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The application deadline is February 1, 2025 (CET). 

House of Innovation (HOI) is a vibrant, cross-disciplinary, collegial research environment with a focus on excellence and impact. Applicants interested in working within HOI should apply for the PhD in Business Administration, specializing in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology (DEIT).

The SSE PhD Program in Business Administration is a four to five year, full-time, residential program taught in English. We do not offer distance learning, or allow for part-time studies. All admitted PhD students receive a scholarship from the SSE, and are guaranteed funding throughout the PhD program, conditional upon satisfactory performance. SSE does not charge tuition fees for the PhD programs.

SSE and HOI/DEIT are located in the center of Stockholm, a worldwide top-ten environment for tech-based entrepreneurship and innovation. SSE is ranked as the top business school in the Nordics, with excellent access to the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, as well as to many world-leading companies operating in and from Stockholm.

Our students are highly talented and motivated, and SSE’s programs are highly regarded (FT world rankings: Executive open programs #15, Master in Management #15, Master in Finance #23).

HOI/DEIT accepts applications in all areas of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology. For our 2025 intake of PhD students, we particularly encourage applications for the following focus areas;

Art and Innovation

This area of research examines the interplay between creativity, leadership, and societal transformation, offering insights that are increasingly vital in a world shaped by technological advancement and cultural complexity. There are two possible perspectives to engage in this exploration: “Art in Innovation” and “Innovation in Art.”

The first perspective, “Art in Innovation,” addresses a profound shift in the nature of innovation in the age of artificial intelligence. As AI increasingly excels at problem-solving, the essence of innovation is becoming less about finding solutions and more about making sense of a rapidly changing world. Leaders face the challenge of understanding how societal meaning evolves and how this understanding can inform the creation of innovations. Art, as a medium of reflection and interpretation, offers powerful tools to navigate this terrain. Through art, leaders can cultivate a deeper awareness of societal narratives, foster curiosity, and embrace ambiguity. It can serve as a catalyst for reflexivity, encouraging individuals and teams to question assumptions and open new pathways for creativity. Understanding how art enables leaders to interpret and influence meaning in society is critical to empowering organizations to innovate in ways that go beyond functionality and into significance.

The second perspective, “Innovation in Art,” explores the transformative impact of AI on the creative industries. From visual arts and music to film, design, and writing, the ways artists create, collaborate, and derive value from their work are undergoing profound change. AI reshapes not only the processes of creation but also the identities of artists, the dynamics of artistic communities, and the economic models underpinning creative work. These shifts raise urgent questions: How does technology redefine what it means to be an artist? How do new forms of collaboration emerge, and how do creative circles adapt and thrive? What are the implications for value creation and protection in industries that rely on creativity? Exploring these questions sheds light on how innovation alters cultural production and the broader implications for leadership and management.

Both these perspectives are meant to young scholars who are curious about how art can guide leaders to create meaning and how innovation transforms the artistic landscape. By joining us, you will not only expand the boundaries of knowledge but also contribute to the development of practices and ideas that redefine the future of leadership and creativity. The research is conducted in one of the most advanced environments at the intersection of art, innovation and leadership, as the Stockholm School of Economics, and specifically its Art Initiative, is at the forefront in this space. And Stockholm is a global hub for art, leadership, creativity and innovation (especially in the context of the music industry). For questions about the research context and suitable projects, please contact Professor Roberto Verganti. For questions about the application process, please contact the admissions team.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation within Family Enterprises and Family Offices

Most businesses globally are owned and controlled by families, and they contribute greatly to economic and social development through entrepreneurship and innovation with a long-term orientation and strong commitment to sustainability and the balance of financial and non-financial goals. Representing the major contributors to GDP and employment, as well as many of the most famous brands throughout the world, academic research into the challenges and opportunities facing family offices and family enterprises is an important priority. At House of Innovation, we conduct this research within the Center for Family Enterprise led by the SEB Chair in Entrepreneurship and Family Business.

As a PhD candidate focusing on family office or family enterprise, you will engage in research within one or more of the following areas: a) family offices as investors in entrepreneurial companies, from founder- to family-led business transitions and the development of entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities of owner-families and their businesses across generations. b) families as owners, e.g., how owners organize and exercise their involvement in private and publicly listed companies, the professionalization of ownership and governance in growing and complex family enterprises, family office structures and the challenges and opportunities associated with succession and ownership transitions. c) how and why family enterprises and family offices have an impact beyond financial performance, i.e., combining profit and purpose, through sustainable business practices and integrating non-financial goals in their legacy as well as various forms of family philanthropy and impact investing. While it is not a requirement, knowledge of working with big datasets and quantitative analysis is a plus. We also welcome applicants with a background in applied econometrics and those with an economics background.

The link to the Center for Family Enterprise offers unique potential access to empirical data and to the international research frontier in this area. For questions about the center and suitable projects, please contact Professor Mattias Nordqvist. For questions about the application process, please contact the admissions team.

Sustainable Business Development through Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Interesting research opportunities for incoming PhD Students exist also at the intersection between innovation and sustainability. The House of Innovation leads the Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets (MISUM) research platform on Sustainable Business Development through Entrepreneurship and Innovation. MISUM is SSE center of excellence on sustainability, and offers a cross-disciplinary environment to address sustainability challenges from multiple perspectives. One theme that is central in the platform’s activity, is the role of innovation in radically transforming how natural resources are used, managed and conserved. Novel technologies, products, services and business models can shift the existing industrial paradigm towards new value drivers and practices that support the joint achievement of higher levels of economic, environmental and social goals. The focus is particularly on forests and forest management, which are at the core of Sweden’s ecology, economy, society and culture. In the forest sector, digital technologies, such as sensors, drones, AI and blockchain, and value innovations, such as carbon credits and biodiversity conservation payment schemes, are already transforming how value is created with, rather than from, forests. Innovation research on forest and natural resources management is connected to the Matts Carlgren Chair in Business Administration, which offers excellent access to leading companies and experts in the field. For questions related to the center and suitable projects, please contact Professor Mattia Bianchi. For questions about the application process, please contact the admissions team.

Science in the Development of Emerging Industries

Opportunities exist for prospective PhD students interested in topics related to “science of science” and knowledge transfer. Society’s future and development are dependent on knowledge produced by science: scientific progress is central to technological progress, and to the development of welfare-enhancing innovations. Therefore, the question of how we direct the development of scientific knowledge to tackle global, complex, and sometimes unexpected, societal challenges is of crucial importance. Particular topics of interest in this area include, but are not limited to: the role of the funding system in shaping scientific careers and science production, diversity and inequality in the scientific system, the role of science in the development of emerging industries. Students in this area will be connected to the work conducted in the Jacob and Marcus Wallenberg Center for Innovative and Sustainable Business Development, which provides excellent access to cutting edge data and an extensive network. Students will be expected to conduct quantitative research and to have an interest in developing their data analysis capabilities. A keen interest in machine learning techniques is appreciated. For questions related to these topics, please contact Professor Valentina Tartari. For questions about the application process, please contact the admissions team.

The Future of Work

Themes around the Future of Work and information systems are well suited for PhD studies of technology and innovation with specific impact on organizational behavior and firm strategy. For example, emerging infrastructure of algorithmic control changes the way employees can communicate in organizations ranging from financial services to pharmaceuticals and transportation. Information technology materializes rules and procedures that in turn shape practice and growing phenomena including e-sports and new consumer behaviour may have lasting impact on collaboration and innovation. The impact that information systems, notably generative AI and machine learning but also much more mundane tools, exerts on organizing and work stretches from professional conduct all the way to firm survival. Opportunities for PhD studies include ethnographies and qualitative studies of practices and organizations undergoing technological change and disruptions. Multi-method studies may tackle both large samples of behavioral traces and incidents as well as deep analyses of behavioral change and processes leading to successes or failures. For questions regarding these themes feel free to contact Professor Stefan Haefliger. For questions about the application process, please contact the admissions team.

About Stockholm School of Economics

The Stockholm School of Economics is an academic hub for ambitious students and researchers from all over the world. By working closely with corporate partners and society at large, SSE has been creating opportunities for its graduates for over 100 years. Please read more here www.hhs.se