PhD in Institutional Investor Active Ownership, Strategy, Governance and Finance Roskilde University in Denmark

Roskilde University is offering a fully funded PhD position in Institutional Investor Active Ownership within the Department of Social Sciences and Business. The project sits at the intersection of strategy, governance, finance, responsible investment, and the green transition, and is designed for a candidate interested in an academic career.

The PhD fellow will study how institutional investors decide whether to remain passive, engage actively with corporate managers, or divest from firms and industries that do not contribute to sustainability and responsibility. The research will examine engagement strategies, their impact, and how these dynamics play out across a wider set of institutional investors in a comparative European and Chinese context. The project also aims to extend analysis to private non-listed companies and to assess impact using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

This is a double degree PhD between Roskilde University and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, co-financed by the Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research. The successful candidate will spend 12 months in Beijing during the programme and will also teach quantitative research methods to master’s students at the Sino-Danish Centre (in China or online). The position is for 3 years and includes generous travel money.

Supervision will be provided by Professor Kristian J. Sund (Roskilde University), with co-supervision from Assoc. Professor Johannes K. Dreyer (Roskilde University) and Professor Jiang Yu (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences).

Eligibility highlights include a master’s degree or equivalent in management, economics, or a related discipline; preferably relevant coursework in strategy and/or finance; strong English skills; high grades; and knowledge of statistics. Applicants must be willing to live in Beijing for at least 12 months and should clearly state this in the cover letter. Chinese citizens including citizens from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao are not eligible.

The application deadline is 2026-06-15. Applications must be submitted in English via the Roskilde University job portal and should include a cover letter, CV, education documentation and grades, an English translation of diplomas, a PhD project description (max 5 pages), a time schedule, and any relevant documentation of research experience, work experience, or publications.