Two Post Doctoral positions on the drivers of green capital accumulation in global value chains – GreenWorlds ERC Advanced project

Copenhagen Business School (CBS) invites applications for two 3-year Post Doctoral positions on the drivers of green capital accumulation in global value chains, located at the Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC).

The selected candidates will contribute to the ERC Advanced research project Green Worlds: The material and normative drivers of green capital accumulation in global value chains ( GreenWorlds ) , led by Professor Stefano Ponte.

Overall Project Focus

The GreenWorlds project investigates a core tension in the global economy: how capitalism adapts to ecological pressures and normatively legitimizes itself while maintaining its core logic of capital accumulation alongside the carbon economy. To explore this, the project examines how a variety of ‘green worlds’ of value and valuation emerge, consolidate and decline. Green worlds are different sets of internally coherent principles that are drawn upon by value chain actors to deal with challenges and critiques.

They are flexibly assembled by a variety of actors in different value chains and situations to enact justifications related to framing products and/or operations as ‘green’.

The research project asks: What counts as green and for whom? What kinds of practices underpin different green worlds – and how do they shape value chain governance? What are the main features of the green regime of accumulation that crystallizes around these worlds? How does this regime in turn support or disrupt dominant green worlds in particular locations and value chains, and in time—reinforcing, adjusting or breaking a green cycle of capital accumulation?

By comparing selected agro-food value chains (avocados, biodiesel, coffee and wine) in five countries (Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa), the project seeks to explain the contradictory entanglement of ecological concern and capital accumulation, and the limits and possibilities of green transformations.

As part of GreenWorlds, the Post Doctoral candidates will contribute to activities such as:

• Conducting literature reviews and theoretical analysis for publication in top-tier academic outlets.
• Conducting and participating in field research (especially by carrying out key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation).
• Collaborating in coding of qualitative data (including the basics of natural language processing)
• Presenting, writing and publishing academic papers in peer-reviewed international journals, also in collaboration with the other members of the team
• Engaging in public outreach activities (e.g., blog posts, Linkedin entries, short videos, podcasts).
• Post Doc 1 would be expected to work empirically on two agro-food value chains (wine and biodiesel), especially in Argentina but also globally.
• Post Doc 2 would be expected to work empirically on two agro-food value chains (wine and avocados), especially in South Africa but also globally.

Qualifications

The applicant has obtained a PhD or equivalent by the start date of the Post Doctoral position. In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed on research potential – both theoretical and empirical.

The Post-Doctoral positions are non-tenured positions for a 3-year period with research obligations.

To meet the research obligations, the selected candidate is expected to be on site and take part in departmental activities.

Emphasis is placed on research relevant to the job description.

Applicants should have

• A PhD in the social sciences (e.g., political science, sociology, economic geography)
• Experience with qualitative fieldwork
• Knowledge of the academic literature on international political economy, and/or environmental politics, and/or pragmatic sociology/convention theory, and/or global value chain analysis
• High-level English Language proficiency
• Willingness to reside in Denmark and engage regularly with the CBS research community
• For Post Doc 1, ability to conduct fieldwork in Spanish is required

The Department

The Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC) brings together scholars from a range of research areas within management, communication and the broader social sciences and humanities, studying organizations in global environments and the interaction and interdependencies of business, society and government. They share a common interest in studying organizations in global environments and the relations of organizations to the wider society. Information about the department may be found at www.cbs.dk/msc .

MSC is a significant supplier of research-based teaching to a broad portfolio of programs, which includes undergraduate, graduate and doctoral teaching and supervision as well as executive education in the fields of:

• Responsible management, leadership and governance
• Corporate responsibility and sustainability
• Business and development (with an emphasis on the emerging/growth economies context)
• Organisational communication (corporate communication, strategic communication, leadership communication, marketing communication, international business communication)

Copenhagen Business School has a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness and relevance of its teaching and research programmes. Candidates who wish to join us should demonstrate enthusiasm for working in an organisation of this type.

For further information please contact

• Academic Contact: Professor Stefano Ponte [email protected]
• HR and hiring process contact: [email protected]

Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Central Academic Organisation.

The application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system, using the link.

The application must include

• Cover letter (summary of research skills) discussing your alignment with the research objectives of GreenWorlds
• An independently written and original (this means no generative AI usage) 3-year project proposal related to the research objectives of GreenWorlds (max 5 pages / 2,000 words excluding references).
• Complete publication list (mark up to 5 for assessment with *)
• Copies of selected publications (English only)
• Documentation of fieldwork and, if relevant, research management experience
• Transcript(s) and all academic diplomas
• A full and up-to-date CV
• Names and contact details of up to 3 academic referees

It must be clearly indicated in the cover letter as well as the project proposal if the application concerns Post Doc project 1 or Post Doc project 2. If an applicant wishes to apply for both positions, a separate project description must be submitted for each.

Recruitment procedure

The Recruitment Committee will shortlist a minimum of two applicants. 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 materials by the application deadline.

Copenhagen Business School invites all qualified candidates to apply for the position. An appointment committee will review the applications and invite a selection of qualified candidates to an interview.

One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.

Details about Copenhagen Business School and the department are available at www.cbs.dk.

Application due: Friday, 6 November 2026. No applications will be accepted beyond the deadline.

Expected starting date : March 2027 or soon thereafter.