Project: Stakeholder Dynamics Enabling the Green Transition in Port-Cities

New collaborative project investigates stakeholder dynamics in port-cities, seen as emerging ecosystems that will enable the Green Transition. The project aims to develop a systematic understanding of stakeholders and a comprehensive methodology of their interaction, leading to an efficient green transition and projects, such as, renewable energy production and distribution, green transport, and sustainable urban development. The project will investigate interactions on different levels: organisational (e.g., between companies) and individual (e.g., between port workers and citizens) directly benefiting these stakeholders. Early-stage and senior researchers from CBS' Department of Strategy and Innovation (SI) and Department of Management Society and Communication (MSC) are involved together with a developing broader collaboration in Denmark and internationally.

The Green Transition is advancing rapidly following growing climate concerns and a strong push from government, business, and society. However, the wider ambition also relies on specific and locally executed green projects. For these projects to develop efficiently, limiting the risk of for example possible institutional or value chain bottlenecks, public opposition, and the associated costly delays, a much better understanding of stakeholder dynamics is needed. The investigated port cities are geographical regions with multi-layered dynamic relationships and the potential to develop into thriving ecosystems with a key role in the green transition.

“This project is the result of two years of consultations with Danish, European and international stakeholders, which has clearly highlighted the complexity and high importance of better understanding how stakeholder dynamics affect and are affected by green projects (e.g., offshore and onshore production, storage and distribution of green fuels).

Furthermore, it sets the course to develop a new strategic area for CBS Maritime, leveraging the expertise of our internationally renowned researchers, aiming to attract young talent as PhD and Postdoctoral Fellows, and involving students at all levels across CBS.”, Henrik Sornn-Friese, Director of CBS Maritime

As part of the wider ambition, the first PhD project will commence in September 2024, investigating stakeholder dynamics and information flows on the individual level (e.g. between citizens and employees within the port area). The PhD project initially focuses on three key regions in Denmark, namely Esbjerg, Aarhus, and Copenhagen adopting a mixed methods approach for data collection and analysis that will subsequently be expanded and applied to more cases in Denmark and internationally. Collaborations will include Singapore, Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Vancouver, where CBS and the project team have long-established relationships with academics and practitioners. The goal is to by 2028 develop a toolbox that can be applied to any port, and in any other case where a better understanding of the interaction between stakeholders is needed (for example in an urban area or industrial cluster). 

Due to the strategic importance of the project and investigated area for CBS, academia, industry and society at large, the project will continue to develop, creating more opportunities for junior and senior researchers, and students at CBS and beyond. For students in particular, the aim is to create attractive opportunities to participate in the project work and the development of teaching cases, join case competitions and to write their bachelor dissertations or master theses.

This timely PhD project directly addresses CBS’ increasing focus on Green Transition and Sustainability and the role of CBS as an internationally leading business school to research and educate for solving societies' complex challenges, as highlighted by Hanne Harmsen, Vice Dean for Green Transition:

“We at CBS have a growing responsibility to contribute to the Green Transition, which also means going beyond the traditionally understood role of a university.

This project strives to do exactly that, by addressing a complex societal challenge in a truly collaborative way involving students, academic and non-academic partners and focusing on top-level academic research combined with high societal impact. ”, Hanne Harmsen, Vice Dean for Green Transition at CBS

For further information, you can contact:

Petar Rosenov Sofev, Project Manager at CBS, pso.si@cbs.dk, +45 7181 7357