Vacant job

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Your responsibilities

How do companies take care of ideas, people, and resources when an innovation lab is closed? In recent years, many large companies have established innovation labs to create new ways of working, develop radical ideas, and strengthen their renewal capacity. However, much less is known about what happens when these labs are decommissioned. Does the knowledge disappear? Do the ideas live on in other parts of the organization? Do former employees start new companies? And how does the company's innovation capacity change afterwards?

In this doctoral project, we study "The afterlife of innovation labs" – the post-closure phase of innovation labs. The project focuses on discontinued innovation labs in Swedish industry. By following people, ideas, and resources after the lab has closed, the project aims to contribute new knowledge about innovation, strategic transition, and the industry's long-term capacity for renewal.

As a doctoral student, you will become a central part of the research project. You will work closely with the project's supervisors and participating companies and gradually develop your own research profile within innovation, strategy, and industrial renewal.

The work will include, among other things:

• conducting interviews with former managers and employees in innovation labs,
• mapping what has happened to ideas, projects, prototypes, and other resources after the closure,
• analyzing archival material, internal documents, project descriptions, press material, and digital traces,
• following the career paths of individuals who stayed in the companies versus those who left,
• using quantitative methods to create an overview of patterns in the material, such as social network analysis, register or database mapping, descriptive statistics, visualization of career paths, patent or project databases, and analysis of LinkedIn and organizational data where possible,
• writing scientific articles and presenting results at seminars and international conferences.

As a doctoral student, you will focus on your doctoral education and the research project you are part of. Your work may also include teaching or participating in other departmental duties, up to 20 percent of full-time.

Your qualifications

You have completed an advanced level degree in Business Administration or completed courses totaling at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits are at an advanced level, or have otherwise acquired substantially equivalent knowledge. Your degree must be completed no later than the time the employment decision is made.

You should have good knowledge of quantitative research methods. This could, for example, involve experience with statistical analysis, regression analysis, longitudinal data, network analysis, survey data, or register data. At the same time, the project is not a purely quantitative study. We are therefore looking for a person who is also interested in qualitative methods, especially interviews, document analysis, and archival work.

Very good knowledge of academic English, both written and oral, is a requirement for the position as the scientific articles are expected to target an international research audience. Since the project is carried out in close contact with Swedish industrial companies, it is meritorious to have knowledge of Swedish, both spoken and written.

It is meritorious if you have experience in any of the following:

• research or investigative work,
• work with large text, register, or organizational materials,
• interviews or field studies,
• analysis of innovation, industry, technology, strategy, or organizational change,
• work in or with larger companies, authorities, consulting organizations, or innovation environments,
• visualization of data, such as networks, timelines, or career flows.

Your workplace

Read about our workplace https://liu.se/organisation/liu/iei/fek (https://liu.se/organisation/liu/iei/fek)

About the position

Upon starting the employment, you will be admitted to the doctoral education. Read more about the respective faculty's doctoral education https://liu.se/forskning/forskarutbildning (https://liu.se/forskning/forskarutbildning)

The employment is fixed-term for normally four years full-time. Extension of employment up to five years occurs based on the extent of teaching and departmental duties. Under special circumstances, further extension may occur. You are initially employed for one year, and thereafter the employment is renewed for up to two years at a time, based on achieved study plan.

Start date according to agreement.

Security clearance may be conducted before a decision on employment is made.

Salary and benefits

Doctoral student salaries are regulated based on a locally agreed salary scale. Read more about benefits for employees https://liu.se/jobba-pa-liu/formaner (https://liu.se/jobba-pa-liu/formaner).

Application

Your application must reach Linköping University no later than June 15, 2026. Applications received after the last application day will not be considered.

We welcome applicants with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, as this enriches and develops our operations. For us, it is natural to protect everyone's equal value, rights, and opportunities. Read about our work with equal conditions (https://liu.se/artikel/lika-villkor/).

Welcome with your application!

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