Research Fellow, Family Business

About IMD

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has been pioneering leadership development for nearly 80 years. Founded by business for business, we are an independent university institute with Swiss roots and global reach. Operating from Lausanne with strategic hubs in Singapore, Shenzhen, and Cape Town, IMD works with 19,000+ executives from 120+ countries annually. Our 145,000+ alumni form a powerful global network. Consistently ranked among the world's top business schools, IMD bridges cutting-edge research with real-world application to help leaders solve problems, scale solutions, and drive impact. Real Learning for Real Impact.

To reinforce our team in Singapore, we are looking for a

Research Fellow, Family Business

Full time - 2 years fixed term contract

The Job’s mission

IMD seeks a Research Fellow to accelerate our research and thought leadership on Asian business families. You will be working primarily with Marleen Dieleman, Peter Lorange Chair in Family Business and also with Alfredo de Massis, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business and Wild Group Chair in Family Business. A strong collaboration with other faculty members and researchers working on high‑impact research, case writing, and practice‑oriented frameworks that inform our executive education, advisory, and public knowledge platforms is also encouraged.

This is an applied research role with academic rigor: you will design and execute studies with/on business families, translate insights into top‑tier scholarly outputs and IMD cases, and help craft accessible tools that support families through governance transitions, succession, innovation, and internationalization. Experience with or prior research on the Asian family business context is preferred.

The Research Fellow will develop and conduct novel and relevant research that is publishable in top-tier academic journals and relevant for practice such that it can generates an impact beyond academia. Therefore, the research fellow needs to integrate this view into study design, creation of research methodologies, data collection, processing and analysis of data as well as the writing of academic- and practitioner-oriented articles, literature reviews, reports, and case studies. The research fellow should also ensure the successful completion of the publication process, and create materials to translate research results into publishable insights, materials for IMD programs, engagement platforms, and events. 

Key deliverables 

Based on a mixed-method approach that may include qualitative interviews, focus groups, secondary data analyses, and field experiments, the aim of the Research Fellow’s work is to generate and disseminate impactful outcomes for both academic and practitioner audiences:
•    Develop research and publish in FT50 journals (and other top-tier academic outlets). Within the first 6 months, a clear research and publication strategy needs to be developed by the research fellow. 
•    Distill key insights from the conducted research and publish articles in outlets that reach a borader audience.
•    Engage stakeholders and gain collaborators that support the research, and help disseminating the produced knowledge.
•    Leverage various dissemination channels to communicate and translate the research insights.

Ideal profile

•    Academic background: PhD in management, strategy, entrepreneurship, international business, economics, sociology, or related fields with a family business and/or emerging‑market focus from a reputable academic institution
•    Substantive expertise: Evidence of research or fieldwork in one or more of the following: Asian family business groups (conglomerates, diversified groups), Family Business and Family Governance (boards, family councils, charters), Generational succession, Next‑gen development; Internationalization from emerging markets; Legacy and legacy narratives, Family offices.
•    Methods: Strong qualitative (interviews, process tracing, case study design) and/or quantitative skills (econometrics, panel/archival data, field experiments, text analytics). Mixed‑methods experience is a plus.
•    Output orientation: Demonstrated capacity to publish in top-tier academic journals.
•    Regional fluency: Deep familiarity with Asia (East/Southeast/South); ability to work in multiple cultural contexts. 
•    Stakeholder engagement: Comfort engaging senior family owners, next‑gens, and advisors; high professionalism and discretion. 
•    Attitude: Ability to work independently and proactively with minimum supervision
•    Collaborative and capable of working in a multi-disciplinary environment
•    Deadline and results oriented
•    Language: Full fluency in English (written and spoken) is a must. Proficiency in Asian language (e.g., Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia/Melayu, Hindi, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese) is an advantage.

How to apply

If you have the above skills and would like to work in our stimulating environment, please submit your application by  4 May 2026.  
If you’re a qualified candidate with a disability (such as dyslexia, sight and/or hearing disabilities, etc) and you need a reasonable accommodation in order to apply for this position, please specify it in your application. 

This position is located in Singapore. Subject to valid residence/work visa/permission.