Doctoral Summer Camp: Strategic Management as the Design of Complex Adaptive Systems

We are pleased to announce an Online Doctoral Camp on “Strategic Management as the Design of Complex Adaptive Systems”, from May 11 to June 19 2026. The PhD in Management Programme will host this online course.

Download the application instructions.

How can Complex Adaptive Systems thinking help strengthen your research in strategic management?

Course Objectives: This doctoral-level course hosted by INSEAD introduces a unifying perspective on organisations as complex adaptive systems (CAS), and on strategic management as the challenge of designing and steering the behaviour of such systems. It brings together key strands of management research, including organisational learning, organisational design, and dynamic capabilities, into a coherent theoretical framework, drawing on the complementary perspectives of two leading theorists in the field.

This is an excellent opportunity to be in a focused intellectual exchange and reflection space, supporting you in developing or clarifying research questions, refining research agendas, and positioning your work within the broader strategy and organisation literature.

View Course Syllabus

Dates: May 11th (kick-off), 18th, 21st, 26th, June 1st, 18th and 19th (finale)

Duration of classes: 3 hours

Time: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CEST (set to afternoons CEST, to allow EMEA, East Coast, USA and Asia attendees to participate in the live remote/online sessions)

Who should attend: Designed for current PhD students in Strategy, Organisational Behaviour, Organisational Theory, Entrepreneurship, and related fields who are developing or refining their dissertation research.

What you will gain: Develop a strong conceptual understanding of complex adaptive systems and their relevance to strategic management. Gain analytical frameworks to inform theory building and empirical research. Engage in advanced academic discussion with leading faculty and an international cohort of doctoral peers. Strengthen research agenda within a rigorous academic environment.

Key Topics covered:

Why Complex Adaptive Systems?

• What is a Complex Adaptive System (CAS)
• Organisations as CAS within which both learning (including search) and selection unfold across levels
• Strategic management under limits to authority and foresight

Individual adaptation processes- the basics

• Learning by doing and its synonyms (e.g. learning from experience, experiential learning, reinforcement learning)
• Search as problem solving with interdependence in actions
• Exploration as “doing the non-obvious” vs “doing what’s very different”; Exploration triggered by aspiration failures

Individual adaptation- advanced topics  

• Mental models
• Generalization  
• Offline search and simulation

Multi-actor systems: parallel adaptation  

• Forms of vicarious learning (e.g. inspiration, imitation, belief sharing)
• Adaptation in networks: Sewell Wright and the power of quasi-clustering
• A role for hierarchy: Adaptation through selection over nested parallel systems (Divide and compete)

Multi-actor systems : coupled adaptation  

• Coupling as interdependence between actors
• Limits of A/B testing and RCTs
• Credit assignment problems
• Another role for hierarchy: Asymmetric influence & asymmetric adaptation rates  

Adaptation as Resilience  

• Buffering and slack
• Efficiency vs Resilience
• Nesting vs asymmetry as mechanisms for resilience of hierarchy
• The resilience of generalists 

Application Deadline: Applications should be submitted by Sunday, 15 March 2026, at the end of the day, Fontainebleau. (Note: admissions will be on a rolling basis.) The application fee must be paid as soon as possible for those who submit by the application deadline to secure their spots. 

We have limited spots for this online course. Submit your application early to confirm your space.

Note the critical deadlines and programme dates. 

Accept the website's cookies to view the embedded Google Calendar below, or go to calendar direct link (then select Schedule format in the upper-right corner of your screen).

Registration

To ensure a successful application to the online summer camp, please submit the following: 

1. Complete the online application form, including a statement of purpose or letter of motivation.
2. CV - upload an e-copy (PDF, < 1 MB in file size)

Before you begin your application, please download the application instructions.

Submission deadline: Sunday, 15 March 2026, end of day, Fontainebleau time. Please note that admissions will be processed on a rolling basis.

We have limited spots for this online course. Submit your application early to confirm your space.

Confirmation of your registration will be communicated to you via email. Payment instructions will be provided in the email confirmation. Admission will be finalised upon receipt of payment. Admitted candidates will be notified by 20 March 2026.

Fee: 250 Euros*      

*There is no fee for PhD students at INSEAD and Wharton  

Cancellation Policy:

To provide a quality summer camp experience for all attendees, INSEAD will apply the following refund policy to the registration fees:

Full refund (no penalty): Cancellations made by 01 April 2026 (inclusive)

30% refund: Cancellations received between April 1 and April 10, 2026 (inclusive).

No refund: Cancellations after 10 April 2026

Please email your cancellation to [email protected]. We will base your cancellation date/time on the date stamp on the email. Thank you. 

DISCLAIMER ON CREDIT/DEBIT CARD PURCHASES: INSEAD would like to remind you that, in accordance with the provisions of article L. 132-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, an order or commitment to pay with a credit card or debit card cannot be reversed or modified. The payment may be cancelled only in the event of loss, theft, fraudulent use of the card (or the data related to its use), or of insolvency or bankruptcy of the recipient. In the event of a customer’s failure to comply with the above regulations, INSEAD reserves the right to initiate any necessary procedure in order to obtain damages.

Who can apply to participate in the camp?

Management PhD students from second year and onward. This course will be of particular interest to Management PhD students in the areas of Strategy, Organisational Behaviour, Organisational Theory, and Entrepreneurship.

Are you accepting predoctoral students into the doctoral camp? 

No, we do not accept predoctoral students. The minimum required level of studies is second year of doctoral studies.  

I've started my PhD but stopped. Can I apply? 

Our online summer camp priority is for applicants who are currently enrolled in a PhD program. However, we still encourage you to submit your application so we can review it, taking into account your background, statement of purpose, or letter of motivation, before advising you of the results and next steps. 

What's the medium of instruction? 

English.

How do I apply? What are the steps? 

Step 1: Create an APOL account on Application Platform

Step 2: Go to the PhD programme (top navigation) and select Doctoral Summer Camp. Click apply

Step 3: Complete the form. It takes 5-10 minutes to complete the form, including pasting your letter of motivation or statement of purpose

Step 4: Upload your CV 

Step 5: Submit the form

Step 6: Pay the participation fees within 2-3 days upon receipt of confirmation. 

Once you have submitted the form, the Course Director will review your application. We will send you the payment details via email to inform you that you've been admitted, pending the receipt of payment. Admissions are on a rolling basis. We strongly encourage you to apply early and pay your fees on time to secure your spot. We will close the online application form once we've reached the maximum capacity of online participants. 

What is the deadline for the application?

Sunday, 15 March 2026, end of day, Fontainebleau. Please note that admissions are on a rolling basis. Once we reach the maximum capacity, we will close the online registration.

Are the online sessions taught live or pre-recorded? In what time zone will the camp be held? 

To experience the complete and high-quality online camp, it will be taught live and not pre-recorded. The sessions are interactive and hands-on, encouraging live participation from the participants. The sessions will be held in the Fontainebleau, France time zone.

Will you be recording the sessions and sharing them with the participants?

No. We will not record the sessions. We expect participants to attend the live online sessions.

Who can I contact if I have questions before or during the camp?

Please send all your queries to the PhD Programme Office ([email protected]).