The University of Amsterdam Business School (ABS) is part of the Faculty of Economics and Business. ABS provides academic courses in accounting, finance, management, marketing, and strategy, based on international research carried out in these areas.

Within ABS, the strategy and marketing section is involved in teaching at BSc and MSc levels, as well as in executive education. Staff members publish in top-tier journals including Academy of Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Marketing Science, Organization Studies, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal.

Project description
This PhD project will focus on how companies develop value-creating relationships with their stakeholders (among which, employees, prospective employees, customers, suppliers, and investors).

By value-creating relationships we mean relationships that benefit society at large by increasing social welfare. The candidate should be interested in studying the intricate linkages between business and society and, in particular, stakeholder management or corporate social responsibility. Specific topics might include, for instance:

• which types of relationship between a stakeholder and the firm best motivate this stakeholder to create value for/with the firm depending on the stakeholder’s social preference;
• how firms can shape stakeholders’ representation of their relationship with the firm, or
• how firms can create welfare for stakeholders that is not monetary (e.g., happiness or freedom).

However, there is considerable scope for the candidate to help define the more detailed focus within the broader realm of stakeholder management/corporate social responsibility in relation to the expertise of the supervisors. The types of companies considered may vary from small entrepreneurial firms to large and mature ones, and from manufacturing to service firms. The research will require the development of strong academic writing and methodological skills as well as the ability to access and acquire secondary and primary data.