Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship, supported by the College of Business and Social Sciences to be undertaken within the Department for Operations and Information Management at Aston University.The position is available to start in January 2025.Financial SupportThis studentship includes a fee bursary to cover the home or overseas fees rate, plus a maintenance allowance of £19,237 per year for the full 3 year programme. Background to the ProjectThe global industrial environment has underscored the importance of productivity growth and environmental sustainability in both service and manufacturing industries (Committee on Climate Change, 2019 & 2021; House of Commons, 2018). Industry can respond to these challenges and opportunities through service-led business models and servitization that transform an industrial firm’s business model to create value through the integration of products, services, and digital technologies.Such new business models enabled by digital technologies focus on delivering outcomes from product usage rather than selling the ownership, which could benefit the industrial firms from a recurring revenue flow as the customer uses their products. Services can also improve environmental performance by extending the useful life of products, helping to ensure their efficient operation, and even leading to services substituting products.Such potential suggests that servitization should be at the forefront of industrial practice and policy. However, the relationship between servitization and its impact on both economic productivity and environmental performance is not well understood in the current literature. Consequently, both policy and practice are negatively impacted when it comes to the widespread adoption of servitization.This study aims to uncover the full potential of servitization and its associated business models enabled by digital technologies as a response to urgent productivity and environmental challenges. It requires drawing on relevant theories and frameworks, including, for instance, the stakeholder theory and organisational network theory, to explore the impact of servitization not only on industrial firms themselves but also on the stakeholders like customers, partners, complementors, and local/regional government in the value network.As the PhD researcher, you will join the Advanced Services Group (ASG) within Aston Business School. ASG is the world’s leading research centre that supports manufacturing companies and technology innovators to develop services-led strategies and ultimately transform their business model to compete through advanced services. We have worked with over 450 businesses, multinational companies and SMEs to develop their growth strategies through services. Theorising the learnings from the businesses, we publish regularly in internationally leading journals. This study will be supervised by Dr Yang Zhao and Professor Ali Bigdeli, who are the core members of ASG. Working closely with the partner organisations and the supervisory team will enable the study to bridge business practices and theory, collectively answering the research questions that are of importance in both industry and academia.Person SpecificationThe successful candidate should hold a Masters degree in the social sciences (or related disciplines) with a Merit overall (or equivalent) with a dissertation/research element, PLUS a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (or an equivalent qualification from an overseas institution).Candidates with research experience, particularly in qualitative studies, are desired.Contact informationFor informal enquiries about this project please contact Dr Yang Zhao [email protected] an applicationYour application must include:English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.A Research Proposal Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.Apply for this position here