Up to 4 PhD Students in Business Studies - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Business Studies is the largest department within the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala University, with its approximately 130 co-workers and 2000 undergraduate students. We conduct extensive PhD education and have about 35 PhD students. The research schools MIT and FIRE are also connected to the department. The department conducts research and provides PhD education in the following fields: Accounting/Finance, Entrepreneurship, International Business, Marketing and Organization/Management.

This year, we are planning to employ up to 4 PhD students:

• 2 general PhD student employments in Business Studies. We would like to see applicants in Entrepreneurship and International Business but also in Accounting, Organisation and Marketing.  Financed through Faculty funding.

In entrepreneurship studies, we are particularly looking for candidates with an interest in the designing of corporate entrepreneurship, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on corporate entrepreneurship, social media entrepreneurship, or the use and defense of intellectual property rights by entrepreneurs, but are open also to other interesting and engaging research topics.

We are looking for a PhD student in the field of international business. The research field covers many important issues that are broadly related to how companies expand in foreign markets or how they shape strategies and control their organizations and operations across many countries. Specific questions may concern what problems and explanations exist from different perspectives related, for example, to organization, culture or networks in a global context, or how different behaviors and events within or outside the international company, such as innovation, knowledge transfer, digitization or democracy affect its development. Together with supervisors, you will develop a specific project related to the research that is ongoing at the Department of Business Studies. It is therefore important that you have a great interest in the subject area of international business in the general sense while having a flexible approach to developing a more specific project in collaboration with supervisors.

• up to 2 PhD student employments in Business Studies related to the following research projects:

Project 1: The Innovation Ecosystem of Born-Digitals and the Development of Complements

The project will deal with the emergence of born-digital firms that early on compete within and across innovation ecosystems on a global scale based on digital solutions. We do not know much about the logic driving the entry of digital start-ups into a complementary role vis-à-vis existing dominant players within an industry or in relation to dominant designs. The project will deal with questions related to what drives start-up firms to enter an industry and specific innovation ecosystems and the process of providing complements to existing dominant products and/or incumbents. Also, knowledge on how the entry of complementors influences the organization of an innovation ecosystem, as well as competition within the ecosystem, is scarce. These conundrums become particularly relevant to investigate within the project, considering the prevalent dearth of knowledge revolving around the disruptive nature and growing importance of digital solutions in many industries. For the project, we seek candidates interested in the strategic management of digital technologies. The Ph.D. student will be guided and supervised by experienced researchers who also will participate in the project work.

Number of positions: 1

Note: This position is subject to availability of external funding.

Project 2: Digitalizing Forestry

The forest is and has for decades been an important part of society as well as a central resource in Sweden and for Swedish international trade. The forest sector includes a large number of actors and business relationships, together forming a network that at present is going through a digital transformation. This transformation is, due to the unique characteristics of forestry, of the outmost interest to research. To manage the digital transformation in the forest sector it is vital to include more parties in the value chain, and to take the dynamics of relationships and networks into consideration. New forms of organizing and demands on competence profiles occurs as documentation, certification, logistics and follow-up of sustainable forestry is performed in digital systems with decision support that integrate and provide access to the use of relevant data for production, compliance and sourcing control.

To sum up, we are looking for a PhD candidate with an interest in how digital transformation can develop sustainable forestry. The applicant should be interested in a holistic relationship and network perspective, preferable also with an interest in process studies in which the analysis of transformation through time become emphasized.

Number of positions: 1

Note: Fluency in Swedish is a requirement for this position. Subject to availability of external funding.

General information

Duties: The duties of a PhD student are primarily focused on his/her own research education, (4 years full-time), 90 academic credits of courses and 150 credits research for the doctoral thesis. To a limited extent (maximum 20 %), the work may also involve other departmental duties, mainly related to teaching undergraduate courses – in which case the position may be extended to maximum five years. General rules about PhD education can be found (in Swedish) in Högskoleförordningen Chapter 5, 1-7 §§, in Uppsala University rules and in the General Study Plan for PhD studies at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University.

Requirements: General entry requirement: an advanced level qualification, has satisfied fulfillment of the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits awarded at the advanced level, or has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way. Specific entry requirement: courses in Business Studies comprising 90 credits.

In order to receive a PhD position, the candidate needs to be admitted to the doctoral programme, and for this, his/her potential ability to pursue the programme is decisive.

Note that a master thesis that has not yet been completed and assessed by the application deadline is given respite until June 1, 2022.

Requirements - Language requirement: All applicants need to verify English language proficiency that corresponds to English studies at upper secondary (high school) level in Sweden ("English 6"). This can be done in a number of ways, including through an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or IELTS, or through previous upper secondary (high school) or university studies.

The minimum test scores are:

• IELTS: an overall mark of 6.5 and no section below 5.5
• TOEFL: Paper-based: Score of 4.5 (scale 1–6) in written test and a total score of 575. Internet-based: Score of 20 (scale 0–30) in written test and a total score of 90
• Cambridge: CAE, CPE

More information about English language requirements

Specific requirement for project 2: Fluency in Swedish is a requirement.

Criteria for assessment of applications: please see the criteria.

The application must include:

1. CV.
2. Certified graduation diploma and transcripts of academic records, and other relevant documents that prove general and specific eligibility.
3. Research proposal in either English or Swedish (max. 12,000 characters including spaces). The research proposal should address the main research questions and the relevance of the project, relate the project to relevant previous research in the field, and present issues regarding data and methodology.
4. Motivation letter. In the motivation letter you will have to specify which project position you are interested in.
5. Master thesis and books, articles, scripts, etc invoked. Note that a master thesis that has not yet been completed and assessed by the application deadline is given respite until June 1, 2022.
6. TOEFL/IELTS-test (or equivalent). Note that applicants with a master’s degree from an English-speaking university or programme do not need to prove their English skills by submitting a TOEFL/IELTS-test. Information about English tests can be found in the link above.
7. Two letters of reference/recommendation (for example, from university teachers or employers). The letters have to include the contact information to the referees (e-mail address and phone number). The recommendation should state in what way the referent has known the applicant. We are particularly interested in an assessment of the applicant in terms of our admissions criteria.  Instructions for recommendation letters.

Interview: An evaluation committee assesses the applications and provides a recommendation for which candidates should be called for interviews. Call for interviews will take place April 11-14, 2022 to selected candidates. Those who  successfully pass the interviews will have to do a written assignment.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100%. Starting date 1 September, 2022. Placement: Uppsala.

Further information about the positions, please contact Director of PhD studies Susanne Åberg, ph +46 (0)18 471 1391, susanne.aberg@fek.uu.se or administrator for PhD studies Golondrian Janke, ph +46 (0)18 471 1369, golondrian.janke@fek.uu.se.

You are welcome to submit your application by March 31, 2022, UFV-PA 2022/470. Only complete applications with supporting documents will be reviewed.

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In case of different interpretations of the English and Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.