Despite stark evidence and mounting pressures from the public opinion and stakeholders, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the related policies vary substantially across countries and firms. As dominant players in the global economy, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been called to take a more active role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and recently their strategy has been increasingly influenced by the UN's 2030 Agenda. MNEs' managers are pressured by their stakeholders to integrate policies and practices which have a clear connection to sustainable development. Yet this represents a major managerial challenge, as the MNEs' actions and strategic decisions may exacerbate rather than alleviate global challenges such as climate change, poverty, gender discrimination, unsustainable consumption, among others.

MNEs are among the leading global players able to promote sustainable development via both direct and indirect strategic actions. MNEs are the main organizational channel for the mobility of people, knowledge, capital, and goods across countries and play a primary role in the creation, diffusion, and utilization of technological innovation. A key area for future research is the investigation on how complex organizations, such as MNEs, may contribute to the achievement of SDGs by:

• designing green-oriented innovation processes,
• adopting digital technologies to redistribute innovation activities more equally across the global value chains,
• changing hiring and collaboration practices to improve diversity and inclusion.

This project will focus on one or more of the interrelated research themes described above. Searching for a setting representing a (quasi-)natural experiment is preferred to gauge causality. The research setting also points toward a multi-level theoretical and empirical approach that involves different levels of the firms from individuals, teams, top-management teams, and subsidiaries. A variety of data sources can be adopted, including patent- and individual-level data.

What are you going to do

You will/tasks:

• pursue and complete a PhD thesis within the appointed duration of four years, during which you will follow PhD level coursework, plan and conduct your PhD research;
• actively collaborate with the researchers from Amsterdam Business School;
• present research findings at international conferences;
• submit your work to prestigious management science journals;
• assist in teaching activities, such as tutorials, Bsc and MSc thesis supervision.

The PhD candidate will aim to generate research that can be published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals.

Your experience and profile:

• Formal requirements:
  • Masters' degree (preferably a Research Master´s) in Business Administration, Business Economics, Strategy, International Business, Economics of Innovation, Environmental economics, or a related field (also candidates with a degree in other relevant disciplines are encouraged to apply).
• Task-related requirements:
  • excellent speaking and writing ability in English, ideally with experience writing for a scientific audience;
  • willingness and motivation to independently formulate research projects and carry them through to completion;
  • statistical skills and command of standard software packages for analysing quantitative data (e.g., STATA, R), and a willingness to develop these skills further;
  • programming and analytical skills, including knowledge of programming languages (e.g., Phyton), and a strong willingness to develop these skills further;
  • command of empirical software packages (e.g., Qualtrics) and a strong willingness to develop these skills further.
• Additional requirements:
  • Strong motivation to pursue an international career as a leading scholar;
  • strong commitment to methodological rigor and scientific integrity;
  • intellectual curiosity, eagerness to learn, and openness to criticism.

The employment contract will be for an initial period of 18 months, with an intermediate evaluation after 18 months with a possibility to extend it for 30 months (in total 4 years). End-result should be a PhD thesis. An educational plan will be drafted that includes attendance of courses and (international) conferences.

The gross monthly salary will range from €2443 in the first year to €3122 in the last year, plus an additional 16% of holiday and end-of-year payments. The Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) for Dutch Universities is applicable.

What else do we offer

• a university that is consistently ranked among the world's best universities in global rankings. It is a top-100 university in the Times Higher Education Rankings and QS Rankings;
• a research environment that is inspiring, collaborative and international (around 50% of our staff is international and the fraction of international staff is increasing);
• the campus is located in the heart of Amsterdam;
• Amsterdam offers a vibrant and cosmopolitan living environment, and is appreciated by our international staff especially for the high quality of living, the village-like charm, the easy commuting, cultural and social life, English as business language, and the excellent connections to the rest of the world;

Faculty of Economics and Business

About UvA Economics and Business

Education and research at UvA Economics and Business (EB) covers a wide range of fields that includes economics, data science, business administration, business analytics, accountancy, control, econometrics, finance and entrepreneurship. This is organised in 2 Schools: the Amsterdam Business School (ABS) and the Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE). Over 7,000 students are enrolled in our UvA Economics and Business programmes and around 500 employees provide education and support.

Find more information about Economics and Business on uva.nl/eb.

Find more information about the Amsterdam Business School on abs.uva.nl.

Find more information about the Amsterdam School of Economics on ase.uva.nl.

Department

At our Strategy & International Business section, managers in organisations are considered the central actors. One of our main areas of focus in both research and education is examining the role of business and organisations in regards to corporate governance, social responsibility and sustainability. Another increasingly important focus is digital transformation and innovation strategy. Links to data science initiatives play an increasingly important role. The section is committed to providing high-quality education at all levels, from undergraduate (BSc) to PhD level and Executive Education.