RESEARCH ASSOCIATE POSITIONS
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (CIBER)
Offshoring Research Network (ORN) Project
Position summary
The ORN project is seeking to staff several Research Associate positions starting in early 2008 to join a new initiative researching offshoring best practice cases. The first two positions are sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for a period of two years, starting no later than February 2008. Additional positions are being sponsored by other corporate sponsors. All corporate Offshoring Fellows will combine econometric research or guided case study research on offshoring best practices at Duke CIBER with field experiences on offshoring projects at the sponsoring company.
The ORN Project
The multi-year international ORN project, now in its fourth year, combines multiple research methods, including surveys and case studies. ORN solicits two major annual surveys. The first survey tracks the adoption of offshoring administrative and technical functions by client companies, from pioneering early adopters to the majority adopters, including both captive, outsourced and hybrid models of locating work outside the home country. The survey was initiated at CIBER, Duke Fuqua School of Business, in 2004 and includes companies across industries. Unlike other surveys, it tracks the adoption of offshoring over time by discrete functional implementations. It also includes companies that only consider offshoring and even those that do not offshore yet. In collaboration with ORN research partners in Europe, the survey has been extended to include companies from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Denmark</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Netherlands</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Belgium</st1:country-region>, and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The 2007 survey will also include <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Korea</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
The second annual ORN survey, which was launched in 2007 for the first time, investigates the service providers' perspective. It covers questions about outsourcing drivers and risks, client contracts and relationships, the recruitment and management of talent, future plans and outsourcing trends, and many other aspects.
ORN Case studies
The project also involves complementary case studies investigating not only companies' various experiences with offshoring, but also companies' internal routines, processes and capabilities that differentiate early from late adopters of the new business practice as well as more and less successful offshoring companies. In particular ORN research is focusing on companies offshoring higher-level, innovation-centered activities and processes.
The PwC Offshoring Fellows (and other corporate offshoring fellows) will be working on a new class of cases involving offshoring best practices. They will work in close collaboration with the other members of the ORN research team and will participate in all aspects of the research projects. However, up to 30% of their time will be dedicated to working at PwC (or other sponsoring company) on offshoring outsourcing-projects. This is intended as a way for the Research Associates case researchers to acquire deep contextual knowledge experience in outsourcing-offshoring practices.
In addition to developing knowledge on companies' offshoring practices, the project seeks to develop theoretical concepts and frameworks partly based on the cases, explaining the emergence, adoption, and diffusion of offshoring practices and underlying capabilities within and across companies, industries, and countries.
Audiences of the research results include both business practitioners and academics. Although the candidate's main focus will be on academic research, he/she will have to maintain a strong orientation towards the business implications of the research findings.
Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Management, Business, (Strategy, Organization Design, Operation Management, Organizational Psychology or Sociology)
- Expertise and interest in relevant organizational research, e.g. innovation and knowledge management, cross-cultural communication, coordination, organizational learning, project and network management, international business strategies, outsourcing
- Fluency in English
- Strong skills and proven experience in interviewing, writing research reports and papers, presenting at national and international conferences
- Strong interpersonal skills, team spirit, and ability to work in multicultural settings
- Flexible, stress resistant, multi-task person with good time and priority management
- Proven experience with developing company-level case studies, preferably theory-guided and/or theory-building
- Experience with quantitative survey design and analysis is a plus
- Available to travel worldwide.
How and where to apply
Two positions are available beginning January 15th, 2008 or thereabout. An additional 4 positions will be available to begin July 15, 2008. Please send a cover letter describing your interest in the Research Associate position; your CV, including your professional background, skills and publications; and a letter of recommendation by your PhD supervisor and/or other professor(s) you have collaborated with to the following address (either regular mail OR email):
Professor Arie Y. Lewin
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Duke</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fuqua</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place> of Business
<st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">1 Towerview Drive</st1:address></st1:street>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Durham</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">NC</st1:state> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">27708</st1:postalcode></st1:place>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Email: ciber@duke.edu
For further information about this position, please contact Dr. Stephan Manning:
Email: stephan.manning@duke.edu
Phone: ++1 919 660 7887