20 May 2019: D-day. Not only because the final episode of Game of Thrones was broadcasted in Belgium that day, but also – and for me, more important – the day of my public defence. After being a (PhD)student at the Faculty of Business and Economics for almost ten years, I finally graduated.
Despite reflecting many times on existential questions such as “What am I doing?” and “What is the purpose of what I do?”, I am sure that my years as a PhD student were the most wonderful, inspiring and memorable years at our faculty.
Definition of a researcher
According to the Cambridge dictionary, a researcher is “someone who studies a subject, especially in order to discover new information or reach a new understanding.” During my time as a PhD student, I studied dividend policy of firms listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange between 1838 and 2012. My research offered new insights on our understanding of dividend policy (which I will, for sake of brevity, not discuss here), so yes, I definitely am a researcher.
But what does it actually mean, “being a researcher”? To me, it is a mixture of being surrounded by people with the same passion, discussing with these people, working together with them and being very lonely at the same time. It is a mixture of freedom (yes, most of the time, I do what I want during my working day) and responsibility (as long as the project is finished before you run out of money). A mixture of reflecting on your research results, presenting them at international conferences and being frustrated when you get stuck.
“I really have no idea how many days I spent staring out the window thinking about how to move forward without actually taking the next step and then getting up in the middle of the night because I finally knew how to solve my problem.”
Passion and meaning
Although doing research is a lot of fun, it should not only be meaningful to me but also to others. I do admit, there is research with more social impact than mine, think of cancer research for instance, but still, studying dividends for 175 years is relevant for investors, managers and policy makers.
For investors, for instance, dividends constitute in the long run the largest part of their income from stocks, so investors better know which type of firms pay dividends in different circumstances (e.g. during crisis or economic expansion). A long sample period offers the ideal setting to discover this.
“For me, being a PhD student was a very nice experience that only increased my curiosity. Being a researcher never stops. It is not my job, it is my way of living. It truly is my biggest passion.”