2026 Intake
September 2025
Your Doctoral Research Journey
Research is a fundamental component of the PhD Programme at INSEAD. Our doctoral degree is designed to teach you many cutting edge research methodologies to enable you to contribute to a global body of knowledge that informs how business is and should be conducted. Our programme will train you to create and even publish your own original body of research, which will become the foundation for your career as a professor in business.
Because of the international, cultural and geographical diversity at INSEAD, we also offer a unique interdisciplinary approach when it comes to research. Professors and PhD students do not simply work together across our campuses, they also collaborate across academic areas, offering an even greater breadth of research opportunities and a myriad of inspiring perspectives.
Furthermore, INSEAD is affiliated with nine research centres and initiatives addressing a broad range of issues and industries. In Paris, INSEAD has a behavioural research centre, INSEAD-Sorbonne Behavioural Lab, where over 40,000 people have participated in studies. INSEAD also launched an eLab initiative which represents INSEAD's commitment to management excellence in the digital economy. These research centres, among many others, bring together faculty members who have agreed to support a common research agenda. In many cases, they may provide unique opportunities for INSEAD PhDs to work alongside INSEAD faculty from different academic areas.
INSEAD-Sorbonne Behavioural Lab
INSEAD is affiliated with research centres and initiatives addressing a broad range of issues and industries. In Paris, INSEAD has a behavioural research centre, INSEAD-Sorbonne Behavioural Lab, where thousands of people have participated in studies. INSEAD also launched an eLab initiative which represents INSEAD's commitment to management excellence in the digital economy. These research centres, among many others, bring together faculty members who have agreed to support a common research agenda. In many cases, they may provide unique opportunities for INSEAD PhDs to work alongside INSEAD faculty from different academic areas.
Doctoral Dissertations
The dissertation is the culmination of doctoral study. It is intended to represent independent and original research work of a publishable standard. Dissertation work starts once the students move to PhD Candidacy, which is in the third year of the programme. Once the PhD Candidate has identified his / her dissertation advisor, a mutually agreed decision between the candidate and the faculty member, the PhD Candidate starts to work on his/her dissertation proposal. PhD Candidates are expected to complete and submit the dissertation during the fifth year.
In this page, you will find details about the Dissertation Proposals that have been defended and are now moving toward completion, along with a comprehensive listing of the INSEAD Doctoral Dissertations that have been produced since the start of the PhD Programme at INSEAD.
Awards, Publications & News
-
Publications & News
-
Students regularly publish during the programme, with INSEAD faculty members or as single authors, leading to their final dissertation. Moreover, PhD Alumni continue to collaborate with their advisors and mentors through research. This includes top journals and magazines, both online and in print, such as Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Design, Management Science, Journal of Industrial Ecology, etc.
Click here to view the students' achievements in publications last AY. For the complete list of their latest publications and working papers, including alumni, visit INSEAD's Research page.
