Transformative Business Education for Sustainability Transitions

About the Project

This PhD project explores how business education can catalyze sustainability transitions by fostering transformative learning and individual agency. Sustainability transitions require systemic change across socio-technical regimes, yet such change is deeply personal, demanding shifts in worldviews and values. Business schools, as influential institutions, must move beyond managerialist paradigms to embrace epistemic change that equips future leaders to navigate complexity and drive socio-ecological regeneration.

The research will investigate principles and pedagogies for transformative education in management/business learning, focusing on systemic thinking or pluralistic knowledge systems. It will analyze how these educational interventions trigger epistemic shifts and multi-level impacts, from individual agency to institutional transformation. It also focuses on the institutional context (e.g., business schools) of these education programmes. Methodologically, the project combines qualitative inquiry (e.g., interviews, case studies) with participatory action research in educational settings, leveraging collaborations with international business schools and sustainability networks. Quantitative methodolgies are also possible to assess the transformation of students.

The candidate will contribute to theory-building on transformative education for sustainability transitions and publish in leading journals such as Academy of Management Learning & Education, Business Strategy and the Environment and Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. This PhD project offers an opportunity to shape the future of business education and advance scholarship at the intersection of sustainability transitions and transformative education.

Supervisor: Dr. Nicolas Chevrollier

Duration: 5 years, depending on progress

Investment: Year 1 € 4,250, Years 2 & 3 € 9,750 per year, Years 4 & 5 and possible subsequent years € 3,500 per year. Fees are subject to change, no rights can be derived from this information, visit our website listed below for the latest fee information.

To apply:

This project is only available within our Self-Funded Part-Time PhD program. Application is only possible via our website https://www.nyenrode.nl/en/programs/p/phd-program-(part-time), which also provides further details around the application package, which includes:

• Application essay form (our fillable application essay form)
• Title
• Proposed research question
• Research background & rationale
• Methodology
• Suggested supervisors at Nyenrode
• Personal motivation
• Certified copy of your Master's degree or equivalent
• Copy of corresponding transcript/grade list(s) from your Masters or equivalent
• Curriculum vitae
• Reference letter(s)
• Photo

Contact:

For further information, please visit our website https://www.nyenrode.nl/en/programs/p/phd-program-(part-time) or contact Nyenrode’s PhD School at phd@nyenrode.nl