DREAM+PLAN: PHD POSITION IN REGENERATIVE BUSINESS AND MORE THAN HUMAN ORGANIZING

We are seeking a doctoral candidate in regenerative business and more than human organizational practices in cooperation with DREAM+PLAN program.
Clean energy, water and air are life-giving resources for which we at LUT University seek new solutions with our expertise in technology, business and social sciences.
DREAM+PLAN is a doctoral program enabled by a consortium of European Universities, together with an ecosystem of associated partners, including SMEs, multinationals, unicorns, NGOs, civil society associations, innovation agencies, clusters and policymakers. DREAM+PLAN brings together a community of visionary changemakers, leaders, who dream big and develop tangible pathways for solving local and global climate-related challenges, all united by a mission to create a positive impact, towards a more sustainable, fair, inclusive and thriving planet for future generations.
If you are passionate about innovation, sustainability, and collaborating with global leaders, this is the perfect chance to be part of a transformative experience. We are looking for dynamic individuals to start their impactful PhD journey, contributing to projects that drive positive change.

PROJECT 3: REGENERATIVE BUSINESS AND PROSPECTIVE THEORIZING FOR DESIRABLE FUTURES

• This research focuses on regenerative futures aimed at transforming organizations entangled with nature, guided by natural temporalities. Recently, in organization and management studies, scholars have explored prospective theorizing to understand how to create more desirable futures (Gümüsay & Reinecke, 2022, 2024). A key component of these desirable futures is building an economy that does not exploit nature and ecosystems. Prospective theorizing aims to be performative (Reinecke et al., 2022), seeking to change individual and organizational behaviour in order to transform future economies and societies. Scholars propose that prospective theorizing can be performative by actively shaping more desirable futures. Design research has demonstrated how speculation, fabulation and critical design can support the development of inclusive futures (Dunne & Raby 2013, Søndergaard 2003).
• The goal of this PhD is to explore how non-mainstream actors experiment with human-nature transformation, including horizontal decision-making and polycentric governance. The empirical research will examine human and non-human behaviours and their dynamics within social-ecological systems, temporal modalities, identifying anomalies, novel patterns, and feedback loops to develop a theory of prospective business-nature regeneration performativity and human-non-human organizing. The empirical cases will explore how to avoid undesirable futures and instead perform desirable futures in human-nature entanglements, such as indigenous land stewardship and regenerative ocean farming.
• Supervisors: Laura Albareda (LUT), Chris Speed (RMIT), Michael Dunbar (RMIT)
• Research Fields: Regenerative Futures, Human-Nature Transformation

Please refer the Job description for details