Cranfield School of Management PhD Studentship

This fully funded PhD studentship at Cranfield School of Management offers an exciting opportunity to explore how generative AI is reshaping strategic decision-making, organizational sensemaking, and accountability in modern organizations. Sponsored by Cranfield School of Management, the studentship provides a full tuition fee waiver and an annual bursary of £20,780 (tax free) for three years, and is open to both Home and Overseas fee status students.

The project investigates the transformative impact of AI-mediated strategizing on the framing, justification, and execution of strategic issues, addressing critical challenges of judgement, defensibility, and responsibility as organizations increasingly rely on AI-generated logic and insights. Situated within strategic management and organization studies, the research draws on the strategy-as-practice and process-based research traditions, while engaging closely with AI governance and algorithmic organizing. It examines how generative AI is altering core managerial activities, especially strategic decision-making, sensemaking, and accountability, by reshaping how issues are framed, evidence is constructed, and authority is exercised.

This research is highly relevant for contemporary business and management, particularly in sectors characterized by high regulation, uncertainty, and intense public scrutiny. The project aims to develop a process model of AI-mediated strategizing, explaining shifts in sensemaking, accountability, human–AI collaboration, and the quality and defensibility of strategic decisions. It will also generate practical insights and tools to improve AI-enabled decision-making in organizations, exploring how AI outputs are integrated into decision processes, accepted or contested as evidence, and how responsibility is negotiated when AI influences strategic choices.

Cranfield School of Management is recognized as one of the UK’s top business schools, renowned for its rigorous research and strong engagement with practice and policy. The successful candidate will join a vibrant scholarly environment, supported by supervisors with expertise in strategy, organization studies, qualitative and process research, and the organizational implications of digital and AI technologies. The studentship enables focused research of the highest quality, with access to research seminars, doctoral training, executive education, and a collaborative academic community.

The expected academic outcome is a robust, theory-building account of how generative AI reshapes strategy formation by influencing sensemaking, justification work, and the distribution of accountable agency in organizations. The project will also produce practice-relevant outputs, offering evidence-based guidance for integrating generative AI into strategic decision processes while maintaining defensibility, transparency, and responsible oversight. These insights will be valuable to leaders, governance functions, and policymakers designing decision rights, review routines, and accountability mechanisms that preserve meaningful human judgement alongside AI’s capabilities.

The studentship provides a strong platform for ambitious early-career scholars to develop and publish cutting-edge research at the intersection of strategy, organization studies, and AI. The candidate will receive academic and financial support to participate in research seminars, paper development workshops, and conferences, with the expectation of producing work suitable for leading journals. Tailored doctoral training and access to Cranfield’s technology and management research ecosystem further enhance the student experience.

Applicants should have a first- or second-class UK honours degree, or equivalent, in a related discipline. A research background in strategy, organisation studies, AI, or a related field is particularly welcome. Strong qualitative research skills, intellectual curiosity, and persistence for evidence-driven research are required. Prior research engagement (thesis, published work, research assistance, or independent projects) is desirable. Applicants must also meet Cranfield's English language requirements. For further information, contact Dr Mehdi Safavi at [email protected].