PhD in Institutional Investor Active Ownership, Strategy, Governance and Finance
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.
