PhD in International Development vs PhD in Political Economy?
Hi all,
I have a promising opportunity at King’s College London to study my PhD in Innovation and regulation.
The departments that have been interested so far:
- Political Economy (social and public policy faculty) but the supervisor is very busy
- International Development (social and public school faculty) and the supervisor is very keen to supervise my PhD
Ultimate goal is to work for business schools as lecturer.
My questions are:
- isn’t weird to hold a PhD in international development and wanting to teach innovation?
- i should hold a PhD in management to have a clear path to business schools jobs, how can i sell a phd to them that was awarded from social and public policy faculty?
I have a promising opportunity at King’s College London to study my PhD in Innovation and regulation.
The departments that have been interested so far:
- Political Economy (social and public policy faculty) but the supervisor is very busy
- International Development (social and public school faculty) and the supervisor is very keen to supervise my PhD
Ultimate goal is to work for business schools as lecturer.
My questions are:
- isn’t weird to hold a PhD in international development and wanting to teach innovation?
- i should hold a PhD in management to have a clear path to business schools jobs, how can i sell a phd to them that was awarded from social and public policy faculty?
Reply 1
Hi masino2000,
Not weird at all — but the key is how you position your PhD.
Innovation is a multidisciplinary topic, and plenty of academics in business schools have PhDs from outside traditional management departments. That said, if your ultimate goal is to lecture in a business school, you do need to think strategically about how your research will align with what business schools are looking for.
A few thoughts:
1. It’s not the department name that matters most — it’s the research focus.
If your PhD explores innovation through the lens of regulation, policy, or development but with clear relevance to business and management contexts, that’s what counts. What matters to hiring committees is whether your research connects to their themes: innovation management, entrepreneurship, governance, corporate strategy, etc.
2. Supervisor fit trumps department prestige.
If the supervisor in International Development is enthusiastic and engaged, that’s a major plus. A strong supervisory relationship often leads to better output — publications, conferences, networking — all of which will help you cross over into business school circles later.
3. Bridge the gap through your publication strategy.
Make sure you’re aiming to publish in journals that business schools care about. That might mean targeting innovation-focused journals (e.g. Research Policy, Technovation, Journal of Business Research) rather than purely development/policy ones. You can also attend management and innovation conferences to build visibility.
4. Think about your teaching portfolio.
If you can get experience teaching anything related to innovation, entrepreneurship, business strategy, or technology management, that’s a big tick. Some business schools are open to people with policy or interdisciplinary backgrounds if they can teach in-demand modules. Maybe try some tutoring? I did, and have never looked back.
5. Network with academics in business schools.
Start building links during your PhD — research seminars, collaborations, joint projects. Your background can actually stand out in a good way if you frame it as bringing a broader policy or international perspective to innovation studies.
So no — it's not a bad move at all. Just be intentional. Frame your PhD around the business-relevant aspects of innovation and regulation, publish in the right places, and be strategic about teaching experience. Many business schools value diverse academic backgrounds, especially in fields like innovation, where policy and practice intersect.
Happy to chat further if you want help refining your research pitch or job strategy later on. Good luck with the PhD offer — sounds like a great opportunity!
Not weird at all — but the key is how you position your PhD.
Innovation is a multidisciplinary topic, and plenty of academics in business schools have PhDs from outside traditional management departments. That said, if your ultimate goal is to lecture in a business school, you do need to think strategically about how your research will align with what business schools are looking for.
A few thoughts:
1. It’s not the department name that matters most — it’s the research focus.
If your PhD explores innovation through the lens of regulation, policy, or development but with clear relevance to business and management contexts, that’s what counts. What matters to hiring committees is whether your research connects to their themes: innovation management, entrepreneurship, governance, corporate strategy, etc.
2. Supervisor fit trumps department prestige.
If the supervisor in International Development is enthusiastic and engaged, that’s a major plus. A strong supervisory relationship often leads to better output — publications, conferences, networking — all of which will help you cross over into business school circles later.
3. Bridge the gap through your publication strategy.
Make sure you’re aiming to publish in journals that business schools care about. That might mean targeting innovation-focused journals (e.g. Research Policy, Technovation, Journal of Business Research) rather than purely development/policy ones. You can also attend management and innovation conferences to build visibility.
4. Think about your teaching portfolio.
If you can get experience teaching anything related to innovation, entrepreneurship, business strategy, or technology management, that’s a big tick. Some business schools are open to people with policy or interdisciplinary backgrounds if they can teach in-demand modules. Maybe try some tutoring? I did, and have never looked back.
5. Network with academics in business schools.
Start building links during your PhD — research seminars, collaborations, joint projects. Your background can actually stand out in a good way if you frame it as bringing a broader policy or international perspective to innovation studies.
So no — it's not a bad move at all. Just be intentional. Frame your PhD around the business-relevant aspects of innovation and regulation, publish in the right places, and be strategic about teaching experience. Many business schools value diverse academic backgrounds, especially in fields like innovation, where policy and practice intersect.
Happy to chat further if you want help refining your research pitch or job strategy later on. Good luck with the PhD offer — sounds like a great opportunity!
