A DOCTORATE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (DBA): A NEED OR LEISURE

This research intends to provide insights with regards to the factors that influence Saudi's professionals to take a DBA Program. In this process, it examines elements such as perception of the value of DBA in Saudi Arabia including perceived value in career development, social standing as well as other factors and considerations. Since the 125 respondents are all working professionals, our research also aimed to find out whether DBA knowledge would contribute to notable development and growth in organizations? The history of DBA and Ph.D. Programs in KSA and from developed countries were studied and briefly summarized. The value-added proposition of DBA to the industry and society was overviewed and enlightened in the manuscript. Moreover, research methods we used were outlined in the methodology section. The results suggest that passion for the state-of-the-art knowledge and the career development were the main drivers behind the decision to go for a DBA program according to the Saudi professionals’ surveys. Other results were also deterministic for some other factors such as perceived as social standing. The study concludes with providing recommendations for organizations, universities and government in Saudi Arabia to consider the DBA as a highly needed degree for the Saudi Society.