PhD in the Department of Strategy and Innovation Copenhagen Business School in Denmark

The Department of Strategy and Innovation at Copenhagen Business School is inviting applications for two fully funded PhD stipends as part of a new cohort focused on the intersection of research, innovation, and societal engagement.

The project is linked to Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE) and is designed for candidates interested in entrepreneurship, business building, scaling, corporate venturing, impact investing, and related innovation topics. Successful projects may examine how startups, scaleups, established firms, or entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve, with a particular emphasis on practical relevance, dissemination, and co-creation with industry and stakeholders.

The department welcomes proposals grounded in ongoing SI research streams and expects applicants to connect their work to CSE activities, either as a dissemination channel, a research context, or a source of data and interviews. The position is ideal for students who want to combine strong theory with empirical work and real-world engagement.

CBS’s Department of Strategy and Innovation is cross-disciplinary, with faculty backgrounds in management, economics, sociology, and economic geography. Research methods in the department are broad and may include formal models, econometrics, lab and field experiments, register data, surveys, and qualitative approaches. Applicants should demonstrate coherent theoretical reasoning and a clear methodological plan.

The PhD program is a three-year program at CBS, with supervision by CBS professors and participation in the CBS PhD School. The selected candidates will join the SI PhD cohort, a formal research-training program including foundational courses in SI research areas and methods courses such as econometrics, experiments, and qualitative methods. PhD students are also expected to participate in international research conferences and spend time abroad as visiting PhD students.

The position includes teaching obligations. The scholarship is fully salaried according to the Danish collective agreement and includes tuition fees, office space, travel grants, and a monthly salary of approximately DKK 31,000 to DKK 37,000 plus pension contributions. Candidates with a one-year master’s degree may be considered for a four-year track.

Applicants should have strong academic performance, a social science background, and fluency in English. The application deadline is 28 September 2026, and the expected start date is 1 February 2027 or earlier. Applications must be submitted through the CBS electronic recruitment system with transcripts, CV, a sample of written work, and a five-page PhD project description.