This postdoctoral research fellowship is funded through the NWO Sustainable Business Model II programme and is based within the department of Strategic Management at Radboud University’s Nijmegen School of Management. Under supervision of Prof. Hans van Kranenburg and other members of the Strategic Management department and in collaboration with TNO, Alliander N.V., Next Generation Infrastructures (NGInfra) and their partners, the postdoctoral research fellow will examine how a sustainable business ecosystem directive may cater for a complex stakeholder field. This research will touch upon both re-design and implementation of business ecosystems; for instance, reviewing the transition goals setting, critical success factors, and required governance structure for a successful transition from the point-of-view of the variety of stakeholders and developing the required capabilities to trigger activities for concrete decision-making and implementation.

The postdoctoral research fellowship will facilitate joint strategic decision-making on a future-proof next-generation business ecosystem based on transdisciplinary, participatory action-based research, stakeholder engagement approaches, collaborative modelling workshop and assessment methods using the transition success involving the main partners of this proposal and their direct and indirect stakeholders and translating these shared strategic decisions into value propositions and decision support methods.

Relevant questions relating to the research setting include:

• In what way should organisations operating in the infrastructure sector change their current business based on this complexity to achieve sustainable multiple value creation in a complex stakeholder field?
• How can they adjust their business ecosystem to adhere to new external demands and requirements in a complex stakeholder field?
• How to include their environment/stakeholders/external interests and/or demands in a manner that contributes to sustainable (multiple) value creation for all parties involved?
• Which values do prevail when we develop technologies, resources and capabilities and governance structures that shape our future?

• either hold or be about to complete a doctoral degree in management, economics, spatial planning, environment and society, sustainability or another relevant social science;
• knowledge of and experience with quantitative and qualitative research techniques, facilitative (stakeholder) planning and modelling approaches, and transdisciplinary methodologies, and good organisational skills;
• a broad knowledge of theories on strategic stakeholder management, decision-making, governance, transition and/or sustainability management;
• an excellent command of spoken and written Dutch and English;
• good presentation skills, presenting to academic and practitioner audiences;
• organisational skills to handle day-to-day research project management tasks;
• the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, and a sensitivity to stakeholder interests.

• employment: 0.8 - 1.0 FTE
• a maximum gross monthly salary of € 4,852 based on a 38-hour working week (salary scale 11)
• the starting salary depends on working experience of the candidate
• in addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• term of contract: 2.5 years
• you will be classified as a Researcher, Level 3 in the Dutch university job-ranking system (UFO)
• you will be able to make use of our Dual Career Service where our Dual Career Officer will assist with family related support, such as child care, and help your partner prepare for the local labour market and with finding an occupation

 
Start of contract 1 October 2018.

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Nijmegen School of Management
The Nijmegen School of Management (NSM) is an academic centre of research and higher education at Radboud University, focusing on institutional and managerial issues concerning complex organisations in both the public and private domain. It contains seven disciplines: Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics and Business Economics, Social and Political Sciences of the Environment, Human Geography, and Spatial Planning. The NSM strives for a multidisciplinary approach whenever possible. The NSM employs 265 FTEs, of whom 75% are academics. The NSM has approximately 4,000 students.
 
The NSM’s research is embedded in the Institute for Management Research (IMR). It is an academic centre of expertise conducting research on the structure and performance of public and private organisations and institutions that regulate, govern and manage purposive action and interaction. IMR research aims to contribute to the understanding and improvement of the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of organisational arrangements through which people try to structure and govern the complexity of the environments in which they operate. IMR’s aim is to combine and integrate theoretical perspectives from different disciplines in order to provide a richer understanding of international, societal and organisational phenomena, their complexity and their interrelatedness.
 
Prime stakeholders TNO, Alliander N.V. and NGInfra will be involved throughout the entire research process. NGInfra represents a diverse set of prime Dutch infrastructure stakeholders including the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, Port of Rotterdam Authority, energy network company Alliander, Schiphol Airport, telecom company KPN, railway infrastructure provider ProRail and drinking water supplier Vitens. The infrastructure partners in this project have in common that they explicitly strive for increased engagement of their stakeholders - their consumers, business partners and their surrounding communities - in order to re-define their business ecosystem for enhanced contribution to the sustainable development of society.
 
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