Organization
Eindhoven University of Technology is one of the world's leading research universities (ranked by the Times Higher Education Supplement) and is particularly well known for its joint research with industry (ranked number one worldwide by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies). The Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS) of Eindhoven University of Technology is one of the longest-established engineering schools in Europe, with a strong presence in the international research and education community, especially in the fields of Operations Management and Innovation Management, which are at the core of the undergraduate BSc program. The graduate programs (MSc and PhD) in Operations Management & Logistics and Innovation Management attract top-level students from all over the world. Researchers are member of the Beta research school.

Group
The PhD candidate will be located in the Innovation, Technology Entrepreneurship & Marketing (ITEM) group. The group is part of the School of Industrial Engineering of the department IE&IS. The ITEM group consists of about 25 FTE faculty members and 20 FTE PhD's who participate in and contribute to the research, education and service program of the ITEM group. This program is one of the leading programs in the world and emphasizes means for measuring and improving the process of conceiving, developing, and launching new products and businesses, and also managing these products and businesses post-launch. More information about the group can be found at: http://www.item-eindhoven.org/

The PhD candidate will collaborate closely with the Operations, Planning, Accounting and Control (OPAC) group at the School of Industrial Engineering. Research within the OPAC group deals with the control of operational processes, which can be related to manufacturing systems, distribution, transportation, warehousing, retail, healthcare, public transportation and service processes such as equipment maintenance.

Short description of the PhD Project
Most research in the area of supply chain integration remains purely theoretical or uses simulation models to gauge the effects of integration on business performance and sustainability. This PhD project takes radically different approach by empirically studying supply chain integration benefits and hurdles in the field. The project is part of the Freight Traffic Management as a Service Living Lab. Within the Living Lab, new ICT technologies will be developed and implemented by and with industry partners. The objective of this PhD project is to empirically study the real-world impact by modeling and analyzing the data generated in the Living Lab. An important opportunity of the Living Lab is that it will reveal unanticipated effects, which are often caused by human factors. For example, in all running cases truck drivers might not adhere to the routing suggested by the new ICT technology. This might be due to a lack of trust, or for good reasons based on valuable information that they have but that is not accounted for in the ICT solution. The PhD project aims to identify reasons for deviations between the theoretical and real-world benefits of ICT technologies by applying a causal inference methodology. The few prior studies that used empirical data to estimate the real-world impact of supply chain integration typically rely on cross-sectional evidence. A major concern is that those firms that would benefit most from integration are more likely to integrate, leading to a spurious correlation between integration and performance and, ultimately, wrong decisions. This concern can be remedied by a longitudinal study in which key outcome variables are measured before and after a pilot intervention - exactly as we plan to do in the Living Lab environment. This project will thus contribute to answering the recent calls for more empirical causal inference research in both the fields of marketing and operations.

The PhD student will benefit from being part of the Data2Move community - the leading research community and eco-system on the interface of Big Data and Supply Chain Management. With the Internet of Things as a main driver, data-driven decision-making is now becoming feasible, but its successful implementation critically depends on the question 'how?' To answer that question, innovative research in combination with real-world implementation is key. Therefore, the Data2Move community consists of academics, students and prominent industry partners who all share an interest in optimizing supply chains using data. To know more, check out www.Data2Move.nl

Job description
You, as a successful applicant, will perform the research project outlined above in an international team. The research will be concluded with a PhD thesis. A small teaching load is part of the job.

• You have a Master's degree in Econometrics, Quantitative Marketing, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• You have a strong affinity with interdisciplinary research, as well as collaboration with industry.
• Strong analytical skills, demonstrated competences for quantitative modeling and basic knowledge of time series econometrics.
• Potential and ambition to become a high-level management scholar with an interest in supply chain management.
• You are able to work on a challenging topic that has both basic and applied research aspects.
• Your verbal and written communication skills are excellent as is your proficiency in English and your ability to collaborate in an international setting.

• A challenging job in a dynamic and ambitious university.
• A PhD appointment for a period of 4 years.
• Gross monthly salary is €2.325,- in the first year up to €2.972,- (gross) in the fourth year on a full-time basis.
• A yearly holiday allowance of 8% and 8.3% end of year allowance.
• A broad package of fringe benefits (including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, savings schemes, coverage of costs of publishing the dissertation and excellent sports facilities).