Are you looking for a challenging job in a dynamic setting? The Leadership & Management section at the Amsterdam Business School (ABS), University of Amsterdam (UvA), invites applications for a PhD position in Organisational Behaviour / Management with a content focus on change management in the ethical or moral area (managing ethical change projects, reactions and resistance to ethical change initiatives). We are looking for PhD candidates with the ambition to work and succeed at the highest international academic level.

You will be a member of a successful section with a simultaneously ambitious and supportive culture and ample opportunity for personal development in an attractive international work environment. We aim for outstanding research and world-class teaching in university Bachelor, Master and executive programmes.

What are you going to do?

The PhD position is a full-time position for a period of four years, salary is in accordance with fixed salaries prescribed by the Dutch labor agreements for universities. During the four years you will follow PhD level coursework, plan and conduct your PhD research and be included in the teaching of the school’s programmes.

The PhD project will be defined by the student and the supervisory group and thus requires creativity, self-direction, and passion for top-notch scientific research. The research will be in the broader field of managing ethical change initiatives with a focus on change recipients’ reactions and managing their potential resistance.

Starting date of the position: preferably September 1, 2021.

You will/tasks:

You will work in close collaboration with the supervisory team and other faculty on tasks that include:

• Identifying novel research questions based on real-world phenomena or extant theory;
• understanding the theoretical foundations and prior literature relevant to understanding the phenomena;
• identifying the fundamental variables and relationships that are most important to studying the phenomena, and formalizing them in a model or set of hypotheses;
• gathering data to test hypotheses or measure phenomena;
• writing computer code (typically using SPSS, R) to analyse quantitative data;
• presenting research findings at international conferences;
• writing up findings for publication in international journals;
• attending classes and seminars (including those offered at other universities) to further develop thinking and research skills;
• participating in and contributing to departmental functions (e.g. research seminars & meetings);
• teaching-related activities (to a limited degree), including undergraduate tutorials and the supervision of MSc and/or BSc thesis projects.

What do we require?

Expected output: The PhD student will aim to generate research that can be published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals in organisational behaviour or management, such as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management or Journal of Business Ethics. The research group has a strong record publishing in these and other excellent journals in related fields. The final results of the PhD project are published in a PhD dissertation, and most PhD dissertations at ABS aim to be published in top-tier academic journals.

Your experience and profile:

Formal requirements:

• Masters’ degree (preferably a Research Master's) in business administration, management, organizational behaviour, organizational psychology or a related field (candidates with a degree in psychology 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., SPSS, R, MPlus), and a 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;
• energy and passion for organizational behaviour and management questions;
• intellectual curiosity, eagerness to learn, and openness to criticism.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

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 (totaly 4 years). End-result should be a PhD thesis. An educational plan will be drafted that includes attendance of courses and (international) conferences. The PhD candidate is also expected to assist in teaching at undergraduate level. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

University of Amsterdam

The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 30,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.

Curious about our organisation and attractive fringe benefits such as a generous holiday arrangement and development opportunities? Here you can read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Business School - Faculty of Economics and Business

The Leadership & Management section at the ABS is a growing interdisciplinary group of currently 16+ faculty members and 5 PhD students with expertise in a broad range of topics and research methods. The research of the Leadership & Management section focuses on themes including Strategic HRM and HR analytics, (un)ethical and charismatic leadership in organisations, proactive work behavior, personality, stereotypes, and the role of time, motivation and emotions.

The ABS is located in the heart of Amsterdam, the cultural and business capital of the Netherlands, which offers a cosmopolitan living environment with excellent connections to the rest of the world. Within UvA, ABS offers executive, graduate and undergraduate programs in accounting, finance, management, marketing and strategy. ABS is triple-crown accredited (AACBS, AMBA, EQUIS).

To work at the UvA is to work in a discerning, independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterized by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society. Here you can read more about working at the UvA.