PhD student positions available at the House of Innovation
Scholars at HOI produce scientific knowledge relevant to academics, corporations, government agencies, civil society actors and individuals. In doing so, we interact with an international network of scholars and academic institutions, as well as with corporate and institutional funders. Many researchers at HOI are leading in their respective fields and they regularly publish in top academic journals, attend leading conferences, serve as editors of leading journals, and generally have a significant footprint in both academia and in wider society. As supervisors in the PhD program, HOI scholars offer the right candidates a committed, supportive, and challenging education with great opportunities to pursue an international career within academia and/or industry after graduation.
For more information about the research environment at House of Innovation, which incorporates the Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology, please visit: www.hhs.se/houseofinnovation. For specific information regarding the focus of our scholars and potential, please visit www.hhs.se/en/research/research-houses/house-of-innovation/our-people/
While we are starting or expanding specific research projects in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and digitalization, we are also looking more generally for excellent candidates for our PhD program with any relevant and topical interest in the prioritized areas of HOI. We have broad definitions of entrepreneurship, innovation and digitalization encompassing areas such as new ventures and start-ups, corporate entrepreneurship, social and sustainable entrepreneurship, innovation management, technology management, operations management, product development, design, digital innovation, and platform dynamics. Potential topics for new PhD projects include, but are not limited to:
- Entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems
- Ownership and governance strategies in new ventures
- AI from a social science perspective
- Entrepreneurship and innovation in family firms
- Renewal in supply chains and product development and innovation management projects
- Operations
- Predictive and causal analysis of big data
- Sustainability analytics
- The relationship between innovation, leadership and design.
There are also ample opportunities to form interdisciplinary PhD projects and to benefit from SSE’s and HOI’s broad national and international collaborations with other leading research environments in our focus areas. The PhD program offers the possibility to specialize in quantitative or qualitative research methods and designs, and to combine a strong theoretical foundation in business studies with inspiration from different disciplines (e.g. psychology, sociology, humanities, health, engineering and economics).
Featured specific opportunity: pursue your SSE PhD at the Garden – HOI’s Center for Design and Leadership
In a rapidly changing world, innovators are confronted by an extreme abundance of information and opportunities. In this new scenario, Innovation seems to depend less on traditional ideation and more on the capability to find meaningful directions to navigate in this sea of opportunities. Innovation is increasingly a matter of reframing (seeing what is in already in front of us, but what others cannot see) and of sense making. This is why the disciplines of innovation management, design and leadership are getting closer and more integrated.
As a PhD student at HOI’s Garden you will work with Professors Roberto Verganti and Mattia Bianchi and pursue your PhD research with focus on the development of novel leadership models that effectively identify and execute breakthrough innovation opportunities. How can innovative leaders transform products, organizations, and society into a new direction that is more meaningful? In particular, what is the role of design in this process? How can design become a driver of purpose in business? And how can we help leaders to reframe the challenges they address in a more effective way?
For more details regarding PhD opportunities at the Garden please contact Professor Mattia Bianchi at mattia.bianchi@hhs.se.
Who are we looking for?
The goal of the PhD program is to develop strong scholars that can successfully compete for positions at leading academic institutions around the globe, or for expert roles in organizations outside academia. We welcome applications from potential PhD students with various educational backgrounds (e.g. business studies, social sciences, engineering, sciences). Our general standards are high, and we expect successful candidates to have strong records of academic performance in previously completed university programs. We also expect candidates to be curious, passionate about their subject and to have a strong and clear motivation behind their choice to pursue a PhD.
Applicants may come directly from university or from a professional career in a relevant area. In either case, prior experience from research activities and scientific methods is helpful, as are strong foundational skills in a particular discipline, theory, or subject area. The language of instruction is English, which means that adequate command of spoken and written English is a requirement of applying to the PhD program.
For inquiries regarding PhD opportunities at HOI, please contact Professor Mattias Nordqvist at mattias.nordqvist@hhs.se. For general questions about the application process as well as formal requirements and eligibility as well as funding, please contact the admission team at phd.admissions@hhs.se and visit www.hhs.se/en/education/phd/business-administration/
Applications should be sent through the SSE online application portal. Please apply to the PhD Program in Business Administration, specialization in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology. The admission portal is open until February 1, 2021. Notification regarding the results of the selection will be sent out during the spring 2021. Successful applicants will commence their studies in late August 2021. More information about the SSE PhD Program in Business Administration and the link to the application portal are available under PhD programs on our website.
About Stockholm School of Economics and House of Innovation
Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) is one of Europe's leading business schools, with a unique business-community network. Our research is internationally recognized and many of our researchers are among the leading figures in their respective fields. SSE offers educational programs at the bachelor, master, EMBA, executive education and PhD levels. Please read more here www.sse.se
House of Innovation (HOI) is SSE’s unit for research, education and outreach within the prioritized areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and digitalization. HOI includes the Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology as well as the Jacob & Marcus Wallenberg Center for Innovative and Sustainable Business Development, the Scania Center of Innovation and Operational Excellence, the Garden – Center for Design and Leadership and Center for Data Analytics. HOI also collaborates closely with Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship, SSE Business Lab, Swedish House of Finance as well as the MISUM sustainability research center.
