my work in the area of workplace culture. Thanks once again to Emerald and the EFMD for the professional boost they have given me through the award." Dr Tim Baker Queensland University of Technology, Australia "I am honoured to be the winner of the 2007 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award in the category of Marketing Strategy. I am greatly encouraged by this recognition of my contribution to literature and to industry where academicians, policy makers and practitioners can gain from its applicability and international context. I would like to thank Emerald/EFMD for providing young researchers such as myself an international platform in which to display our research capabilities and gain recognition. I am much indebted to my Ph.D. supervisor Dr. Nigel Poole of Imperial College London for his guidance, encouragement and counsel throughout my study. I am also greatly indebted to my family who has been the backbone of all my successes! I consider this achievement a significant recognition of qualitative social science research. While my research utilises the Sri Lanka/UK tea industry as the basis for its findings, its outcomes are applicable to social science research in various industries worldwide. I would like to utilise this success as a solid foundation of recognition of my research and build on it to further my research through collaboration with research experts across the world!" Dr Dulekha Kasturiratne Lecturer in Marketing, University of Plymouth, UK Doctoral Degree at Imperial College London (University of London) "I am delighted that Dulekha Kasturiratne's Doctoral research