PhD Global Supply Chain Management Under Increasing Geopolitical Tensions (1.0 FTE) (V24.0231)

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 Global Supply Chain Management Under Increasing Geopolitical Tensions available.

Project description
Production networks and supply chains of industries such as apparel, electronics and toys have become highly globalized in the past four decades, a period that was characterized by declining trade barriers and decreasing transportation costs. Outsourcing and offshoring became widely applied strategies for firms seeking cost reduction, market access and quick responses. Recently, however, increasing geo-political tensions between major economic entities such as China, USA, and EU are threatening to reverse the tide of globalization. Such tensions will likely force firms to reconfigure their production networks and supply chain systems. This project aims to provide in-depth insights into firms’ responses to these fundamental changes, particularly multinational firms that have largely outsourced their production processes and diversified their supply chains.

The PhD position is embedded in the research programme Opera of FEB’s Research Institute. The project will be supervised by Dr Chengyong Xiao and Prof. Taco van der Vaart.

The ideal candidate is ambitious, highly motivated and wishes to make a career in 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 international business, operations management, industrial engineering, or other related fields in business and economics.

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

• a gross monthly salary from a minimum of € 2,770 which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,539
• an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December
• a temporary 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.

Starting date: Preferably per 1 September 2024

The application package consists of the following separate documents:

• a motivation letter (1A4 max) and a short research proposal for the PhD project
• your cv (2 A4 max)
• a scan of your diploma including transcripts
• proof of English proficiency
• Master thesis or one representative academic article (optional).

The documents 1-4 are compulsory and please note that incomplete application packages will not be taken into account. If necessary – because of the limited upload options - please combine different documents into one pdf.

You may apply for this position until 15 May 11:59pm / before 16 May 2024 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

An assessment may be part of the procedure, consisting of psychological tests and an interview.

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

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