Postdoc with fo­cus on port de­vel­op­ment and the blue eco­nomy

Copenhagen Business School invites applications for a postdoc position in business, governance, and innovation dimensions of sustainability with a focus on port development and the blue economy at the Department of Strategy and Innovation. The start date will be as early as possible, but no later than 1 August 2026.

Research within the Department of Strategy and Innovation is focused on Strategy, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and International business. The four areas are the pillars the department rests on in its teaching and research activities. The number of staff in the department is approximately 80. This includes about 45 faculty members (professors, associate professors, tenure track assistant professors), 7 administrative staff members, and 30 members of staff who are hired on temporary contracts as research assistants, post docs or PhD students.

The department aims to host an internationally leading environment for research and teaching in strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and international business. The theoretical foundation for research in these areas is eclectic, combining strategy and/or internationalization theory with insights from economics, sociology, psychology, and economic geography. Methodologically, the department places considerable emphasis on the solid application of empirical methods, featuring qualitative interview studies, surveys, register data, or experiments.

The teaching at the department is very diverse across programs and areas and largely falls within the four research areas of the department, i.e. strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and international business.

Position
The department invites applications for a 2-year post-doctoral position linked to the research activities of Associate Professor Michele Acciaro within the project BluePortLab – Multi-use Infrastructure Spatial Concepts for the Blue Economy: Leveraging on Sustainable Port Ecosystems through Living Labs. The project is funded by the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership.
The project is conducted in cooperation with the Copenhagen School of Energy Infrastructure (CSEI), which is a highly specialized European research centre at the Department of Economics at the Copenhagen Business School. CSEI mainly focuses on economic and policy research aspects of European energy issues. At the same time, the center maintains a global outlook to energy challenges of our time. CSEI is funded by stakeholders from the energy sector. The postdoc is expected to interact also with CSEI.

The postdoctoral researcher will be based at the Department of Strategy and Innovation and contribute to the CBS-led research components of the project, with a focus on the business, governance, and innovation dimensions of sustainable port development and the blue economy. The position addresses how ports and port-related firms organize, govern, and innovate in the context of sustainability transitions and multi-use spatial concepts, in particular in the context of port energy transition. The position also carries a teaching component.

The postdoc will investigate firm- and ecosystem-level dynamics related to sustainable innovation, governance structures, and stakeholder engagement in port contexts, focusing also on the role of ports as energy hubs. The research will contribute to understanding how ports can function as multi-use hubs that balance economic activities with environmental and social objectives.

Indicative research questions include, but are not limited to:

• How do firms adapt or develop their business models in relation to multi-use spatial concepts?
• What governance arrangements enable coordination and conflict resolution among heterogeneous stakeholders in industrial ecosystems?
• How do sustainability-oriented innovations emerge and diffuse?
• What are the organizational and institutional challenges associated with integrating environmental objectives (e.g. decarbonisation, biodiversity) into industrial ecosystems such as ports?
• How do stakeholder engagement processes affect the legitimacy, acceptance, and performance of sustainability and energy transition initiatives?

Methods and data
The project adopts an exploratory and flexible empirical approach. The specific methods and data sources will be defined during the project, depending on research needs, case availability, and access to empirical material. Research is expected to rely primarily on case studies of ports and port-related initiatives, workshops, and may draw on qualitative material, spatial information (including GIS where relevant), and environmental or biodiversity-related data, where such data can be identified and accessed.

Profile of the candidate
The ideal candidate is a recent PhD graduate with a keen interest in sustainability transitions, innovation, and governance in complex organizational and institutional settings. The postdoc will contribute to ongoing research through literature reviews, empirical analyses, and co-authorship of academic publications.

Advanced methodological skills and a solid grounding in relevant research literatures (e.g. strategy, innovation, sustainability, governance, organizational studies) are highly desirable.

Qualifications

• A PhD in Management, Economics, or a related social science discipline, completed before the start of the appointment.
• Experience with, or interest in, qualitative and mixed methods, including interviews, surveys, and stakeholder workshops.
• Familiarity with topics such as sustainable business models, corporate social responsibility, energy transition, decarbonisation, biodiversity, or environmental governance is an advantage.
• Previous experience with EU-funded or international research projects is welcome.
• A solid academic record and demonstrated commitment to research.
• Excellent organizational and oral/written communication skills.
• A clear interest in pursuing an academic research career.
• Willingness to relocate to and reside in Denmark.
• Working knowledge of Stata and/or R is recommended.

The ideal candidate for the position will be a recent PhD graduate with a deep interest in this domain who can provide research support in terms of literature reviews, analyses, and join as an author on various projects. Advanced technical skills in empirical analysis, in addition to thorough training in the relevant research literature (strategy and innovation), are desirable.

For further information about the research projects, please reach out via email to Michele Acciaro mac.si@cbs.dk. Information about the department is available at www.cbs.dk/si.

Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Central Academic Organization. A small research budget for travel and conference participation will be available. Information about CBS as a workplace is available at https://www.cbs.dk/en/about-cbs/jobs-cbs.

Application
Applications must be sent via the electronic recruitment system, using the link indicated above. 

The application includes:

• Cover letter.
• A short outline (3 pages maximum) of one research project that the applicant would be willing to conduct during the post-doc period.
• Proof of qualifications and a full CV, including international or industry experiences.
• Indication of 2 academic references, who would be willing to send letters for shortlisted candidates.
• A complete, numbered list of published or unpublished manuscripts with an * marking the (max 2) academic productions to be considered during the review. If you have a job market paper, please indicate so.
• Copies of the manuscripts marked with an *. Only publications written in English will be taken into consideration.

Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee will shortlist a minimum of two applicants; when possible, five or more applicants will be shortlisted. The shortlisted applicants will be assessed by the Assessment Committee.

All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline.

The applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and, later in the process, about the result of the assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline (31 March 2026).