PhD Schol­ar­ship in the Field of Mar­ket­ing at the De­part­ment of Mar­ket­ing at Copen­ha­gen Busi­ness School

Copenhagen Business School invites applications for one vacant PhD scholarship at the Department of Marketing. Expected starting date is 1 September 2026.

Based in architecturally beautiful buildings in central Copenhagen, our mission at the Department of Marketing at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) is to deliver excellent research-led education to an international audience at all levels, and to engage impactfully with business and society.  

The Department has five research clusters— Advances in Branding Research Cluster; B2B Marketing-Sales Research Cluster; Consumer Research Cluster, Digital Marketing Research Cluster, Tourism and Hospitality Management Cluster. Our faculty members rely on a wide range of theories and methodologies, within both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and are committed to rigorous theory development and theory-driven, empirical research. Our research focuses on marketing, yet we draw on other academic disciplines to the extent that they improve the quality of our marketing research. Our faculty members publish in both marketing and other relevant journals contained within the Academic Journal Guide (AJG; formerly ABS) ranking list. Through our research-based teaching, we contribute across a palette of courses and programs at Copenhagen Business School.

The Department looks for PhD students who are interested in conducting academic research to create new knowledge in their respective field of research and to succeed after graduation either in a professional academic research career or in a professional career outside of academia, meaning in private firms or public institutions, where their sophisticated research skills are in high demand. Please see below a non-exclusive list of possible research topics. Applicants are welcome to forward topics outside the below mentioned as long as the topic is anchored in a core research field of the department. A tentative supervisor is added in parenthesis; you are welcome to reach out for additional information: 

Redefining branding in an era of digital fluidity and subjectivisation: individuals, consumption, innovation and organisations. (Richard Gyrd Jones)

Examination of AI sycophancy: The tendency of AI systems to uncritically agree with or reinforce users’ views, and its influence on human judgment and decision outcomes. (Johannes Hattula)

Frontline Work in the Age of Intelligent and Sustainable Systems (Ad de Jong), for example: 

• Hybrid frontline service teams. Optimal task allocation between frontline service employees and AI agents. 
• Implementation of the circular economy and frontline performance. Frontline employees’ understanding and endorsement of circular practices.
• Human vs AI frontline employees. Frontline employee identity, trust, satisfaction, and sales.
• Algorithmic management and frontline performance (e.g., Uber, Amazon, call centers). Perceived fairness and transparency of algorithms.

About the PhD program

The three-year PhD program at CBS allows the PhD students to conduct research under the supervision of faculty, supported by research training courses. The PhD program is highly international, and the PhD students are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time (ideally abroad) as a visiting PhD student at a leading university. See CBS’s homepage for more information about the PhD program: PhD programme

At CBS, we have a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness, and relevance of our research and teaching programs. Candidates who wish to join us should demonstrate enthusiasm for working in an organization of this type, highlighting, for example, relevant research, business, educational, and dissemination activities.

It is also required that the PhD students are physically present at the department on a regular basis and have an interest in joining the Department’s active research environment, see Department of Marketing

The PhD candidate will be enrolled in CBS’ PhD School.

Qualifications

To be considered, at the time of enrolment the applicant must have completed an academically relevant master degree according to the Bologna process (3-year bachelor degree (180 ECTS points) and 2-year master degree (120 ECTS points)) or equivalent qualifications; see also below for specific requirements. The applicant must have successfully completed a Master’s degree before commencing the PhD at CBS. An educational background in the social sciences is preferred. 

The applicant must be fluent in English, both in spoken and written forms. Due to our commitments in courses and programs taught in Danish, proficiency in Danish (written and spoken) at a level sufficient for teaching is considered an advantage.

General information 

A PhD scholarship runs for a period of three years and includes educational obligations such as teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, examinations, and project supervision for a total of 416 work hours. The PhD student can become involved in externally funded research, too.

The scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The monthly salary is currently approximately DKK 29,691.75 up to DKK 36,180.00 depending on seniority and a pension contribution total 18.07%. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). Salary level and employment take place in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's agreement with the Academics' Central Organization. Please find and follow guidelines and further information on PhD scholarships and the PhD Program at PhD programme

Details about CBS and the Department of Marketing are available at www.CBS.dk

The Application 

Copenhagen Business School must receive all requested application materials, including all appendices by the application deadline. The PhD application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system using the link below. Any PhD application, which does not follow the requested procedure or which does not contain all the requested information, will not be considered. All materials including all appendices (see items below) must be received by the application deadline.

The application material must include:
1.    Letter of Motivation (maximum 250 words)
2.    Proposed PhD project description: The project description must include the following information:
•    The chosen topic (for inspiration see above) and names of tentative supervisor(s).
•    The name of the PhD candidate.
•    Title of proposed PhD project.
•    Abstract of proposed PhD project (maximum 100 words).
•    Description of the proposed PhD project (maximum 2,000 words excluding time plan illustration and references) with the following sub headings:
o    Research topic
o    Literature/theoretical/domain positioning
o    Research gap & potential contribution
o    Research approach/method.
o    Literature references
o    Tentative time plan
o    Societal and scientific relevance and impact of research project

Please note that we request the above to infer PhD applicants’ interest in and capability of undertaking high-quality research. The actual research that the successful PhD applicant eventually will undertake will be decided upon in collaboration with the supervisors upon enrollment. 

3.    Cooperation document: The application must include a document reflecting the candidate’s preferred approach to receiving feedback and supervision, i.e., the ideal balance of independence and control, and why this is their personal preference (maximum of 150 words). See also https://tidsskrift.dk/dut/article/view/127292/175079

4.    Degree fulfillment document: The application must include a document that details that the PhD applicant fulfils the following requirements, or equivalent qualifications:
•    3-years 180 ECTS bachelor degree 
•    2-years 120 ECTS master degree with a 30 ECTS master’s degree 

The document must explain how the PhD candidate has attained the following graduate point average (GPA) score:

• Either: a combined GPA of 8.2 on CBS’ 7-point scale (i.e., 8.2/12 = 68.3%). You combine your bachelor’s GPA and master’s GPA by applying the following calculation: (180 x Bachelor’s GPA + 120 x Master’s GPA) / 300.
• Or: GPA of 9.5 (on CBS’s 7-point scale) in your Master’s degree (corresponding to 9.5/12 = 79.2%).
• The Master’s thesis itself must have attained a minimum grade of 10 (Danish 7-point grading scale)

This document (that details how the PhD applicant fulfils the requirements) should include a detailed overview of each of the PhD applicant’s course grades (Bachelor and Master’s degrees) including a detailed overview in an Excel table that translates each course grade into % (following the Danish 7-point grading scale). For example, if you have a grading system of 1-5 (with for example 5 being the highest), and you get 4.5 in a course, then you convert the grade to % as follows: 4.5/5 = 90%.
5.    Copies of a Master’s degree certificate (or other certificates of a corresponding level; grades for all courses and dissertation must appear on this certificate)
6.    A curriculum vitae (CV) (maximum 2 pages)
7.    If relevant, a list of any working papers and publications
8.    One copy of a selected written work (e.g., Master’s thesis)
9.    Two recommendation letters (preferred) or names of two referees (with the full contact details including telephone, e-mail and institution)
Please note that GMAT or GRE test scores are strongly recommended. A Toefl test is recommended for non-native English speakers.

Recruitment Procedure
The Recruitment Committee of marketing experts will shortlist a number of applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline.

Applicants shortlisted for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and later in the process about the result of the assessment. The assessment of the PhD applications will be based on the quality and relevance of the research proposal, including an evaluation of the applicant’s ability to accomplish it, as well as the match with a tentative supervision team and teaching obligations. Following this assessment, the decisions are expected to be announced no later than end of May 2026. Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application. The expected starting date is September 1, 2026.