Residential Sessions

Backed by a dynamic, international community of professors, the programme draws on state-of-the art expertise spanning management, marketing, sustainability, technology, strategy, ethics, innovation, and data-driven decision-making, delivering a rich, future-focused learning experience. Their combined strengths provide an exceptional foundation for supervising Executive PhD in Business Management research, offering multidisciplinary perspectives, rigorous methodological guidance, and deep sectoral knowledge. Together, they enable candidates to address complex real-world challenges, design robust analytical frameworks, and generate actionable insights with meaningful impact for organisations and society.


Residential Session 1 | Lille Campus 

 

  • Management Research for Net Positive Business

This course introduces participants to management research as a powerful lever for addressing today’s major societal and environmental challenges. With human activity exceeding planetary boundaries, businesses must move beyond harm reduction and shift towards regenerative, net-positive models. The course explores how management research can contribute to this transformation by identifying, developing, and scaling business models that create value for both society and the planet. Participants examine the role of markets, firms, and capital in driving systemic change, and learn how rigorous research can generate actionable insights, frameworks, and evidence to support a sustainable and inclusive economic transition.

 

  • Building and Using Theory to Shape Management Thinking

Theory lies at the heart of high-quality management research, yet the process of theorising often remains implicit. This course makes theorising explicit by teaching participants how to engage critically with theory and actively develop it within their own research. Through guided readings, exercises, and assignments, participants learn to analyse theoretical contributions in academic articles and to craft their own theoretical arguments. The course balances analytical rigour with creative reasoning, enabling participants to move from the passive consumption of theory to confident, independent theorising that advances both scholarly knowledge and practice.

 

 

Residential Session 2 | Paris Campus

 

  • Qualitative Research Design: Capturing Human and Organisational Realities

Qualitative research offers deep insights into how individuals and organisations make sense of their experiences and contexts. This course introduces the principles and practices of qualitative research design in management studies, with a focus on rigour, reflexivity, and innovation. Participants learn how to design qualitative studies that capture complexity, meaning, and process, and how to align research questions with appropriate qualitative approaches. The course prepares participants to conduct high-quality qualitative research in their own fields of inquiry.

 

  • Qualitative and Mixed Data Analysis: Turning Complex Data into Insightful Knowledge

This course develops participants’ confidence and skills in analysing qualitative data and communicating analytical insights. It situates qualitative analysis within broader methodological traditions and explores the philosophical foundations of interpretive research. Participants learn practical techniques such as coding, categorising, and memo writing, alongside more interpretive and theory-building approaches, including thematic analysis, narrative analysis, grounded theory, and discourse analysis. The emphasis is on transforming rich qualitative data into coherent, theoretically meaningful contributions.

 

 

Residential Session 3 | Nice Campus

 

  • Quantitative Research Design: Designing Data-Driven Studies

This course provides a rigorous introduction to quantitative research design in business and management. Participants learn how to design, evaluate, and critically assess empirical studies that make meaningful scholarly contributions. The course examines the philosophical foundations of quantitative research and contrasts these with qualitative and mixed-method approaches. Emphasis is placed on linking research questions, measurement, and causal reasoning to sound research design choices.

 

  • Quantitative Data Analysis: From Numbers to Knowledge

This course equips participants with the theoretical and practical foundations required to analyse quantitative data rigorously. Beginning with core concepts such as measurement, variable types, data structures, and hypothesis testing, the course progresses to multivariate data analysis. Participants develop a deep understanding of statistical assumptions, model specification, and the interpretation of results, enabling them to draw valid conclusions and contribute meaningfully to theory development and empirical knowledge.