Phd in Management Innovation, Sustainability and Healthcare

The PhD in Management at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna is a three-year, fully English-taught program designed to train scholars capable of producing rigorous, theory-driven, and methodologically sound research with meaningful societal impact.
We believe that impact is not an alternative to rigor, it is its consequence. For this reason, the program places strong emphasis on critical thinking, advanced research methodologies, and deep engagement with major academic debates. Doctoral students are trained to formulate relevant and timely research questions, challenge established assumptions, and develop robust research designs that stand at the forefront of international scholarship.

At the same time, students learn to engage with organizations, institutions, and policy contexts, translating complex real-world challenges into analytically rigorous research projects. This integration between scientific excellence and societal relevance reflects the research model of the Institute of Management and of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.

Why Our PhD?

Choosing a PhD means choosing a research identity.

Our program is designed for candidates who believe that rigorous scholarship is the foundation of meaningful impact.

• Rigor before visibility.
  We prioritize methodological strength and theoretical depth as the basis of long-term academic credibility.
• Critical and independent thinking.
  Doctoral students are trained to question assumptions, challenge dominant paradigms, and develop original research agendas.
• Research immersion.
  Through structured Laboratories, students engage directly in ongoing research projects — both academically oriented and applied — experiencing how high-quality research is produced.
• Impact grounded in science.
  We do not separate rigor from relevance. We train scholars capable of contributing to academic debates while informing real organizational and policy decisions.
• A research mindset that travels.
  Our graduates pursue academic careers as well as research-intensive roles in institutions and firms, carrying with them a strong analytical and evidence-based mindset.

Research Areas

The program develops research across three interconnected domains:

Innovation: Research explores technology and innovation management, entrepreneurship, open innovation, digital transformation, and the competitiveness of firms and systems in rapidly evolving environments. It also addresses innovation in decision-making systems and performance evaluation methods and measurements, as well as accountability practices.

Sustainability: Research addresses the grand challenges of environmental and social transformation through perspectives such as complexity thinking, systems approaches, circular economy, regenerative business models, sustainable finance, and the governance of sustainable transitions. Doctoral students examine how organizations and institutions navigate uncertainty, interdependence, and long-term responsibility in complex socio-ecological systems.

Health: Research focuses on governance and performance of health systems, innovation in service delivery, public administration and management, policy evaluation, and the design of evidence-based solutions.

Across all domains, rigorous methodology remains the bridge between theory and practice.

Career Paths

The program prepares scholars for international and national academic careers, contributing to leading journals and research institutions worldwide. At the same time, the rigorous analytical training and impact-oriented mindset developed during the PhD open pathways beyond academia. Alumni work in public institutions, international organizations, regulatory bodies, consulting firms, and innovative companies, where advanced research skills and critical reasoning are essential to address complex strategic and policy challenges.

We aim to train researchers capable of generating knowledge and of using that knowledge responsibly in diverse professional contexts.