PHD SCHOLARSHIP IN MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION at the Doctoral Research Group Entrepreneurship, Management & Innovation (EMI).

2024-03-13

The Leuphana University of Lüneburg in general and the School of Management & Technology in particular intend to increase their efforts to foster young academic talent. For this purpose, the School of Management & Technology provides one PhD scholarship in the area of management and organization. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2024.

This announcement is aimed at outstanding applicants within the above-mentioned area, or areas that are closely related to management and organization, such as strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The granting of the PhD scholarship will be conditional upon the candidate’s admission to EMI’s doctoral studies starting on October 1 and no later than December 31, 2024.

The PhD scholarship will at first cover one year and will be prolonged upon request, covering a maximum of three years in total. When successful applicants care for children younger than 13 years or needy close relatives, the scholarships can also be prolonged by up to 12 months.
If applicants have already begun their doctoral studies, periods that have been funded by other sources will be taken into account in calculations of the total length of the scholarships. This also includes applicants’ employment with the at least partial purpose of pursuing doctoral studies. The scholarship will not be awarded to applicants with a PhD.

The PhD scholarship amounts to 1,550 Euros per month, plus a children’s allowance where applicable. Additional professional activities in addition to the doctoral studies are not allowed to exceed eight hours per week on a yearly average.
The scholarship recipient is expected to advance an empirical PhD project at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg in the given disciplinary area that pays into the profile areas “entrepreneurship”, “digital transformation”, and/or “sustainable and responsible management” of the School of Management & Technology. In addition, receiving this PhD scholarship implies continual and active participation in EMI’s doctoral program and research colloquia. The dissertation should be a cumulative bundle of coauthored papers; submitting a monography-based dissertation is also possible. The PhD project should be composed in English, and it should build on and extend current international debates in the areas of management and organization. Among others, the successful completion of the PhD project will require an interest in and enjoyment of empirical and theoretical work as well as scientific writing, the ability and willingness to develop and elaborate one’s own research project independently, willingness to discuss preliminary findings at national and international discipline-specific conferences and workshops, and the capacity for teamwork and self-understanding as being part of a mutually supportive research community.

Furthermore, the scholarship recipient is expected to conduct a PhD project based on qualitative research methods, and to be interested in contributing to broader theoretical debates in management and organization, including but not limited to strategy and entrepreneurship as process and practice, digital, corporate & institutional entrepreneurship, digital transformation, organizational identity, paradox, time and temporality, space, new forms of organizing, and organization as communication.

Being awarded with the announced PhD scholarship opens up the following opportunities:

  • A lively, research-active, and supportive environment
  • Inclusion in the Leuphana Organization Studies Group (LOST)
  • Workshops, seminars, summer and winter schools, and colloquia that advance methodological and writing skills, foster exchanges among PhD students, and continually generate feedback on PhD projects
  • Active supervision by experts from the field
  • Financial support by the Fund for Young Researchers of Leuphana Graduate School for attending scholarly conferences, summer schools, short-term research stays, and workshops

In addition to the expectations raised above, applicants are required to meet the following preconditions and qualifications:

  • Proven qualification for doctoral studies: An above-average Master degree (or close to completion, at the latest by November 2024) in management or related areas, as well as a Bachelor degree, both according to the Bologna process (Master: two years, 120 ECTS; Bachelor: three years, 180 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification
  • Initial skills in qualitative research methods, typically acquired in prior Bachelor and Master studies
  • Lingua franca: Ability to actively participate in English-speaking debates, reading groups, workshops, seminars, and research projects at business level

Women are explicitly encouraged to apply. In the case of equal qualification, women will preferably receive the scholarships.
For content-related questions on the PhD scholarships, please contact Prof. Dr. Markus Reihlen (markus.reihlen@leuphana.de).

Please submit your application in English and via email in one merged PDF file including

  • A motivation letter, including an indication of which EMI member you find suitable for supervising your PhD project
  • A description (max. five pages excluding references) of the proposed PhD project, including a working title, a brief explanation of the aims and key questions of the project as well as their relevance, the positioning of the project in fields relevant to management and organization as well as the gaps and challenges therein that are to be addressed, a description of the planned methodological approach as well as the project’s potential theoretical contributions, and a brief overview of the work plan that shows how the project will be finished in up to three years.
  • Your CV, including an overview of prior studies and potential research activities
  • Diplomas (English or German, legally attested translations in the case of other languages)
  • A transcript of records (English or German, legally attested translations in the case of other languages) that lists the courses and seminars attended in one’s master studies, unless indicated in the diplomas
  • Relevant employer’s references or employment contracts (e.g., for scientific activities)
  • Proof of English-language proficiency, typically language certificates or the successful completion of courses and seminars in English

with the subject “PhD in management and organization” to
Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Universitätsallee 1
21335 Lüneburg
susanne.weerda@leuphana.de