Postdoctoral Researcher

ESSEC Business School; France; On-site; EUR 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

ESSEC Business School’s Law, Political Science & Society Department invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher position at the Cergy campus, France. The project focuses on leveraging cybersecurity to detect illicit behavior in the agricultural sector and is funded under Horizon Europe with interdisciplinary links to management, biotechnology, and genomics.

We seek an early-career scholar holding or nearing a PhD in organizational theory, public administration, or sociology, with strong

Qualifications

• PhD in related fields or near completion with interest in public policy, ethics and regulation.
• Professional proficiency in English (written and spoken).
• Residence in France and ability to work from the Cergy campus.

Responsibilities

• Systematic literature review of the illegal reproduction of plant material IP rights.
• Development of a database to map illegal behaviors across the industry.
• Interviews with key stakeholders across agricultural and seed value chain to explore incentives and organizational factors.

Skills

Qualitative data collection and分析

English proficiency

Education

PhD in related fields

Job description

Law, Political Science & Society Department, with strong connections with the Economics Department.

Organisation/Company ESSEC Business School Department Law, Political Science & Society Department, with strong connections with the Economics Department. Research Field Sociology Political sciences Juridical sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 9 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Nov 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

ESSEC Business School is one of Europe’s leading business schools (#9 on the FT European Business School ranking) with campuses in Greater Paris, Singapore, and Morocco. Being the first AACSB-accredited business school outside North America, it offers BBA, MSc, Advanced Masters, MBA, Executive MBA, and Ph.D. programs in business administration. Founded in 1907, ESSEC has a long-standing tradition of humanist values and aims to prepare students for creating and running companies and organizations that can have a positive impact on the world. It is continuously recognized as the number one business school in France in its commitment to environmental sustainability and social change.

ESSEC Business School holds the HR Excellence in Research award. As part of our ongoing HRS4R (Human Resources Strategy for Researchers) commitment, ESSEC implements a recruitment policy aligned with the principles of OTM-R (Open, Transparent, and Merit-Based Recruitment). For more information, you can consult our OTM-R policy here.

Project Background

Research Project

Leveraging cybersecurity to detect illegal behavior and enforce data protection policies in the agricultural industry

The project is funded by the European Union within Horizon Europe – the Framework Program for Research and Innovation (2021-2027). It brings together different institutional actors from across Europe and draws on interdisciplinary research in management, biotechnology, and genomics to investigate how cybersecurity can help detect illegal practices, with a particular focus on the illegal trade in vegetable seeds in Europe. Specifically, the project seeks to improve customs and supply chain security by strengthening the prevention, detection, and deterrence of illegal activities involving the movement of goods across EU borders. ESSEC’s specific role in the project concerns the analysis of industry characteristics that facilitate or constrain illegal behavior, with particular attention to how the power, authority, and structural positions of different industry actors shape such behavior.

Mission of the project; the postdoctoral researcher will be involved in the following activities:

• a systematic review of scientific and professional literature addressing the illegal reproduction of plant material protected by intellectual property rights (IPRs). Disciplines considered will include policy-making, applied ethics, and organizational studies
• Development of a database to map the main categories of illegal behaviors in the industry
• (ii) interviews with key stakeholders across the agricultural and seed value chain, including farmers, nurseries, agronomists, and sector associations. These interviews will explore: Perceived economic and practical incentives for engaging in illegal practices (e.g., cost savings, competitive pressure); organizational and market factors (e.g., limited availability of authorized material, fragmented supply chains); ethical and cultural dimensions (e.g., perception of low harm, normalization of illicit practices).
• Degree: the candidate holds or is close to finishing a PhD in one of the related fields (organizational theory/ public administration/sociology) and shows a clear interest in questions at the nexus of public policy, ethics and regulation.
• Technical Skills: Proven capacity to collect and analyze qualitative data.

Specific Requirements

• Profile: the candidate is an early-career scholar with a strong research orientation, intellectual curiosity and advanced training qualitative research.
• Language Skills: Professional proficiency in English (both written and spoken).
• Location: the candidate must reside in France and will work from the campus of Cergy.

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Years of Research Experience 1 - 4

Additional Information

Salary: Gross monthly salary € 2400.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates can be from any nationality. Equal opportunity and diversity for all applicants. In accordance with the ESSEC hiring policy promoting diversity, this position is accessible to people with disabilities.

Application Process

Review process : Review of the applications by the recruitment committee will be done on an ongoing basis. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview the week of October 12, 2026.

Final Decision: The recruitment committee will deliberate and will provide their final decision via email.