality and expected impact |
How do I submit? Submit your paper (with the abstract included) electronically through the SMA submission system just as you normally would at www.societyformarketingadvances.org. Make sure to select the "Dissertation Proposal
Competition" track when submitting.
For questions, please contact Dr. Lou Pelton at LouE.Pelton@unt.edu or Dr. Jenny Guo at yguo@binghamton.edu.