PhD Research Scholar positions - Department of Strategy and Management

The PhD specialisation

NHH is pleased to announce vacancies in the Department of Strategy and Management. Candidates admitted to the PhD program will receive the title of PhD Research Scholar. The department welcomes applications specialising in several fields of research such as strategy, innovation, management, organisational behaviour, and marketing. The research areas described below represent research opportunities emphasised by the Department, but applications within other relevant research areas are also welcome.

Start date: August 2026

Digital Innovation for Sustainable Growth
Digital Innovation  for sustainable Growth (DIG) is a research center at the Department of Strategy and Management, focusing on sustainable growth and transformation enabled by digital technologies. As a PhD Research Scholar, you will join an ambitious research community with access to leading organisations, national register data, and advanced AI infrastructure. We invite applications on the following major grand challenges: AI for Business and the Silver Economy. AI is reshaping organisations, strategies, and workforce skills, while demographic aging creates both challenges and opportunities for business innovation and sustainable growth. These shifts call for new insights into strategy, competition, and organisational adaptation.

The center’s research focuses primarily on five key areas:

• Business intelligence
• Consumer Psychology and Technology Adoption
• Creating and capturing sustainable value
• Governance Leadership and Change
• Future of Work

Applications within all these areas are welcome. 
E-mail: bram.timmermans@nhh.no

AI and the Professional Services – Rethinking Structure, Strategy, and Work in the Age of Algorithmic Expertise
Within DIGs AI agenda we have a particular interest in proposals linked to AI and Professional Services. As AI technologies take on a growing share of knowledge-intensive tasks, their diffusion in professional service firms carries significant implications for organisational design and career structures. Professional service firms, like law firms and consultancies, have historically relied on junior cohorts to perform routinised yet foundational work that underpinned apprenticeship and progression. With AI systems now executing such tasks more efficiently and at lower cost, traditional pathways of recruitment and training are being destabilised. This shift is driven by technological substitution, heightened client demands for efficiency, and the strategic redeployment of human expertise toward judgment, creativity, and client engagement. The result is not merely a reduction in entry-level roles, but a reconfiguration of how professional services structure their labor, sustain legitimacy, and balance human and algorithmic capabilities. These dynamics can be studied through both qualitative and quantitative approaches through investigating professional service firms at different stages of AI integration.
E-mail: lasse.lien@nhh.no

Global Strategy / International Business – with a focus on digital transformation and geopolitics
Global Strategy investigates how the global context shapes firms’ strategies and strategic management. Recent geopolitical events, rising populism that weakens global institutions, and the urgency of grand social and environmental challenges are redrawing that context and creating rich research opportunities. In parallel, advances in digital technologies - including AI and Industry 4.0 - challenge core assumptions in International Business, reshaping where firms expand, how they organise cross-border activities, and how they compete. We welcome proposals that explore these themes and their intersections using primarily quantitative methods. We are explicitly open to candidates from adjacent disciplines - such as political science, international relations, or information systems - who seek to integrate their perspectives to advance Global Strategy and International Business research.
E-mail: bjorn.schmeisser@nhh.no

Business Model Innovation
Business model innovation (BMI) has become a central theme in strategy and management research, as firms are increasingly challenged to rethink how they create and capture value in response to disruptive technological, environmental, and societal changes. While BMI is increasingly studied in contexts such as digital transformation or sustainability transitions, it also raises broader questions about the cognitive, organisational and strategic mechanisms that enable or constrain innovation in business models.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• How do top management team characteristics, decision-making processes, or governance arrangements shape BMI?
• In what ways do cognitive frames, attention allocation, or identity of managers influence the pursuit of BMI?
• How do firms manage paradoxes and tensions—such as short-term efficiency versus long-term transformation—when innovating their business models?
• How do external forces—such as regulation, societal expectations, or global disruptions—affect the trajectories and outcomes of BMI?

This opportunity is well suited for candidates interested in strategy, sustainability or innovation and offers flexibility in choosing research contexts and theoretical approaches.
E-mail: tina.saebi@nhh.no

The Future of Human Resource Management (HRM)
Rapid technological change is transforming how we work and organise. Remote work, digital collaboration tools, and artificial intelligence are reshaping management practices and employees’ working lives. At the same time, organisations face growing expectations for sustainable and responsible HRM—while navigating the realities of an aging workforce and shifting labor markets. We welcome proposals that explore these critical transformations in a Nordic context, where collaboration among employers, employees, and labor unions plays a central role. You will have the opportunity to investigate how technology, sustainability, and demographic change interact to shape the future of work.
E-mail: karen.olsen@nhh.no

Export Brand Positioning
Many exporters in B2C and B2B markets draw on country-of-origin information in foreign market communication. Previous research shows that such information may have significant effects on brand evaluation and sales of export brands. Origin is often communicated as a simple extrinsic cue, for instance in terms of a made-in-label. However, greater leverage from origin could be achieved if favorable origin-elements are included in the export brand positioning. To what extent do exporters include origin-information in the brand positioning? When is this more and less effective? How is this practice different in B2B and B2C markets? What procedures do exporters use to integrate origin and which normative, theory-based procedures can be developed? 
E-mail: magne.supphellen@nhh.no

The Board of Directors (BoD) as Strategic Partner and Change Agent
The role of the Board of Directors has evolved from monitoring performance, controlling the financials and approving strategy to becoming increasingly involved in and responsible for the strategic direction of the firm, particularly as a partner to the top management team supporting strategic renewal and innovation in the established firm. Research questions of interest include: exploring the processes through which BoDs initiate and influence strategic change and renewal, the collaborative dynamics between BoDs and senior management, and internal board dynamics. We are particularly interested in process studies on strategic changes driven by sustainability needs/goals (e.g. green transition and/or addressing the super-aged society).
E-mail: inger.stensaker@nhh.no

Understanding “Chemistry” Between People at Work
What makes people “click”? While interpersonal “chemistry” is well-documented in friendships, families, and romantic relationships, its role in organisational life remains largely unexplored. This PhD project seeks to advance our understanding of what drives interpersonal chemistry in work settings—why some people experience immediate connection and trust, whereas others struggle to align. The project invites research into the psychological, behavioral, and contextual mechanisms that produce interpersonal chemistry at work. We encourage candidates interested in combining theory from social and organisational psychology with creative methodological approaches—such as experiments, simulations, or field studies—to uncover how chemistry shapes collaboration, leadership, and team performance. We are looking for motivated candidates with a background in organisational behavior, psychology, management, or related fields who want to contribute to cutting-edge research on the science of human connection at work.
E-mail: therese.egeland@nhh.no

The PhD programme

The PhD programme at NHH is a four-year fully-funded programme, which combines an intensive course component with research and relevant work experience, preparing the school’s graduates for scholarly positions at recognised international institutions and positions in knowledge-intensive institutions and firms outside of academia. Former PhD graduates have been hired by renowned institutions such as Harvard University, The University of Sydney’s Business School, University of Amsterdam, Tilburg University, Hanken School of Economics, Norwegian universities and business schools, as well as by government, banking, financeand consulting industries.

The PhD research scholars will be included in a highly stimulating and rewarding research environment, working closely with faculty members and other PhD research scholars at the school. PhD research scholars participate actively in faculty and research seminars, as well as in workshops. As part of the position, the PhD research scholars allocate 25% of their time to career promoting work such as teaching assistance. They also receive pedagogical training. The place of work is at NHH in Bergen, where the PhD research scholars will have their own office space at their department.

The PhD programme gives preference to applicants who address research problems that align with the department’s research interests and the available resources for supervision. As the school aspires gender balance and diversity, female applicants will be given preference if applicants are otherwise equally qualified.

NHH offers

• annual salary of NOK 565 000 (equivalent to approximately EUR 48 150 or USD 55 940) pr. August 2026. For particularly well-qualified applicants, a higher salary may be considered. Thereafter annual adjustment of minimum 3%. The salary ensures a fair standard of living in Norway and is subject to Norwegian taxes and benefits, including public health care benefits and pension savings
• career guidance and an individual career development plan
• opportunity to take basic Norwegian language courses
• research funds for travels and funding for conference participation and research stays abroad to build a wider network and strengthen the research of the PhD research scholar

The city of Bergen offers a mild coastal climate and hosts rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities, as well as a family-friendly environment. Note that public healthcare, public schooling for children, and most other public services are free in Norway. To explore Norway and the city of Bergen, go to visitnorway.com.

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for the PhD programme. Applicants must normally have completed a five-year Master of Science (MSc) degree in Economics and Business Administration or a comparable degree. The average grade must normally correspond to a minimum of B (4.0) in the Norwegian grade system. 

The Department of Strategy and Management requires you to demonstrate both an adequate level of academic skills and an adequate level of English language proficiency (unless you are exempt). We accept the following tests:

• GMAT or GRE tests to measure your academic skills
• TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic to measure your English language proficiency

When applying, you are required to upload a copy of your unofficial test scores in Jobbnorge before the deadline. If you are shortlisted, NHH will ask you to give us access to your official test scores without delay.

Exemptions:

• You are waived from the GMAT or GRE tests if you hold a qualifying master’s degree from a Nordic institution.
• You are waived from TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic tests if you are a native English speaker, if you have a qualifying master’s degree from a Nordic institution or if you have a qualifying master’s degree where the language of tuition was English.

For more detailed information about the tests and their minimum scores, please visit our webpage: Admission to the PhD programme| NHH. If you have questions, you may contact phd@nhh.no.

Application requirements

You are required to upload the following documents with your application in Jobbnorge:

• Certificate of your master’s degree or equivalent, including transcripts of records. You need to have completed your master’s degree prior to the starting date for the position. If you have not completed your degree when applying for the position, please attach a transcript of records of the courses and grades that you have completed so far.
• Certificate of your bachelor’s degree or equivalent, including transcripts of records.
• Other relevant certificates or transcripts (e.g. courses completed at the PhD level).
• If the issuing authority of grades and degrees does not use the ECTS grading scale, include an official description of the grading scale used.
• Statement of purpose describing your motivation for applying for this position (250-300 words).
• A research proposal (2000-4000 words). The research proposal should describe the aims, research questions, and motivation of the proposed research. Please note that your research proposal is tentative and often needs adjustments after your acceptance into the programme. 
• Curriculum vitae.
• A list of all publications and/or other documented research activities.   

Please upload the documents in separate files, not combined in one single file.

Letters of recommendation and contact details of references:

Letters of recommendation and/or contact details of references may strengthen your application, but they are not mandatory. If you choose to include letters of recommendations, the references should send their letter of recommendation in PDF format to hr-phd@nhh.no by latest 15 January 2026. Contact details of references may be included in Jobbnorge when you apply. 

General information

For more information on the PhD programme and the submission procedure, please consult the NHH PhD website. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please note that applicants for the PhD research scholar position do not need to apply separately for admission to the PhD programme.

NHH emphasises diversity and encourages qualified candidates to apply for the position regardless of gender, cultural background, age and disabilities. 

In accordance with §25 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act, information about the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to have his/her name entered on the list of applicants. The applicant will be notified if his/her request is not respected.

As part of the recruitment process, a background check may be conducted with the candidates' consent.

For questions and inquiries about the NHH PhD programme, please contact phd@nhh.no.

Applications must be submitted through the Jobbnorge online portal. To open the application, please click ‘Apply for this job’. For the English version, go to the menu at the top right side.

Application deadline: 15 January 2026

PhD programme at NHH

Let a PhD from NHH be your next career step!

Video: https://youtu.be/uALqnX_Lqio