PhD student in Business Administration, with focus on Marketing

Stockholm Business School (SBS) is one of the largest departments at the Faculty of Social Sciences with about 150 employees and 3 500 students. The teaching and research focus on accounting, finance, management, and marketing.

More information about us, please visit: Stockholm Business School.

Subject area

The position is associated with the Marketing Section. We are looking for two enthusiastic and dedicated PhD students interested in pursuing research in marketing with a focus on marketing strategy and/or consumer behavior in a circular economy and digitalization era.

The research group CIRDIM (Stockholm Circular and Digital Marketing Research Initiative) brings together researchers at Stockholm Business School specializing in marketing strategy and consumer behavior. Our mission is to advance theoretically grounded and practice-relevant knowledge that supports the transition toward sustainable, data-driven, and customer-centric business ecosystems.

Our research focuses on circular economy business models, digitalization, and artificial intelligence, spanning several interconnected domains. An overarching theme in our research is technology adoption and artificial intelligence. At present, our main research areas are:

Marketing strategy
Our research in this area has made foundational contributions to understanding circular business models, including empirical and conceptual studies on industry challenges, as well as the role of customers in enabling circular value creation. We investigate how digitalization drives business model innovation, with notable work evaluating past developments and identifying future research trajectories in digital retail transformation.

Consumer behavior
A significant stream of our research is focused on consumer behavior, including topics such as sustainability-oriented consumer behavior, online retailing, retail digitalization, consumer-facing technology in retailing, live video shopping, and technology use among older consumers. Further work will, among other topics, examine willingness to pay for sustainable services and consumer use of artificial intelligence.

Qualification requirements

In order to be admitted to postgraduate education, the applicant must have the general and specific entry requirements. The qualification requirements must be met by the deadline for applications.

In order to meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must fulfill at least one of the following criteria:

1. Completed a second-cycle degree,
2. Completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle,
3. Have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements for acceptance to the doctoral programme in business administration, the applicant must have completed at least 90 credits in business administration, or the equivalent, including an independent work of at least 15 credits.

Selection

The selection among the eligible candidates will be based on their capacity to benefit from the training. The following criteria are considered: previous study results, including independent analysis and organisation of written work; ability to formulate research problems; rigour demonstrated in previous work and the research plan; previously demonstrated ability to meet deadlines; methodological and scientific maturity; communication and interpersonal skills; familiarity with the research area of the intended thesis; and proficiency in English (written and oral).

Admission Regulations for Doctoral Studies at Stockholm University.

About the position

The position will start on September 1, 2026.

We offer a fixed-term employment as a doctoral student according to Chapter 5 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). The period of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for four years. As a doctoral student, you should primarily devote yourself to your own doctoral education, but the employment may include work with education, research and administration to a limited extent (maximum 20 %).

A new employment as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, the employment is then renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact

More information is available at the PhD programme website: www.su.se/english/divisions/stockholm-business-school/education/courses-and-programmes/doctoral-programme-in-business-administration

For more information about the marketing section, please contact Professor Martin Johanson, telephone +46 8 16 46 49, martin.johanson@sbs.su.se.

If you have questions about the programme, contact Professor Sara Jonsson (Director of Research Studies), sara.jonsson@sbs.su.se.

Application

Apply for the PhD student position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. Attach a personal letter and CV as well as the attachments requested in the application form. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.