FixOurFood PhD Studentships: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in System Change
Study the role of entrepreneurial ecosystems in system change within the Yorkshire food system.
This PhD project is aligned to the new FixOurFood interdisciplinary research programme, part of the UKRI Transforming Food Systems programme. FixOurFood brings together social sciences, natural sciences and data science to learn how to transform the Yorkshire food system to one which prioritises dietary health in young people, supports agriculture that enhances the environment, and builds a more diversified hybrid food economy. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a vibrant collaboration, gaining skills on systems-level thinking in the food system.
Entrepreneurship research has been overly preoccupied with a focus on individual entrepreneurs and single organisational responses. It fails to appreciate the importance of entrepreneurial ecosystems, which are dynamic local, social, institutional and cultural processes and actors that encourage and enhance new thinking and sustainable growth. A recent stream of entrepreneurship has begun to focus on the importance of entrepreneurship ecosystems in supporting high-growth entrepreneurship and regional development. However, there has been little research so far on how purpose-driven hybrid enterprises, eg Food Hubs, Community Interest Companies, Urban indoor farms, and social enterprises, can be brought together in an entrepreneurial ecosystem to create positive social and environmental change in the food system.
This PhD aims to extend this work on entrepreneurship ecosystems into the societal and environmental space by revitalising the work of Rittel & Webber (1973) on 'wicked problems' to the hybrid context. The PhD will use mixed methods to study an action-orientated intervention in Yorkshire to create a food economy that contributes positively to a regenerative food system.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem is a concept that is fundamentally spatial - and centrally local. Some successful entrepreneurial ecosystems are characterised by a civic culture and a 'high degree of civic public-value mindedness'. This PhD will seek to answer what are the key components of an entrepreneurial ecosystem focused on tackling the ‘wicked problems’ in the food system, and to what extent can it play a role in food system change? Moreover, what are the recommendations (tools, policy etc) for further evolution of the entrepreneurial ecosystem for hybrid business models?
Start date: 1 October 2022 (the student will be affiliated with the University of York Management School). Appointed candidates will be fully funded for 3 years.
Supervisors: Bob Doherty, Katherine Denby
Open to UK (home) students only.
Open to students in the School for Business and Society.
Candidates with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. We welcome applications from people with a first degree in business/management/geography or equivalent.
If your first language is not English, you must meet the School’s minimum English language requirements.
The University of York is committed to recruiting regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways, and we have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in academia, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.
Application deadline: Sunday 23 January 2022, 11.59pm GMT
To apply, follow the instructions on application via the page PhD in Management, ensuring you identify at least one of the supervisors, and that the title of the application clearly shows you are applying for this studentship.
For more information about our research degrees, please visit our Current doctoral students pages or contact the team at management-phd@york.ac.uk.
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in late February/early March 2022.