PhD position in the field of Organizational Behavior

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 programs, academic staff, and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.

The Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position available in the field of Organizational Behavior. The position is embedded in FEBRI, the Faculty’s research institute.

What are you going to do?

The PhD project is part of a recently awarded NWO SSH Open Competition L grant to the supervisors Prof. Floor Rink, Prof. Janka Stoker, and Prof. Michelle Ryan, entitled “Beyond access: A career trajectory perspective on gender equality at the top” (NWO 406.L.25EB.013). Women’s representation in senior leadership is increasing, yet gender inequality at the top persists. This PhD project moves beyond the question of how women gain access to senior positions and examines what happens next. You will study whether women and men follow different career trajectories after their first senior leadership appointment, with particular attention to exits from leadership and subsequent moves into new roles. The project asks whether, and when, apparently voluntary exits may reflect pressure or constrained choice; whether such exit experiences differ by gender; and whether leaders’ next appointments represent upward, lateral, or downward leadership moves. The project further aims to identify conditions that stabilize (or destabilize) men’s and women’s leadership careers over time. You will develop the studies in close collaboration with the supervisory team. To study the research questions, we will collect and integrate media data on the exits and reappointments of executive leaders with longitudinal quantitative career data. The aim is to produce a PhD dissertation that advances theory on gendered patterns in leadership while generating evidence relevant to organizations and policymakers.