PhD in Open and Reverse Innovation

Inexpensive portable ultrasound machines, wheelchairs fit for all terrain use, sturdy baby strollers, novel cough suppressants, and several mass-market entry level phones (Von Zedtwitz et al., 2015; Winter & Govindarajan, 2015), they are just a handful of examples of innovations originating from emerging markets that were adapted to disruptive innovations offered in developed markets. This phenomenon is called reverse innovation. Reverse innovation may affect the strategic prospects of both developed and emerging market firms and consumers, yet many questions about it remain open to date.

Taking the perspective of emerging market firms, existing studies on reverse innovation by emerging market firms are found to be mostly descriptive. Little attention has been devoted to how firms from emerging markets succeed to compete in developed markets with their reverse innovations (Buckley, Doh, and Benischke, 2017). A notable exception is a recent study by Giannetti & Rubera (2020), however, only 12% of their data deals with innovations by emerging market firms. One essential problem facing emerging market firms who try to launch their products or services in developed markets is how they can overcome liabilities related to their roots, such as the quality perceptions of developed economy consumers about products from emerging markets (e.g. Malodia et al., 2020; Von Zedtwitz et al., 2015). Therefore, this PhD project seeks to find out what factors drive the diffusion and adoption of reverse innovations by emerging market firms in developed markets.

The phenomenon of reverse innovation also holds implications for developed market firms. In this area, a major gap in the literature pertains to how these firms should respond to, and how they may tap into, reverse flows of knowledge and innovation (Luo et al., 2019). We already know about the channels that developed market firms use to this end and that these channels largely fall within the scope of the open innovation concept (e.g. Chesbrough and Bogers, 2014). For example, developed market firms may control subsidiaries serving as global innovation incubators (Luo et al., 2019) and/or use social media to facilitate reverse flows (Ooms et al., 2015). However, “how reverse transfer is structured, coordinated and executed, and what levels of corporate support or organizational infrastructure […] are required to underpin it, has yet to be unpacked” (Luo et al., 2019, p.655). Hence, there are several important unknowns regarding the managerial aspects of reverse innovation by developed market firms. This PhD project seeks to understand how developed market firms may structure, coordinate, execute and support reverse innovation.

In sum, the PhD project will require you to study: (1) The factors that drive adoption and diffusion of reverse innovations launched in developed markets, (2) what mechanisms developed market firms can use to tap into reverse innovation flows, and (3) how these mechanisms are best structured, coordinated, and executed to support reverse innovation by developed market firms. The project will combine quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Applicants for this PhD position should preferably meet the following requirements:

• Have a relevant MSc, Research Master or MPhil degree in the field of Business, Economics or a related field, or more specifically specialized in Innovation Management or International Business
• Have a demonstrable track record of academic achievements and/or demonstrable interest in scientific research (e.g. good grades, participation in research projects or internships, a journal publication, a relevant master thesis study)
• Have the ability to work with software for quantitative analysis (e.g. SPSS) and qualitative analysis (e.g. Atlas.ti, MaxQDA), or the willingness to learn
• Have the ability to work closely together with stakeholders and, preferably, some experience working with or in multinational firms
• Have excellent speaking and (scientific) writing ability in English
• Have an intellectual curiosity in the topics of both reverse innovation and open innovation

The salary is determined in accordance with salary scale P of Appendix A of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities and amounts to €2.443 per month upon commencement, in case of full employment.

The Open Universiteit provides good secondary benefits such as training, mobility, part-time employment and paid parental leave.

The PhD candidate will be appointed for a period of 12 months. The appointment will be extended to 4 years when progress and performance are good.

The PhD candidate will be stationed at the Open University campus in Heerlen within the Faculty of Management.

Flexible studying online anywhere in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders)The Open Universiteit (OU) is the part-time university in the Netherlands. Students follow personalised and activating academic distance education and disciplinary research is carried out within the various fields of science. Students can complete bachelor and master programmes in seven fields of study. The characteristics of education are openness, flexibility and quality (see www.ou.nl/rankings). Much attention is paid to improving the study success of students. The OU has over 18,000 students and more than 750 employees. The OU has branches in the Netherlands and Belgium (see www.ou.nl/studiecentra). The main office is located in Heerlen. The latest technologies and educational insights are applied both in the bachelor's and master's programmes and courses and in projects and programmes with partners. Nationally and internationally, the OU plays an important role in the innovation of higher education. Education is interwoven with research, which also ensures that the current state of science is incorporated. The OU invests not only in disciplinary research in eight scientific fields, but also in research in a multidisciplinary programme: Innovating for resilience.

The faculty of Management is one of the six faculties of the OU of the Netherlands. Education, research and valorisation are the main tasks. The faculty offers academic bachelor and master programmes in the field of Management and Business Administration, and is involved in the master programme of Health Sciences. The faculty’s research programme focuses on Learning and Innovation for Resilient Systems (LIRS). Furthermore, the faculty is partner in the Center for Actionable Research of the OU (CAROU). The faculty has Ph.D.-students who conduct research on various current topics within the LIRS research programme.

Department of Strategic Management
The department of Strategic Management within the Faculty of Management at the Open Universiteit is responsible for education and research in three areas: strategy, innovation (management), and research methods. The department is engaged in leading and developing the faculty’s Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (a top-ranked BSc program in the Netherlands), teaching Premaster programs, and leads the ‘Strategy and innovation’ elective and ‘Governance’ elective in the Master of Science in Management program. Research by scholars in the department was published in high-ranked academic journals, including Research Policy, Technovation, Journal of Business Research, California Management Review, Small Business Economics, R&D Management, and the Journal of Cleaner Production.