Dissertation acknowledgments and subsequent collaboration among business scholars

Abstract Dissertation acknowledgments record support largely absent from publication and coauthorship data. Our core analytical sample comprises 1,343 U.S.-trained business scholars with linked dissertation, career, and bibliometric records. We estimate separate ordinary least squares models for years 1–3, 4–6, and 7–10 after Ph.D. completion. We distinguish new from repeated coauthor ties and examine family acknowledgment counts, text volume, and allocation among mentors. Family counts and total words are positively associated with new collaboration across all intervals; repeated-collaboration associations are positive but less uniformly precise. Mentor acknowledgment levels show a less consistent pattern. An exploratory measure of changes in mentor-text concentration under citation weighting is associated with new collaboration mainly in years 4–6. Secondary analyses show positive associations with the Financial Times 50-journal publication measure in selected specifications. The findings connect doctoral support records to later collaboration and broaden the relational information available for studying scientific careers, without establishing causal effects or personality traits. JEL classification: D23; D91; D64; J24; O31; O32