Reply 2
6
Original post by ProTutorJess
Hi masino2000,
Not weird at all — but the key is how you position your PhD.
Innovation is a multidisciplinary topic, and plenty of academics in business schools have PhDs from outside traditional management departments. That said, if your ultimate goal is to lecture in a business school, you do need to think strategically about how your research will align with what business schools are looking for.
A few thoughts:
1. It’s not the department name that matters most — it’s the research focus.
If your PhD explores innovation through the lens of regulation, policy, or development but with clear relevance to business and management contexts, that’s what counts. What matters to hiring committees is whether your research connects to their themes: innovation management, entrepreneurship, governance, corporate strategy, etc.
2. Supervisor fit trumps department prestige.
If the supervisor in International Development is enthusiastic and engaged, that’s a major plus. A strong supervisory relationship often leads to better output — publications, conferences, networking — all of which will help you cross over into business school circles later.
3. Bridge the gap through your publication strategy.
Make sure you’re aiming to publish in journals that business schools care about. That might mean targeting innovation-focused journals (e.g. Research Policy, Technovation, Journal of Business Research) rather than purely development/policy ones. You can also attend management and innovation conferences to build visibility.
4. Think about your teaching portfolio.
If you can get experience teaching anything related to innovation, entrepreneurship, business strategy, or technology management, that’s a big tick. Some business schools are open to people with policy or interdisciplinary backgrounds if they can teach in-demand modules. Maybe try some tutoring? I did, and have never looked back.
5. Network with academics in business schools.
Start building links during your PhD — research seminars, collaborations, joint projects. Your background can actually stand out in a good way if you frame it as bringing a broader policy or international perspective to innovation studies.
So no — it's not a bad move at all. Just be intentional. Frame your PhD around the business-relevant aspects of innovation and regulation, publish in the right places, and be strategic about teaching experience. Many business schools value diverse academic backgrounds, especially in fields like innovation, where policy and practice intersect.
Happy to chat further if you want help refining your research pitch or job strategy later on. Good luck with the PhD offer — sounds like a great opportunity!
Not weird at all — but the key is how you position your PhD.
Innovation is a multidisciplinary topic, and plenty of academics in business schools have PhDs from outside traditional management departments. That said, if your ultimate goal is to lecture in a business school, you do need to think strategically about how your research will align with what business schools are looking for.
A few thoughts:
1. It’s not the department name that matters most — it’s the research focus.
If your PhD explores innovation through the lens of regulation, policy, or development but with clear relevance to business and management contexts, that’s what counts. What matters to hiring committees is whether your research connects to their themes: innovation management, entrepreneurship, governance, corporate strategy, etc.
2. Supervisor fit trumps department prestige.
If the supervisor in International Development is enthusiastic and engaged, that’s a major plus. A strong supervisory relationship often leads to better output — publications, conferences, networking — all of which will help you cross over into business school circles later.
3. Bridge the gap through your publication strategy.
Make sure you’re aiming to publish in journals that business schools care about. That might mean targeting innovation-focused journals (e.g. Research Policy, Technovation, Journal of Business Research) rather than purely development/policy ones. You can also attend management and innovation conferences to build visibility.
4. Think about your teaching portfolio.
If you can get experience teaching anything related to innovation, entrepreneurship, business strategy, or technology management, that’s a big tick. Some business schools are open to people with policy or interdisciplinary backgrounds if they can teach in-demand modules. Maybe try some tutoring? I did, and have never looked back.
5. Network with academics in business schools.
Start building links during your PhD — research seminars, collaborations, joint projects. Your background can actually stand out in a good way if you frame it as bringing a broader policy or international perspective to innovation studies.
So no — it's not a bad move at all. Just be intentional. Frame your PhD around the business-relevant aspects of innovation and regulation, publish in the right places, and be strategic about teaching experience. Many business schools value diverse academic backgrounds, especially in fields like innovation, where policy and practice intersect.
Happy to chat further if you want help refining your research pitch or job strategy later on. Good luck with the PhD offer — sounds like a great opportunity!
Hi ProTutorJess, thank you so much for your insightful feedback.
Reply 3
Hi!
I don’t think the field of study matters that much — it really depends on what you’re genuinely interested in. I actually have a few fascinating academic figures I’d love to introduce to you. Have you heard of Gary Gereffi? He’s basically the godfather of global value chains (GVCs). His research touches on business–government relations, industrialisation, international trade, engineering outsourcing, innovation, and commercialisation. You’d probably assume he has a background in some business-related field, right? But no, he holds a PhD in Sociology. Another example is Jeremy Moon, a leading figure in corporate social responsibility (CSR). He used to teach at Nottingham (though I think he’s moved elsewhere now), and he helped establish one of the UK's largest CSR research centres there. Would you believe he earned his PhD in Politics? And then there’s Peter Dicken, the go-to expert on globalisation and transnational corporations (TNCs). At first glance, you’d think he studied economics. But actually, he has a PhD in Geography, and he’s considered one of the most influential economic geographers in the discipline over the past 30 years.
