BI Norwegian Business School's Department of Communication and Culture invites applications for this four-year doctoral scholarship in the EMANAIRE project “Managing Team Communication in AI-Augmented Teams”.
EMANAIRE: https://emanaire.eu/ is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network bringing together 15 doctoral candidates at nine European universities to study how AI is changing work. Its projects examine what happens when generative and agentic AI enters leadership, everyday workflows, team communication, professional learning and career decisions. Across the network, human agency means the practical ability to understand AI-supported decisions, exercise judgement, question outputs and shape how work is organised. Each researcher joins an international cohort, receives supervision across institutions and takes part in three residential schools, methods workshops, monthly research seminars and joint work with organisations beyond academia. Every project includes a planned six-month intersectoral secondment.
When a team delegates drafting, analysis or coordination to AI, communication changes even if the organisational chart does not. Colleagues may exchange fewer early ideas, scrutinise outputs less closely or become uncertain about whose judgement shaped the final result.
This doctoral project investigates how the outsourcing of essential tasks to AI changes the way leaders and teams communicate and collaborate. Particular attention will be paid to team dynamics, including behavioral aspects such as AI overreliance, disclosure of AI use, and patterns of AI-supported communication; cognitive aspects such as beliefs, assumptions, and mindsets regarding digital teamwork and AI-assisted collaboration; and managerial and personal resources that help employees adapt to changing work demands and maintain critical thinking. The project combines empirical research with scale development and validation to better understand the conditions under which AI-supported collaboration strengthens, rather than undermines, communication quality, team effectiveness, and critical reflection. The doctorate will produce evidence about the communication patterns that emerge in AI-augmented teams and the leadership practices that shape them. It should also deliver validated measures and manager-facing workshops or tools that help teams notice weak scrutiny, protect critical thinking and use delegation without hollowing out collective learning. Findings will be translated into practical tools, workshops, and evidence-based recommendations for managers.
The candidate can tailor the research design to some extent: A programme combining measure development with field or team studies is plausible after discussion with the supervisory team about samples, settings, methods and analysis.
The candidate will join BI's four-year doctoral programme, designed for talented students who wish to pursue an international academic career and contribute to the international research community through high-quality publications. Recruitment of PhD candidates is an important part of the department's research agenda and BI's ambition to be a leading European business school.
Eligible applicants must have completed, or complete by the start date, a Master of Science degree with thesis work, a research master's/M.Phil. degree, or a comparable degree relevant to the PhD specialisation in Communication. Relevant disciplinary backgrounds include, but are not limited to, communication, media studies, human-computer interaction, information systems, sociology, psychology, management, organisational behaviour, human resource management, law and technology, science and technology studies, political science, or related social-science and interdisciplinary fields. An MBA degree does not fulfil the requirements for admission.
For this project, the following qualities will be viewed as advantageous:
The selected candidate will receive close supervision and follow-up from research faculty. The main supervisors are Professors Suzanne van Gils and Sut I Wong (BI Norwegian Business School). The candidate will be integrated into the Department of Communication and Culture and the wider EMANAIRE network.
The four-year scholarship is currently NOK 623,200 gross per year and will be adjusted according to applicable regulations. The position provides membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (Statens Pensjonskasse). Twenty-five per cent of working time is reserved for teaching. The candidate's workplace will be BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, Norway.
Further information about the doctoral programme and admission requirements is available from BI's PhD Administration (phd@bi.no) and the PhD specialisation in Communication: https://www.bi.no/en/programmes-and-individual-courses/phd/communication/.
Candidates are asked to upload the following material with their electronic application:
Applicants who do not hold a qualifying master's degree from a Nordic institution and whose qualifying degree was not taught in English must normally document English proficiency through TOEFL or IELTS, unless a waiver is granted. The minimum accepted scores are:
TOEFL and IELTS scores must be from the preceding two years. The BI institution codes are GMAT 0529, TOEFL 0529 and GRE 7365. IELTS copies are accepted when the TRF number is visible. Applicants who believe they qualify for a waiver should submit the required waiver documentation.
Please note that all documents must be uploaded in the electronic application system. Documents may not be submitted by e-mail. Furthermore, documents submitted after the application deadline will not be considered. Exceptions will only be made for students who are completing their master’s degree in 2026 and do not have a final certificate when applying. Please note that applicants will not be able to revise their application once it has been submitted.
Candidates may later be asked for further information and/or invited to an interview. A candidate admitted to the programme must prepare a more detailed progress plan with milestones and courses for the four years of study.
Applicants may be of any nationality. To be eligible for MSCA funding, the selected candidate must, on the first day of MSCA employment: (i) not hold a doctoral degree; candidates who have successfully defended a doctoral thesis but have not yet formally received the degree are not eligible; (ii) comply with the MSCA mobility rule, meaning they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Norway for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding that date, excluding compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent in a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention; and (iii) be enrolled in, or meet the conditions required for timely enrolment in, the doctoral programme leading to the degree specified in this notice. The appointment is conditional on documentary verification of these conditions and fulfilment of the host institution's doctoral admission requirements.
Questions about the project can be addressed to Professor Suzanne van Gils at suzanne.v.gils@bi.no.
Questions about the PhD specialisation in Communication can be addressed to Academic Program Manager Christian Fieseler at christian.fieseler@bi.no. Questions about the application process can be sent to BI's PhD Administration at phd@bi.no.
Application deadline: 1 November 2026