PhD student - entrepreneurial orientation of cooperatives

The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) – Campus Antwerp – is currently looking for a full-time doctoral researcher to become involved in academic research on cooperatives, and more specifically on the dynamic business model qualities and the governance mode of cooperatives. Research team The FWO-SBO research project is shouldered by the Faculty of Economics and Business in collaboration with Saint-Mary’s University’s Sobey Business School, Halifax, Canada. The present research will be conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ernst Verwaal and Professor Dr. George Hendrikse (Department of Management, Strategy and Innovation, Antwerp Campus) in the framework of the Centre of Expertise for Cooperative Entrepreneurship (Kenniscentrum voor Coöperatief Ondernemen, KCO in short).

Project
Cooperative enterprises are value-driven member-owned and democratically controlled organizations that operate primarily and philosophically outside of the traditional profit to capital owners’ model. Governance is often set forth as the most distinctive element of cooperatives. However, cooperatives are confronted with several pressures that challenge the nature of their governance. In the framework of a broad FWO-SBO project that aims to investigate governance of cooperatives and how they respond to these challenges, this research project will study how different types of governance influence the dynamic business model qualities (the capacity to adapt to change) and entrepreneurial orientation of cooperatives

Profile
You preferably have a Master degree and background in business administration, applied economics, Business Engineering, Management, Organizational Sociology, Work and Organizational Psychology or in the broad domain of socio-economic sciences. You had excellent results in these prior studies (‘honors’-level). You have interest in the themes of (social) entrepreneurship, cooperatives, and/or good governance. You have strong analytical skills and are open to a multidisciplinary environment. You have affinity with both qualitative and quantitative research methods. You have strong oral and written communication skills both in English and in Dutch. You are a team player. Most importantly, you should share our unbridled enthusiasm for scientific research.

Offer
We offer full-time employment for one doctoral researcher. The appointment will be for 1 year, annually renewable up until 4 years. The candidate will enter the doctoral program of the Faculty of Economics and Business and will develop a doctoral dissertation in Business Economics at KU Leuven (Faculty of Economics and Business).