Philip Maxton, who recently graduated with a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), has been presented with the 2016 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award.

His thesis, titled 'Employee transition throughout an appreciative inquiry intervention', was chosen in the Leadership and Organization Development category and he is set to receive a cash prize of €1 500.

By sponsoring the awards, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, a publisher of the largest collection of international business and management journals, and the EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development), an international network association with more than 820 members from academia, business, the public sector and consultancy across 83 countries, seek to celebrate excellence in research.