Doctoral Studies at the IoMS

PhD fellows at our Institute usually take the Doctoral Program in Business Administration (Ph.D. Program in Management, PMA) with a focus on “General Management”. The doctoral program will prepare you for an academic career or for academic work in practical working life.

Doctoral Program Structure

The program is divided into a course phase and a thesis phase. Two compulsory courses and at least two methods and specialized courses of the doctoral programs of the University of St. Gallen or the Global School in Empirical Research are to be attended in the course phase. After the submission of the research proposal, the thesis phase begins. At least two thesis-related seminars/colloquia have to be completed. Another methods course or a further seminar can be assigned regardless of the phase.

General Management focuses on topics like Corporate and Competitive Strategy, International Business, Family Business, Organizational Behavior, Strategic Processes and Decision Making, and Management of Stakeholders and Sustainability. It is an interdisciplinary program based on concepts and theories of economics, sociology and psychology. It addresses a variety of issues having direct or indirect impact on the effectiveness of organizations. The overall objective of the research focus is to address issues having significant consequences for the management practice through rigorous scientific research.

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Doctoral Students at the IoMS

PhD fellows at the chair of Prof. Ambos

M.Sc.

Leonie Rogenhofer

Leonie Rogenhofer has been a PhD student and research assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Björn Ambos since December 2018. She is particularly interested in strategic decision-making processes in an international context. Her research focuses on the perception of psychic distance and the effects of cognitive biases on international management decisions.
Go to the chair of Prof. Ambos

PhD fellows at the chair of Prof. Laamanen

M.Sc.

Di Bian

Di Bian has been a PhD student at the chair of Prof. Dr. Tomi Laamanen and holds a PhD in Merger & Acquisition. Previously, Di Bian studied accounting and business administration at the Central University of Finance and Economics (China), Tsinghua University (China), Ivey Business School (Canada) and the University of St.Gallen (Switzerland), and completed a dual-degree CEMS MiM program.
M.A. ETH UZH

Kata Isenring-Szabó

M.Sc.

Alexander Wallot

Since November 2017, Alexander is doing his doctorate in Corporate Strategy and M&A Capabilities at the chair of Prof. Dr. Tomi Laamanen. Alexander studied business administration at Cass Business School in London (UK), Singapore Management University (Singapore) and took a dual studies program with fischerAppelt agency group at HSBA in Hamburg.
Go to the chair of Prof. Laamanen

PhD fellows at the chair of Prof. Lechner

M.Sc.

Nadine Eve Rusch-Schenker

Since January 2016, Nadine Schenker has been a PhD student and research assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Christoph Lechner. Prior to this, Nadine led various projects in the area of ​​strategic management at a global American industrial company. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (B.Sc.) and a Master’s degree in Marketing & Management (M.Sc.).
Thorsten Reiter began his doctorate with Prof. Dr. Christoph Lechner in January 2016 and deals with strategic implications of corporate entrepreneurship, innovation and dynamic capabilities. He studied business administration at the University of Mannheim and Aston Business School. He holds a Masters Degree in International Business and Politics from the University of South Carolina (USA) and a Masters Degree in Management Science from the University of Mannheim.
M.A. HSG

Maximilian Dexheimer

Since 2018, Maximilian Dexheimer has been a PhD student and research assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Christoph Lechner. In his research, he analyzes business ecosystems’ formation and management. Maximilian Dexheimer studied business administration at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and the University of St. Gallen. He gained professional experience in investment banking and strategy consulting.
M.Sc.

Alina Jäger

Alina Jäger is a PhD student and research associate at the chair of Prof. Dr. Christoph Lechner. Her research focuses on ecosystems. She supervises courses in the field of Strategic Management at Bachelor’s and Master’s level. Alina Jäger studied communication sciences and economics at the University of Zurich. She completed her Master in Management at the London School of Economics.

Luca Niederkofler

Go to the chair of Prof. Lechner

PhD fellows at the chair of Prof. Müller-Stewens

Dr.

Joachim Stonig

Since 2015, Joachim Stonig has been a PhD student of Prof. em. Dr. Günter Müller-Stewens. He supervises Strategic Management, Corporate Strategy and M&A courses. In his research, he explores how corporate ecosystems are created and managed in response to changing customer needs. He had studied business administration at the University of Liechtenstein and the University of St. Gallen. He has then worked for several years at a management consultancy in Paris.
Go to the chair of Prof. Müller-Stewens

PhD fellows at the chair of Prof. Frankenberger

M.Sc.

Andreas Reiter

Since November 2018, Andreas is doing his doctorate in Ecosystems and Digital Transformation at the chair of Prof. Dr. Karolin Frankenberger. Andreas studied business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria) and London Business School (UK).
M.A.

Fabian Takacs

Since January 2017, Fabian Takacs is doing his doctorate at the Chair of Strategic Management of the Faculty of Business Administration under academic supervision of Assistant Professor Karolin Frankenberger. He graduated in 2013 from the University of Zurich with a Bachelor degree in business administration. After that, he graduated from the University of Lucerne at the end of 2016 with the degree of Master of Arts in Political Economy. In addition to the studies, he worked as a project manager in the Hirslanden Klinik St. Anna in Lucerne.
MMSc.

Hannah M. Mayer

Hannah has been doing her doctoral studies at the chair of Prof. Dr. Karolin Frankenberger since June 2018, focusing her research efforts on digital transformation and ecosystems, and working closely with leading organizations in these fields. Hannah is an honors graduate of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria), where she obtained a Master of Science, and of Queen’s University (Canada), where she obtained a Master of International Business.
M. Sc.

Natalia Kular

MiM, M.Sc.

Sascha Mader

Since February 2019, Sascha Mader is Research Associate and PhD student at the Chair of Prof. Dr. Karolin Frankenberger. His research focuses on the field of Business Model Innovation. Here, his interests are internal and external antecedents of Business Model Innovation as well as the role of organizational learning and dynamic capabilities.
Zum Lehrstuhl von Prof. Frankenberger

PhD fellows at the chair of Prof. Murmann

Chaoyuan Deng

Zum Lehrstuhl von Prof. Murmann

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