Karlstad University / Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences / Handelshögskolan

Sapere Aude—dare to be wise—is our motto. Our students and employees develop knowledge and expertise that enrich both people and the world around them. Our academic environment is characterised by curiosity, courage and perseverance. Gender equality, diversity and a democratic approach form the foundation of our organisation. We are located in an active and scenic region and we promote sustainable development in close collaboration with the wider society.
 
Karlstad University has a total of approximately 1,400 employees and 17,300 students spread across two inspiring campus environments in Karlstad and Arvika.
 
More information at: kau.se/en/work-with-us

Description

Business Administration is one of 26 subjects at Karlstad University that offer doctoral studies. Many of the researchers and doctoral students in business administration are connected to the multidisciplinary Service Research Center, CTF (www.kau.se/en/ctf). CTF has around 70 members of staff, including nine professors and more than 20 doctoral students. Research is focused on a number of areas that relate to the challenges of service organisations.

Duties

The proposed doctoral research project concerns the areas of servitisation, service innovation, sustainable transformation and innovative business development. Tougher competition, stricter environmental standards and technological development are challenges that spur companies to develop innovative business models and the ability to create value for existing and future customers. A common strategy is to become more cost-efficient and use less resources, however, this is no longer enough. Many organisations therefore choose servitisation, that is, connecting different forms of service offers to their products. It is not uncommon for servitisation to take place in collaboration with other companies, which creates new innovative, organisational and inter-organisational opportunities.

The doctoral research project in question focuses on the above processes regarding servitisation and innovative business models and sustainable transformation. Tentative research questions include: to investigate the relationship between sustainability, business strategies, innovation models and value creation (in a broad sense). Furthermore, to understand the role of basic values in ensuring ethical dimensions linked to servitisation and value-creating networks and/or value chains, as well as mapping and describing mechanisms behind sustainable transformation, that is, the barriers and opportunities that come with servitisation and sustainable service innovations.

The doctoral student is expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities of the subject and the department, as well as teaching and performing administration duties. Such duties may not constitute more than 20% of full-time. In order to contribute to a positive work environment and the department’s activities, the doctoral student will be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

Qualification requirements

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have been awarded a master’s level qualification; satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were at master’s level; or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

To meet the specific entry requirements for doctoral studies in Business Administration, the applicant must have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 120 credits shall be in Business Administration. The studies at master’s level shall comprise at least 30 credits in Business Administration, of which 15 credits shall consist of a degree project.

Admission and assessment criteria

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessment.

In the assessment, considerable weight will be given to the applicant’s degree project and any additional publications.

Experience of research work of relevance to the position is a highly valuable qualification. The applicant must have good command of Swedish since data collection will include interviews conducted in Swedish.

A licentiate degree in business administration is a particularly valuable qualification, as are publications within the above mentioned research fields. Knowledge or special interests related to forest bioeconomy are also considered particularly valuable qualifications.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies, or five years of 80% studies and 20% teaching or other departmental duties. The position is fixed-term — one year initially, followed by possible extensions by a maximum of two years at a time. Start date by agreement.

The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students at Karlstad University.

Application

Submit the application via the University’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi.

Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:

  • a cover letter where the applicant briefly describe themselves and their research interests
  • CV
  • degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates
  • copy of Master’s thesis (60 or 120 credits) or similar
  • where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications
  • possibly letters of recommendation
  • two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or previous or current superior.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent in one copy to the following address:

Karlstads universitet
Josefin Rönnqvist
651 88 KARLSTAD

Application deadline: 20 October 2022

State the ref.no: REK 2022/230 

We look forward to your application!

Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies.

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Karlstad
County Värmlands län
Country Sweden
Reference number REK2022/230
Contact
  • Mikael Johnson, lektor, mikael.johnson@kau.se,054-7001177
  • Per Kristensson, professor, föreståndare CTF, 054-7002128,070-9740860
  • Johan Netz, prefekt Handelshögskolan, 054-7002541
Union representative
  • Thomas Bragefors, SACO, 054-7001714
  • Denita Gustavsson, OFR, 054-7001434
Published 30.Sep.2022
Last application date 20.Oct.2022 11:59 PM CEST

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