Are you eager to explore how emerging technologies shape consumer behaviour and decision-making? Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.) offers a full-time PhD position to investigate technostress, coping mechanisms, and their effects on user behaviour. Over four years, you will conduct impactful research, collaborate with experts, and contribute to teaching, all within a vibrant and inclusive academic environment.

Your job
The focus of your research will be on understanding how new technologies (e.g., genAI) affect technostress and coping mechanisms and how that influences user decision-making and behaviour. You will be addressing technostress in business to consumer as well as business to business applications. You will investigate key stressors such as interface complexity and content overload and explore proactive (e.g., onboarding tutorials) and reactive (e.g., troubleshooting support) coping mechanisms. The goal is to develop practical recommendations for small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance consumer satisfaction and drive sustained technology adoption. Your work will actively contribute to a multidisciplinary project involving marketing, technology, and behavioural research.

We are looking for a talented researcher, who meets the following requirements:

• You have a recently completed research Master’s degree in a social science (economics, marketing, management, communication, psychology, or a related discipline). An academic master’s degree may also suffice, provided that the candidate can demonstrate affinity and skills with doing research (evidenced by method courses, elective courses, excellent grades, and an outstanding master thesis).
• You have a strong affinity with digital marketing and emerging technological innovations such as AI, XR, and IoT.
• You have good quantitative research skills (e.g., survey data, experiments, web-scraping, psychological measurement, regression models) and/or qualitative research skills (e.g., grounded theory, inductive and abductive analysis, in-depth interviewing, focus groups) methods. If you don't have all these skills, you are willing to learn missing research skills quickly.
• You are a communicative team player, proactive organiser, and you feel comfortable doing multidisciplinary research.
• You have a preference for individual- and business-level research questions.
• You have good spoken and written language skills in English (at least B1 level) and basic proficiency in Dutch or willingness to achieve it during the position.
• You are eager to conduct innovative and thorough research, resulting in a PhD degree within four years.

We offer:

• a temporary position for four years, starting before June 2025;
• a gross monthly salary between €2,901 and €3,707 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow. For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

Universiteit Utrecht

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

The Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance is a faculty at the heart of society, with a strong focus on social issues. Our subjects of Law, Economics and Governance give us a strong mix of academic disciplines that complement and enhance each other. This is a unique combination and a mark of our faculty's strength.

The Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E) is part of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance at Utrecht University. U.S.E. aims to contribute to an economy where people flourish by taking a broad view on welfare and its causes. We aspire to be an internationally renowned school of economics with scientifically rigorous and socially relevant research and education. We enrich economics with other disciplines to better solve problems and identify opportunities, from a business as well as government perspective.

For more information about this position, please contact Dr Anouk de Regt at a.deregt@uu.nl or Professor Jeroen de Jong at j.p.j.dejong@uu.nl.

Please do not contact U.S.E. with services or other commercial interest.