PhD student position in Service Innovation Management

Information about the project and the division
We are looking to recruit a PhD student within the field of service innovation management. Many traditionally product-focused companies are innovating by integrating services to their physical products as a competitive strategy, known as servitization. Servitization is essentially about competing through value propositions that integrate services with product offerings. Servitization is also described as the process of transforming the company from a product centric to a service logic. However, companies are facing big challenges in this servitization transformation. This both regarding organizational structure and processes, as well as their strategy processes. The transition towards developing combined product-service innovations often takes significantly longer time than expected, and the proportion of the company's sales that comes from different types of services often does not grow as fast as expected. In the context of service development and offering the need for personal interaction and adjustment of the service according to individual customers’ specific need is especially important.

This project will start off by focusing on service innovation management in the energy sector. The purpose is to investigate how energy companies can collaborate with customers in developing customized energy services. Service innovation, and service development, has a high potential to contribute to both sustainable energy system and higher profitability of energy companies. However, it remains unclear to what extent and how customers should be involved in new service development in the energy sector and how service innovation work that involves customer collaboration should be organized. This project will first map the status of customization of, and customer involvement in, energy services offered by Swedish energy companies. The next step will be to conduct a number of case studies by in-depth interviews in some of the energy companies, as well as with customers, this to investigate how the customization and the customer involvement has been organized in the development of the energy services. The project will be accomplished in collaboration with three senior researchers, and will include international collaboration, for example, through the ongoing establishment of a ”Nordic Engineering Services Network”, including Chalmers, Karlstad University, CBS (Copenhagen Business School) in Copenhagen, and Aalto University in Helsinki.

The position is placed at the Division of Innovation and R&D Management (IRDM) at the Department of Technology Management and Economics (TME). The research at IRDM focuses on organizing and managing Innovation and R&D activities in large, established organizations. The research is undertaken in collaboration with both private and public organizations and focuses on challenges, mainly of strategic significance, that these organizations are facing. These challenges – often implying innovation challenges in terms of doing differently - call for change and development of ways of working and organizational redesign.

Major responsibilities
The main responsibility of a PhD student is to pursue doctoral studies in relation to a specific research topic. This includes two main components: doctoral courses and independent research (under supervision). The latter includes literature studies, research design and planning, empirical studies and communication of results in writing and orally at seminars and conferences. The exact focus and content of the studies will be decided in interaction with the examiner/main supervisor. The PhD student is expected to contribute to writing a number of scientific articles, based on the results of the research, which will be included in the thesis.

The position also includes teaching at the undergraduate or master's level or performing other departmental duties corresponding to a maximum of 20 percent of the working hours.

More information about the Graduate school can be found here.

Qualifications
To be eligible for the position, the following educational qualifications are required:
The general qualifications are a university degree at advanced (Master's) level in a relevant field of study, including (but not restricted to) industrial engineering and management, product development, innovation management, business administration or similar, comprising at least four years of study (240 ECTS credits), of which at least 60 ECTS credits at advanced (Master's) level (or equivalent). A specific requirement is that the candidate has completed an independent degree project (thesis) at advanced (Master's) level, representing at least one term of study (30 ECTS credits).

To be qualifed for this position you should have good interpersonal and social skills, analytical skills and strong communication skills. You need to be fluent in English (written and verbal). Part of the project will be to anlyze written documentation, for example annual reports from energy companies, that often is in Swedish. Therefore, the applicant need to be able to read and understand Swedish.

Documented skills in applying social science research methods, especially qualitative methods, is considered meritorious. Large emphasis when selecting a candidate will also be put on ability to write academic texts.

Other documented qualifications that are considered valuable, but not required, include:
- Knowledge about service innovation management
- Experience from the enery sector
- Willingness to conduct collaborative research with industry and other universities
- Experience in project management (including management of own degree project or similar)

We believe that you are highly motivated, personally mature and both able and willing to assume responsibility for and pursue the task at hand. You are good at communicating with others and are able to handle complex information and problems, breaking down and analysing problems as well as synthesizing information from several sources. You like to take the broader perspective and tend to consider the long-term consequences of decisions and actions, but are also able to make proper judgements and set appropriate priorities when needed.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20230142 and written in English. Read more here. 

Application deadline: 2023-03-27