Let’s take a look at the field you mentioned in your post. One great example is Antonio Andreoni, who teaches at SOAS. He earned his PhD in Development Studies, but his thesis and research focus on manufacturing development and topics related to the production sector. A similar case is Jostein Hauge, who also holds a PhD in Development Studies. His research deals with industrialisation, manufacturing, and automation. These two scholars show that you don’t necessarily need a degree in industrial engineering to work in this field. Moreover, what both of them do share, though, is that they approach their work from a political economy perspective.
Now let’s circle back to King’s College London. I actually have a few more interesting, and slightly amusing, examples of younger scholars to share. Take Kyunghoon Kim, for instance. He earned his PhD in Development Studies, but his research is mainly in political economy and economic policy. On the flip side, there’s Bryan Cheang, who holds a PhD in Political Economy but focuses most of his research on development-related topics. It all feels a bit paradoxical, doesn’t it? (Haha) Oh — and one last person worth mentioning is Tao Zou, a PhD candidate in the Department of International Development. His research involves multinational enterprises (MNEs), foreign direct investment (FDI), and he’s also affiliated with the Academy of International Business. On top of that, he has work experience with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He clearly has a strong interest in international business and trade, but as his case shows, pursuing a PhD in a Business School isn't the only path forward.
Anyway, I’m not sure how helpful this comment will be, but I hope it adds something to the conversation!
I don’t think the field of study matters that much — it really depends on what you’re genuinely interested in. I actually have a few fascinating academic figures I’d love to introduce to you. Have you heard of Gary Gereffi? He’s basically the godfather of global value chains (GVCs). His research touches on business–government relations, industrialisation, international trade, engineering outsourcing, innovation, and commercialisation. You’d probably assume he has a background in some business-related field, right? But no, he holds a PhD in Sociology. Another example is Jeremy Moon, a leading figure in corporate social responsibility (CSR). He used to teach at Nottingham (though I think he’s moved elsewhere now), and he helped establish one of the UK's largest CSR research centres there. Would you believe he earned his PhD in Politics? And then there’s Peter Dicken, the go-to expert on globalisation and transnational corporations (TNCs). At first glance, you’d think he studied economics. But actually, he has a PhD in Geography, and he’s considered one of the most influential economic geographers in the discipline over the past 30 years.
Let’s take a look at the field you mentioned in your post. One great example is Antonio Andreoni, who teaches at SOAS. He earned his PhD in Development Studies, but his thesis and research focus on manufacturing development and topics related to the production sector. A similar case is Jostein Hauge, who also holds a PhD in Development Studies. His research deals with industrialisation, manufacturing, and automation. These two scholars show that you don’t necessarily need a degree in industrial engineering to work in this field. Moreover, what both of them do share, though, is that they approach their work from a political economy perspective.
Now let’s circle back to King’s College London. I actually have a few more interesting, and slightly amusing, examples of younger scholars to share. Take Kyunghoon Kim, for instance. He earned his PhD in Development Studies, but his research is mainly in political economy and economic policy. On the flip side, there’s Bryan Cheang, who holds a PhD in Political Economy but focuses most of his research on development-related topics. It all feels a bit paradoxical, doesn’t it? (Haha) Oh — and one last person worth mentioning is Tao Zou, a PhD candidate in the Department of International Development. His research involves multinational enterprises (MNEs), foreign direct investment (FDI), and he’s also affiliated with the Academy of International Business. On top of that, he has work experience with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He clearly has a strong interest in international business and trade, but as his case shows, pursuing a PhD in a Business School isn't the only path forward.
Anyway, I’m not sure how helpful this comment will be, but I hope it adds something to the conversation!
Reply 4
I'd like to add a quick note here, just in case it helps you see the broader academic landscape. Everyone I’m about to mention currently teaches in a Business School, but they all have rather interesting academic backgrounds.
First, there's Faith Hatani, Associate Professor of International Business at Copenhagen Business School, she holds a PhD in Development Studies. Then we have Matthew Alford, Senior Lecturer in International Business and Management at Alliance Manchester Business School, who earned his PhD in International Development.
Next, at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, we find three scholars: Liam Campling (Professor of International Business and Development), Elena Baglioni (Reader in Global Supply Chain Management), and Shreya Sinha (Lecturer in Business and Society) — all three hold PhDs in Development Studies. And finally, there's Isadora Cruxen, Lecturer in Business and Society at the same school, who completed her PhD in Political Economy.
First, there's Faith Hatani, Associate Professor of International Business at Copenhagen Business School, she holds a PhD in Development Studies. Then we have Matthew Alford, Senior Lecturer in International Business and Management at Alliance Manchester Business School, who earned his PhD in International Development.
Next, at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, we find three scholars: Liam Campling (Professor of International Business and Development), Elena Baglioni (Reader in Global Supply Chain Management), and Shreya Sinha (Lecturer in Business and Society) — all three hold PhDs in Development Studies. And finally, there's Isadora Cruxen, Lecturer in Business and Society at the same school, who completed her PhD in Political Economy.
(edited 1 month ago)
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