Thinking at the Top: EDHEC Inaugurates Its New Executive PhD

• This article is taken from EDHEC Vox magazine, issue no. 18, published in June 2026, which is available online in English and also in French.

• To go directly to the pages dedicated to this new Executive PhD in Business Management, follow this link

The numbers are striking. 74% of business leaders report that the number of decisions they have to make multiplied by ten over the past three years, and 97% of them need help from data. 

Yet an abundance of data on its own doesn’t help build a strategy. The vast majority of managers also acknowledge that the sheer volume of data is making decisions much more complicated. Business environments are becoming more unstable and the rigorous frameworks developed in academic research are proving increasingly valuable – not as theoretical luxuries, but rather as practical tools for navigating uncertainty.

Martin Wetzels is Professor of Marketing at EDHEC and serving in multiple editorial capacities in leading international journals, has seen new needs emerge both from managers and researchers these past years: “the amount of data, combined with a highly-volatile environment consisting of complex relationships, calls for decision-making skills that are no longer based on intuition and experience but on frameworks and solid evidence.”

A new programme rooted in EDHEC's academic identity

Given the new and dynamic strategic context, EDHEC will launch its new Executive PhD in Business Management in September 2026 as the school’s second doctoral programme. This 40-month programme reflects a conviction that has long been Embedded in EDHEC’s strategic model: “knowledge creation lies at the heart of what the school does,” says Michael Antioco, Dean of Faculty and Research at EDHEC. 

One fifth of the school’s expenditure is dedicated to research. Over the past five years, this sustained investment has not only increased academic output but also strengthened the impact and recognition of EDHEC’s research, reinforcing its position among leading institutions. Launching an Executive PhD in Business Management is a natural next step and a direct response to what managers are asking for. 

“Many candidates will join this programme as part of a career transition,”Michael Antioco says, “not only to develop a leadership style, which they might do through an MBA, but to move into a new role, industry, or even sector, which may also include higher education.” And as AI increasingly optimises operational processes, the programme will help managers develop something AI cannot: an overarching strategic vision built upon high-end research.

EDHEC's new Executive PhD: a selective, milestone-driven journey

Conceived as a “small-scale, focused, and personalised” experience, the Executive PhD is designed for professionals with at least five years of experience who want to investigate a key strategic issue which they will submit as a condensed research proposal. 

Curiosity is as important as credentials: the two architects of the programme are looking for candidates "open to results they had not necessarily anticipated, and willing to think about how they could improve their practice."Michael Antioco and Martin Wetzels are adamant that “the goal is not to churn out doctorate degrees as an assembly line; it is about high-quality research with real-word impact.”

To Michael Antioco, “the small programme size will lead to high-quality relationships, which will be important differentiator for our Executive PhD,” as will the quality of EDHEC’s faculty, its cross-campus experiences and close relationships with industry.

Fostering emulation and hands-on research

The programme spans 40 months and is designed to run alongside a full-time professional career. “It may seem long,” acknowledges EDHEC’s Dean of Faculty and Research, “which is why we have set up clear milestones, and a real sense of achievement for the participants.”

 During the first two years, doctoral candidates can spend six weeks in residence at EDHEC’s Paris, Lille, and Nice campuses to learn the core methodologies of academic research. In addition to these intensive sessions, there are others throughout the year for mentoring workshops and seminars led by leading international scholars. The third year is focused on dissertation writing.

Healthy competition is woven into the programme's DNA. Bootcamps and shared workshops let candidates, supervisors and faculty feel part of a vibrant research community where industry practitioners contribute real-world data and perspectives, and academics provide the methodological rigour needed to turn them into meaningful knowledge. It serves as a space for creating dialogue between managers and scholars that companies can’t provide on their own. Participants return to their organisations with more perspective, sharper analytical tools and the ability to act as true thought leaders.

More broadly, the programme reflects a growing need among experienced professionals to deepen their understanding of the forces shaping business and contribute more meaningfully to producing knowledge.