Over the last years, the usage of artificial intelligence by companies has been on the rise, with major consequences for the way in which companies interact with their customers. AI applications can comprise both non-embodied, e.g. voice-operated systems such as Siri and Alexa, and embodied AI, such as robots. What sets this new technology apart from more traditional self-service technology is that these new forms of AI are also able to engage customers on a social level. Yet, how customers react to these new forms of social AI has yet to be discovered. Do customers like interacting with social AI? To what extent does social AI alter consumers’ decision-making? Furthermore, insights on how AI can best be designed and applied to enhance potential positive and avoid potential negative effects contexts such as health care, retailing, and hospitality are largely lacking.

This PhD position is sponsored by the Groningen Digital Business Center (GDBC). This offers major advantages for you in terms of opportunities to collect high-quality data, additional funds for travelling, and close interactions and discussions enhancing the quality and relevancy of the research projects. The project will supervised by Dr. Jenny van Doorn and will be embedded in SOM’s research programme in Marketing.

You should have a background (MSc, research master) in marketing or a discipline related to the topic described above, such as psychology or human-machine-interaction. Programming skills and knowledge of the Dutch language are advantageous.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

We offer in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:
• a salary starting from € 2,325 which increases yearly to a maximum of € 2,972 for a full-time working week
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income in May
• an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance in December
• a full-time temporary appointment for a period of in principle four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year.

Starting date: 1 September 2019 at the latest.

An assessment may be part of the procedure, consisting of psychological tests and an interview.

How to apply
If you are interested, we invite you to apply until 26 May 11.59pm / before 27 May 2019 (CEST). Please click on the "Apply" button below.

The application package consists of the following separate documents:
1. your cv (CV attachment)
2. a motivation letter (1 A4 max) and a short study proposal for the PhD project (2 A4 max) (letter of motivation attachment)
3. a scan of your diploma including transcripts (extra attachment)
4. proof of English proficiency (extra attachment 2)
5. other relevant documents (extra attachment 3).

The documents 1-4 are compulsory and please note that incomplete application packages will not be taken into consideration.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our University. We are committed to building a diverse faculty so you are encouraged to apply. Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP), https://nvp-plaza.nl/download/?id=7714 and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers, https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Faculty of Economics and Business

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen (RUG) has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative centre of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.

SOM, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has available:

One PhD position in the field of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing