Doctoral fellow - Department of Marketing, Innovation and Organisation

Last application date Jun 30, 2025 00:00

Department EB23 - Department of Marketing, Innovation and Organisation

Contract Limited duration

Degree Master’s degree in Business Economics, Business Administration, Business Engineering, Communication Sciences, or Psychology

Occupancy rate 100%

Vacancy type Research staff

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.

With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

For the research group Consumer Behavior in the department Marketing, Innovation & Organisation we are looking for a m/f/x

Doctoral fellow

YOUR JOB

• We offer a fully funded, full time PhD position in a 4-year research project in the area of sustainable consumption (initial 1-year position with 3-year extension upon satisfactory performance).
• You will be supervised by prof. dr. Adriaan Spruyt (Ghent University) and Agnes Moors (University of Leuven). The successful candidate will join the Department of Marketing, Innovation, and Organization of Ghent University.
• Building on the idea that consumer behavior is inherently goal-oriented, this project seeks to demonstrate that attempts to influence consumer decision making via social media advertisements will be successful only if and to the extent that interindividual differences in (implicit) goal hierarchies and behavior – outcome expectancies are taken into account.
• The envisioned methodology includes behavioral techniques (self-report measures and implicit measures) as well as advanced web-scraping and clustering methods.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
• Ghent University is a top 100 university and one of the major universities in Belgium. Ghent is a beautiful, lively, and historic city, situated in the center of the Flemish part of Belgium (40 minutes from Brussels). It has a rich history, a warm and friendly atmosphere, and a great range of museums, concert halls, and other cultural hot spots. The cost of living in Ghent is moderate by international standards. The quality of living is excellent.
• The appointment is expected to commence between February 1, 2025, and October 1, 2025, with a (strong) preference for an earlier start date.
• You will join a interdisciplinary team dedicated to transformative consumer research (+/-20 team members, including 8 professors).
• We value your personal development and offer opportunities to attend field-specific courses and seminars.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by Team Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits.

Job profile

• You are an enthusiastic academic who obtained a Master’s degree in Business Economics, Business Administration, Business Engineering, Communication Sciences, or Psychology (or will obtain it before your appointment begins). For degrees awarded outside the European Union, a certificate of equivalence (NARIC) is required.
• You are passionate about scientific research and aim to write a PhD dissertation in the field of marketing.
• You have some initial experience in conducting (experimental) consumer research, ideally including the use of implicit measures.
• You have a strong interest in the mechanisms underlying (sustainable) consumer behavior.
• You possess excellent communication skills in both Dutch and English (oral and academic writing).
• You are familiar with standard statistical techniques (e.g., ANOVA, regression) and proficient in R. Experience with Psychopy, web scraping, and big data is a plus.
• You have an inquisitive and creative mind, strong problem-solving skills, and a collaborative and collegial attitude.

How to apply

Review of applications will begin on 1/2/2025 and continue until the position is filled. Send an e-mail to [email protected] with (i) a motivation letter, (ii) a CV including a detailed overview of your study results, (iii) the contact details of two references, and (iv) a copy of your diploma (if already available). Please provide this information in a single PDF document attached to your e-mail. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview.