Working with us in the department of Technology and Operations Management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), your project leverages the collaboration between Delft University of Technology and Erasmus Medical Center, who are developing new bio-imaging and microscopy technologies. You contribute to management research and practice by enabling multi-party collaborations, fostering creativity and the acceptance of new ideas, and facilitating experiential learning processes to support innovation performance in an innovation ecosystem.

Developing innovative solutions is often beyond the reach of a single organisation. Pioneering discoveries demand knowledge and capabilities that might exceed those within an organisation. Initiatives in which multiple parties cooperate to exchange and co-develop resources within an innovation ecosystem, emerge as suitable options to innovate. Just as these initiatives increase the likelihood of success, so do the challenges in managing the innovation process. Interdependent workflows, the complexity of the resulting relationships, the technological and market novelty of developments, and context uncertainty might derail achieving collective goals.

Although interorganisational initiatives in an innovation ecosystem have long been part of the health and technology management fields, many challenges related to managing these initiatives remain poorly understood. That's why this project looks to investigate how ecosystem partners can improve collaboration, see which practices can be implemented to foster creativity, and identify what partners learn and how they leverage that knowledge to improve their innovation performance.

Uncovering the role of collaboration, creativity and learning in joint innovation activities is an urgent matter to build new theory on convergence in health and technology, and to inform practice and policy.

Your project at RSM is part of a larger consortium that includes Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Erasmus Medical Center (Erasmus MC), RSM and several industry partners. This consortium aims to create a convergent imaging facility and innovation centre (CIFIC) that accelerates the pace of innovation and application in bio-imaging. CIFIC brings an integral approach, where innovation in microscopy is delivered by a flagship facility that provides both beyond-state-of-the-art equipment and an expertise and innovation ecosystem. This is a unique combination of technical and theoretical expertise (TU Delft), biomedical expertise (Erasmus MC) and innovation management and initiative (RSM).

The goal of this PhD project concerns collaboration, creativity and learning in innovation projects. The research should inform the current work as well as future cooperation efforts among ecosystem partners. We ask the following research questions:

1. How do partners collaborate within the CIFIC ecosystem?
   We aim to uncover the mechanisms that enable multi-party innovation teams to become successful.
2. Which processes and practices foster creativity and the acceptance of new developments?
   The focus is on how creative ideas are uncovered and how members of an innovation ecosystem use them to solve problems.
3. What do project partners learn to improve their innovation performance further?
   The goal is to investigate how individual experiential learning processes support the innovation performance of the members of a growing ecosystem.

Your main tasks

• Conduct impactful research aimed at top-tier journals in management.
• Engage with RSM's mission to be a force for positive change in the world.

What we require from you

You have, or expect to complete by summer 2023, a PhD in innovation management or a related field. Your study focuses on innovation in, for example, operations management, strategy, marketing or organisational behaviour. Furthermore, you can demonstrate your potential for excellence in research by showing that you have had papers published in, or submitted to, high-ranking journals.

Your required competences

• You're an inspired, ambitious and competent researcher.
• You possess a strong commitment to high-quality research.
• You have strong English language skills, both written and spoken.
• You value research with practical relevance that is impactful to academics and practitioners alike.

Fixed-term contract: 2 years.

At RSM, we offer you:

• a strong research environment; a young, enthusiastic, and prolific research group
• research budget that covers conference participation, data collection, and research assistance
• high-level research support
• no teaching load
• the conditions of employment comply with the collective labour agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU)
• attractive employment conditions, which include a holiday allowance of 8 percent, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3 percent, and a generous number of vacation days

Please note that substantial tax benefits apply to non-Dutch citizens, conditional on permission granted by the Dutch Tax Office.

You can find more information here:

• The Innovation Management section at RSM: https://www.rsm.nl/faculty-research/departments/technology-and-operation-management/innovation-management/
• The research environment at RSM: www.erim.nl

The conditions of employment correspond with the collective labour agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU). Erasmus University has attractive employment conditions, which include a holiday allowance of 8 per cent, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3 per cent, and a considerate amount of vacation days.

Our team is diverse; we welcome candidates of all genders, ethnicities, and nationalities.

Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe's top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM's primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. Study information and activities for future students, executives and alumni are also organised from the RSM office in Chengdu, China. www.rsm.nl

RSM is a faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). EUR is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research. Our scientists and students work in close collaboration with internal and external parties to solve global, social challenges, inspired by the always dynamic and cosmopolitan Rotterdam. Our mission is therefore "Creating positive societal impact". Our academic education is intensive, active and application-oriented. Our research increasingly takes place in multidisciplinary teams, which are strongly intertwined with international networks. With our research impact and thanks to the high quality of education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. The Erasmian values function as our internal compass and make Erasmus University recognizable to the outside world: engaged with society, world citizen, connecting, entrepreneurial and open-minded. www.eur.nl