PhD in Regenerative Agriculture Business Models — TU/e

Key details

• Host institution: Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
• Location: Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), De Rondom 70, Eindhoven, Netherlands
• Application deadline: June 18, 2026

Funding

Not funded by a EU programme

Funding level (from listing): partial or not via EU framework — confirm on the official call.

How to apply

• Apply by email to [email protected] (subject line and attachments per the official instructions).
• Full vacancy text and updates: Euraxess listing.

About the position

We are seeking a PhD candidate to contribute to the transition toward regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems. As part of the Horizon Europe GroundWork project, you will co-design business models and ecosystems with farmers across Europe to enable regenerative grazing, while producing cutting-edge research in strategy and entrepreneurship.

Project Overview

Regenerative agriculture is essential for sustainable food systems, but its large-scale adoption is hindered by a lack of viable business models and ecosystem coordination. This PhD project addresses this challenge by studying and actively shaping how farmers and ecosystem actors:

• Recognize and evaluate new opportunities for regenerative practices
• Experiment with and develop viable business models
• Align stakeholders and financing mechanisms to enable long-term sustainability

The core ambition is to translate theoretical insights on opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial resourcefulness, and business model experimentation into concrete tools, practices, and interventions that farmers can use in daily decision-making.

Research Approach

The project adopts a design science research approach embedded in five European Living Labs (Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Serbia). Your work will combine:

• In-depth field research with farmers and other stakeholders
• Iterative design of interventions such as workshops, tools, and business model frameworks
• Real-world testing and validation of these interventions in practice

You will study opportunity recognition and business model development as dynamic, situated processes, while simultaneously designing mechanisms that improve these processes. The ambition is to generate high-impact publications in journals such as Research Policy, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, and Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, while maintaining strong practical relevance.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a candidate who is comfortable operating at the interface of theory and practice: developing rigorous academic insights while engaging directly with farmers and ecosystem partners to co-create solutions that work in real-world settings.

Position Details

The position is embedded in the Innovation, Technology Entrepreneurship & Marketing (ITEM) group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), a leading group in research on innovation, ecosystems, and business model design.