-
Awards
-
Student Awards from 2023-2024
Srishti Arora, Technology and Operations and Management
Don’t Fake It If You Can’t Make It: Driver Misconduct in Last Mile Delivery
Choudhary, Vivek; Kireyev, Pavel
Runner Up, CSOM Best Student Paper Competition 2024
Production and Operations Management SocietyUnravelling the Implications of Silent Labor Time (SLT) in the Gig Economy
Choudhary Vivek; Hasija Sameer; GorbanIvan, Turki; Selim, Shekhani Ahmed
Winner, Best Student Paper Award 2024
Singapore Rising Scholars ConferenceJongyoun Baek, Entrepreneurship
Forging Collaborative Pathways: Navigating Disruptive Technologies Through Inter-Organizational Networks
Recipient, Will Mitchell Dissertation Research Grant (WMDRG) 2023
Strategic Management SocietyXueqi Bao, Marketing
Timing Matters: The Impact of Post Sequencing on Consumer Perception and Engagement in Influencer Marketing
Lin, Stephanie; Chattopadhyay, Amitava
Winner, Best Consumer BehaviorCompetitive Paper Award 2024
ACR Asia-Pacific ConferenceLin Chen, Technology and Operations Management
Fast or Slow? Competing on Publication Frequency
Guillaume, Roels
Finalist, 2023 POMS College of Service Operations Management Best Student Paper
Production and Operations Management SocietyJiatao Ding, Technology and Operations Management
Can Predictive Technology Help Improve Acute Care Operations? Investigating the Impact of Virtual Triage Adoption
Freeman, Michael; Hasija, SameerFinalist, Best Student Paper Award, College of Service Operations Management of POMS 2023
Production and Operations Management SocietyFinalist, William Pierskalla Award, INFORMS Health Application Society 2023
Second Prize, INFORMS IBM Best Student Paper Award 2023
INFORMSSukti Ghosh, Strategy
Eliciting Supplier Collaboration for Firm’s Decarbonization Strategy: Field Experiment in Agricultural Supply Chain in India
Singh, Jasjit
Nominated for Best Responsible Research Paper Prize and PhD Paper Prize Competition, 2023
SMS Annual ConferencePiyush Gulati, Strategy
Digital Collaboration Technologies and Managerial Intensity in U.S. Corporations: An Examination
Marchetti, Arianna; Puranam, PhanishBest Paper Proceedings 2024 (STR Division)
Winner, Sumantra Ghoshal Research and Practice Award 2024 (STR Division)
Winner, Distinguished Paper Award in Organizational Structure, Networks, and Relational Strategies 2024 (STR Division)
Academy of ManagementThe Interplay of Structure, Skills, and Digital Technologies in Decentralizing Firms
Finalist, 2024 Organization Science Dissertation Competition
Organization ScienceRecipient, Will Mitchell Dissertation Research Grant (WMDRG) 2023
Strategic Management SocietyKhwan Kim, Organisational Behaviour
Kindle’s Kindle: Digitization and the Novelty of Creative Content in the US Publishing Industry
Winner, Best Student Paper Award 2024
Academy of ManagementJennifer Lee, Organisational Behaviour
Network Penalty: Perceptual Consequences of Using Your Network
Lim, Hazel; Yap, Andy
Finalist, Graduate Poster Award 2024
Society of Personality and Social Psychology ConferenceXina Li, Strategy
Best Reviewer Award 2024 (Management and Organization Review)
Academy of ManagementConstantin Prox, Strategy
Rigid Synergies: A Simulation of Growth-Driven Interdependence
Wibbens, Phebo
Nominated for Best PhD Student Paper 2024
SMS Annual ConferenceYanbo Wang, Organisational Behaviour
Best Reviewer Award 2024 (Organizational Behavior Division)
Academy of Management
Strategy Foundation Series
Doctoral students are bringing the academic community closer to esteemed scholars who have contributed a significant foundational body of work at the intersection of strategy, knowledge and innovation through an interview series that usually occur in conjunction with the Annual Strategy Management Society (or SMS) Conferences. The Strategy Foundations Interview Series is part of their requirement in the “Foundations in Strategy and Organisation” class with faculty members Gabriel Szulanski and Guoli Chen.
SMS Strategy Foundations Interview 2023
A Conversation with Eric Von Hippel (2022)
A Conversation with Carliss Baldwin (2021)
A Conversation with Constance Helfat (2018)
A Conversation with Dan Levinthal (2015)
PhD Candidates' Research Series
The PhD Candidates’ Research Series is one of the avenues to display a PhD Candidate's ability to articulate their research or dissertation in a nutshell to the viewing public.
INSEAD PhD Alumnus Arzi Adbi talks briefly about his research with co-authors Chirantan Chatterjee, Matej Drev, and Anant Mishra, “When the Big One Came: A Natural Experiment on Demand Shock and Market Structure in India’s Influenza Vaccine Markets”. The article can be read in full here. For more about Arzi Adbi's research, please visit his Personal Website.
