PhD position Digital Product Passports - Legitimacy and Governance (1.0 FTE)

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center 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 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.

FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position in the field of “Industrial Digital Platforms for Digital Product Passports: Legitimacy and Governance” available.

Project description
In light of the EU’s ambitious twin green and digital transition goals, the implementation of digital product passports (DPPs) has become a regulatory priority. These passports are envisioned to revolutionize the way products are tracked and evaluated, providing detailed information about their materials, manufacturing processes, and lifecycle. With DPPs, parties through the supply chain (including consumers) can access reliable information about a product’s raw materials, the environmental impact of production processes, and the ethical standards adhered to during manufacturing. A key factor in DPPs’ success is legitimacy, that is, the extent to which it is perceived as aligned with a society’s values and beliefs. Without requisite legitimation, the political support and resources needed to deploy DPPs will be challenged. Its technical legitimacy depends on the reliability of the global DPP infrastructure: is the data completely, accurately and securely stored and transmitted? The DPP’s social legitimacy revolves around data reliability and its effectiveness: is its information reflective of reality, does it increase transparency in ways that improves environmental sustainability and can organizations safeguard enough proprietary information to maintain their competitive advantage and motivation to innovate?

The objective of this research is to answer the question: What legitimation strategies (at the organizational, industry and governmental level) are effective in promoting the adoption of digital platforms for Digital Product Passports such that sustainable product lifecycles are accomplished?

From this problem, three key research questions emerge, each of which will inform one of the PhD subprojects:

1. Platform Governance:
What governance mechanisms and design principles can enhance the legitimacy of DPP platforms? How can data integrity, transparency, and stakeholder inclusion be ensured to build trust and acceptance?
2. Steel User Business models:
How do DPPs afford new value-creating business models in steel using organizations such that a socially legitimate configuration of private/firm and public/environmental interests is accomplished?
3. Legitimation practices:
What practices of legitimation are effective for the DPPs of steel-using firms to be regarded as reliable by regulators and consumers?

The PhD position is embedded in the research programme Innovation & Organization of FEB’s Research Institute. The project will be supervised by Prof. Ulrike Schultze, Prof. David Langley, and a daily supervisor.

The ideal candidate is ambitious, highly motivated and wishes to make a career in (academic or applied) research. You have a thorough training in research skills, speaks and writes English fluently and has obtained excellent results in the Master phase.

The PhD candidate should have a background (MSc, research master) in Management and Organization, Information Systems, Environmental Public Policy, Industrial Economics, or related field. An interest in sustainability and the combination of theory and practical implementation would be beneficial.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

- A gross monthly salary from a minimum of € 3,059, which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,881.
- Based on the gross salary an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December.
- Atemporary full-time appointment for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year. PhD candidates contribute 20% of their time to teaching in years 2-4. FEB encourages early stage researchers to develop a healthy work-life balance, for example by facilitating those wishing to combine family planning with excellent scholarship.

Starting date: Preferably per 1 January, 2026