What: Online PhD-course in entrepreneurship and strategy at NHH
Instructors: Michael S. Dahl, Nicolai J. Foss, Bram Timmermans, Peter G. Klein & Lasse B. Lien
Course responsible: Peter G. Klein and Lasse B. Lien
ECTS credits: 5
Dates: May 18th – 22th 2026
Where: ORG21 is offered online
About
If you are interested in research at the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy NHH has a PhD course that might be right up your alley. The purpose of this course is to introduce PhD-students to key theories and empirical findings regarding performance differences from entrepreneurship. It is located at the intersection of the entrepreneurship- and strategy literatures, where the strategy literature offers a general understanding of performance differences across firms, while the entrepreneurship literature contributes specifics for the entrepreneurial firm and the entrepreneurial setting.
The course will start with general theories of value creation, competitiveness and performance differences, and connect this to the literature on how entrepreneurial opportunities are discovered, created and exploited. Although many equate entrepreneurship with startups or young firms, entrepreneurship is also a phenomenon that takes place in established firms. We will therefore also include an early part to broaden the horizon, where we examine issues related to entrepreneurship in established firms, in particular how organizational design affects entrepreneurship in larger and more complex organizations.
Next, we take a step back and reflect on the larger issue of theory building in research at the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy. Following this, we will examine the role of fundamental inputs such as human capital and finance, and also business models. Entrepreneurial innovation is increasingly about creating and innovating on business models rather than (or in addition to) product and process innovation. Our next topic will be on a more aggregate level as we shift our focus to institutions and property rights and how and why this shapes entrepreneurial behavior and the outcomes from entrepreneurship. Then we move on to a spatial view of entrepreneurship, asking where entrepreneurship takes place, and why entrepreneurs make the location decisions they make. Having looked at the large scale geography of innovation, we turn to the more micro context of the role of incubators and accelerators.
In addition to this we want course participants to be able to present and discuss their own PhD-work, and we want to retain some flexibility to address topics not listed here that might come up along the way.
Course Program
Monday May 18th
10:00 – 10:15 Welcome and introduction
10:15 – 12:00 Fundamentals of strategy (Lasse B. Lien)
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:00 Introduction of participants
14:15 – 16:00 Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship (Peter G. Klein)
16:00 – 17:00 Paper presentations (participants)
Tuesday May 19th
10:00 – 12:00 Entrepreneurship and organizational design (Nicolai J. Foss)
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 15:00 Theory building in entrepreneurship and strategy (Nicolai Foss)
15:15 – 16:00 Reflection groups
16:00 – 17:00 Paper presentations (participants)
Wednesday 20th
10:00 – 12:00 Human capital and the entrepreneurial firm (Bram Timmermans)
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 15:00 Entrepreneurial finance
15:15 – 16:00 Reflection groups
16:00 – 17:00 Paper presentations (participants)
Thursday 21st
10:00 – 12:00 Business models and business model innovation (Lasse B. Lien)
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 15:00 Institutions and property rights (Peter G. Klein) Incubators and accelerators (Peter G.
Klein)
15:15 – 16:00 Reflection groups
16:00 – 17:00 Paper presentations (participants)
Friday 22nd
10:00 – 13:00 The spatial view of entrepreneurship (Michael S. Dahl)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 16:00 Incubators and accelerators (Nicolai J. Foss)
16:15 – 17:00 Reflection groups and closing
Link to course page at NHH:
https://www.nhh.no/emner/entrepreneurship-and-strategy/
Link to sign up page at NHH for external participants (note that the 1 February application deadline you’ll see here doesn’t apply to this course): https://www.nhh.no/en/study-programmes/phd-programme-at-nhh/phd-courses/become-avisitingstudent-at-a-phd-course-at-nhh/
For further questions contact: lasse.lien@nhh.no