Where Executive Practice Meets Cognitive Science
Jörg Malang · Executive PhD Researcher · Antwerp Management School (Class of 2025–2029)
About the Researcher
Jörg Malang is a former C-suite executive and conservatory-trained musician, now pursuing an Executive PhD at Antwerp Management School. After more than two decades in senior leadership roles — including at XING, Nokia and DERTOUR — his work moves beyond metaphorical arts-and-leadership analogies towards an evidence-based account of how senior leaders think, decide and adapt under pressure.
Affiliation
The research is conducted within Antwerp Management School‘s Executive PhD programme (Class of 2025–2029) and the Executive Paradox & Cognitive Architecture Lab. Earlier training includes an MBA from HEC Paris and a Diplom in Cultural Management from the Hamburg University of Music and Drama.
Research Area
At the broadest level, the programme studies the cognitive micro-foundations of strategic leadership: how senior executives navigate the persistent, contradictory demands — the paradoxes — that define leadership in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments. Bridging Upper Echelons Theory and contemporary cognitive science, it asks how a lifetime of disciplined, high-level practice shapes the mental architecture that underpins executive effectiveness.
The work spans Organisational Studies, Cognitive Science and Business Administration, and follows a multi-study, mixed-methods research design.
Why This Research Matters
Academic Community
A rigorous, multi-study contribution to the cognitive micro-foundations of strategic leadership and paradox navigation.
Business Leaders
Evidence-based perspectives on executive judgement that reach beyond traditional leadership assessment.
Leaders from Diverse Backgrounds
A fuller account of how varied formative experiences shape the capabilities leaders bring to complex roles.
Executive Education
New approaches for integrating cognitive science into leadership development and executive education.
Connect
I welcome enquiries about research partnership and academic exchange. Researchers, doctoral candidates, institutions and practitioners working at the intersection of strategic leadership and cognitive science are invited to start a conversation using the contact form below — for scholarly dialogue, methodological exchange or potential collaboration. You can also follow the work on ResearchGate.