Key Subject Area “Organizing in Times of Crisis”: Doctoral Research Associate with a background in Management or Business Administration
28.05.2025
As a humanistic, sustainable and action-oriented university, Leuphana University of Lüneburg stands for innovation in education and science. Methodological diversity, interdisciplinary cooperation, transdisciplinary cooperation with practice-based partners and an overall dynamic development characterize its research profile in the fields of culture, education, management & technology, public affairs, and sustainability. With the university-wide research development program “Embracing Transformation through research, education and knowledge transfer” (in short “Embracing Transformation”) Leuphana aims to establish itself as a leading university for the analysis and critical reflection of transformation processes. More than one hundred researchers at various career levels will collaborate in an interdisciplinary environment to generate transformation knowledge that empowers individuals and communities to manage societal challenges and develop solutions for the common good.
Visit our website to learn more about the five Key Subject Areas that are involved in the project: “Climate Futures in Digital Cultures”, “Companies das Drivers of Sustainability Transformations”, “Democratic Resilience”, “Organizing in Times of Crisis”, and “Toward a Regenerative Society”, complemented by a “Psychology of Transformation” acting as a Hub Science. To create synergies between these various fields and explore new perspectives, the “Leuphana Transformation Lab“ will be established as a shared intellectual and physical space to promote collaboration among the researchers involved.
The university is looking for a responsible, motivated and committed person for the Key Subject Area “Organizing in Times of Crisis” to fill the position of a
Doctoral Research Associate with a background in Management or Business Administration
(salary group EG 13 TV-L, with 75 % of the regular weekly working time of a full-time employee for a limited period of 4 years to start on 1 October 2025 or depending on your availability)
We invite you to become part of an exciting community of scholars and offer you the opportunity to advance your academic career by pursuing a doctorate. You will be able to refine your own disciplinary profile and work with a great number of participating Leuphana professors, postdocs, other doctoral researchers and international fellows in a stimulating interdisciplinary setting. You will thereby build an international network for the advancement of your career in the highly dynamic and future-oriented field of transformation research as well as management and organization studies. To fully benefit from the purpose and value of collaborative and interdisciplinary research facilitated by a shared physical space, an adequate presence on campus is expected.
The Doctoral Research Associate for the Key Subject Area “Organizing in Times of Crisis” will be allocated to the Professorships of Entrepreneurship and Organization Studies (Prof. Dr. Elke Schüßler) or Organization Studies (Prof. Dr. Matthias Wenzel) depending on the candidate’s profile and specific research interests. The Research Associate is expected to develop a doctoral thesis on the broader subject area of “organizing in times of crisis”, with a particular focus on crisis-resilient organizations and institutions, the role of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and/or questions of time, temporality, future-making, and strategizing in crisis. The Research Associate is also expected to assist in the development of a research proposal in the focal area of the KSA and support with some coordinative tasks. The Research Associate will benefit from being integrated in the Leuphana Center for Organization and Social Transformation (LOST), a lively center for process- and practice-based organizational research with a strong international network and reputation, as well as regular workshops and events.
Your tasks:
- Write a doctoral dissertation, typically made up of a series of research articles (“cumulative dissertation”) in the field of organizing, strategizing, entrepreneuring and innovating in times of crisis and, in doing so, contributing to the development of the Key Subject Area “Organizing in Times of Crisis” through topical knowledge and insights
- Contribute to the common objective of “Embracing Transformation” by analyzing, understanding and theorizing transformation processes and generating transformation knowledge
- Contribute to the development of the Key Subject Area “Organizing in Times of Crisis” by drafting follow-up funding applications
- Advance your own academic career, e.g., by preparing for a postdoc position or assistant professorship
- Participate in and co-organize regular meetings and workshops
- Contribute to teaching on themes related to “Organizing in Times of Crisis” (amounting to 1 German SWS = 0.75 hours regular teaching time per week during the term)
Your qualifications:
- An above average master’s degree in Management or Business Administration, ideally with a focus on Organization Theory, as well as a bachelor’s degree, both according to the Bologna process (master: two years, 120 ECTS; bachelor: three years, 180 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification
- Initial skills in empirical social research, typically acquired in prior bachelor’s and master’s studies
- Experience/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
- Willingness to participate in larger research projects
- Ideally, experience in interdisciplinary contexts
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English to actively participate in English-speaking debates, teaching, reading groups, workshops, seminars, and research projects at business level; having an at least basic command of German is an advantage
- Strong personal initiative, excellent organizational skills, and ability to work in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams
Our offer:
- An inspiring cutting-edge collaborative research environment with multiple established and early-career scholars and scientists working together in an attractive modern university building designed by Daniel Libeskind
- Inclusion in the research-active Leuphana Center for Organization and Social Transformation (LOST)
- Green and inviting campus at the edge of the picturesque Hanseatic town of Lüneburg, close to the Northern German metropolis Hamburg
- Flexible and family-friendly working hours within a time frame between 6 am and 9 pm, including opportunities for remote working
- A wide range of additional (subsidized) benefits such as continuing education, sporting activities, catering service for lunch and dinner, and a public transport ticket valid in the whole of Germany
- An additional company pension scheme through the Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL)
Your application:
For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Elke Schüßler (elke.schuessler@leuphana.de) and Prof. Dr. Matthias Wenzel (matthias.wenzel@leuphana.de).
Leuphana University of Lüneburg promotes professional gender equality and heterogeneity among its members. Applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preferential consideration if they have the same qualifications. Please also note our data protection information for applicants. Please be available on the 17th and 18th of July 2025 for job interviews on campus.
We look forward to receiving your application, including a research proposal of up to five pages outlining a working title, a brief explanation of the aims and key questions of the project as well as its relevance to the topic of “Organizing in Times of Crisis”, the positioning of the project in fields relevant to management and organization studies 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 four years. In addition, please include a CV (without photo) and a motivation letter in which you briefly describe (1) your qualifications, (2) how your envisaged research project may contribute to the interdisciplinary concept and overall goals of “Embracing Transformation”, and (3) how working in this setting will be beneficial for your own academic career. Please send it by the 29th of June 2025 digitally (summarized in a PDF file) or by post to:
Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Human Resources and Legal Affairs / Application Management
Subject: Organizing in Times of Crisis PhD
Universitätsallee 1
21335 Lüneburg