PhD position in the field of Marketing Communication in the New Media and AI Era

Department

Faculty of Economics and Business

Organisation

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, University of Groningen, V25.0250

Job description

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.

FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position in the field of Marketing Communication in the New Media and AI Era available.

Are you passionate about marketing communication, consumer emotions, and the transformative role of AI? Join our Marketing Department (Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Groningen, The Netherlands) as a PhD candidate and contribute to research on how brands connect with consumers in the digital age.

Your research will focus on how companies design and optimize marketing communications across different platforms, particularly through images and videos. You will explore how brand narratives evoke emotions, build relationships, and influence consumer decision-making. By leveraging insights from behavioral science (psychology), data analytics, and AI-driven methodologies, you will contribute to a deeper understanding of how brands create engaging, emotionally resonant, and effective advertising.

Supervision and Research Environment

The PhD position is embedded in the research programme Marketing of FEB’s Research Institute.

At the Marketing Department, we conduct research that combines academic rigor with real-world impact. Our work explores marketing strategy and brand communication through AI methodologies, with the goal of helping businesses better understand the fundamentals of communication and craft messages that truly resonate with consumers.

You will conduct research under the guidance of Dr Siria Xiyueyao Luo, Dr Qiong Tang, and Prof. Tammo Bijmolt, with opportunities to collaborate with other faculty members. Together, we will explore your research interests and how they align with our broader academic mission. You will be encouraged to develop your own ideas.

Requirements

- You see yourself as a quick learner and critical thinker who is open to new perspectives, self-disciplined, well-organized in planning and time management, proactive in taking initiative, and resilient in overcoming challenges.
- You hold (or will complete by September 2025) a (Research) Master’s degree in Psychology, Marketing, Business, Economics, Econometrics, Communication, Data Science, or a closely related field.
- You have experience with data analysis (e.g., R, SPSS, Stata, Python, SQL), web scraping, and data management. Familiarity with open science practices (e.g., GitHub, database management) is a plus.
- You are eager to develop expertise in conducting experimental studies (e.g., Qualtrics, PsychoPy, E-Prime) and explore advanced analytical techniques such as text mining, image mining, and large language models.
- You possess strong written and spoken English proficiency to communicate research ideas effectively.
- Ideally, you have gained experience with conducting and writing academic research.

If you are passionate about research and driven to expand your analytical and methodological skills, we encourage you to apply!!

Conditions of employment

Contract length: 48 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

- A temporary full-time appointment for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year.
- A gross monthly salary from a minimum of € 2,901, which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,707 for a full-time appointment.
- Based on the gross salary an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December.
- PhD candidates contribute 20% of their time to teaching in years 2-4.

Starting date: Preferably per 1 September 2025

An assessment may be part of the procedure, consisting of psychological tests and an interview.

Job Application

The application package consists of the following separate documents: - A motivation letter (max. 1 page) combined with a study proposal about the PhD project (max 3 pages). - Your CV. - A scan of your diploma, including transcripts. - Proof of English proficiency. - At least one letter of recommendation. Please note that incomplete application packages will not be considered. If you are interested, you can apply until 5 May 11:59pm / before 6 May 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website). The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/ Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen. Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Additional information

For additional information, please contact:

For more general information, please send an email to
febphdvacancies@rug.nl

Dr Siria Xiyueyao Luo (for information about the project)
x.luo@rug.nl

Dr Qiong Tang (for information about the project)
q.tang@rug.nl

In your application, please always include the job opening ID V25.0250

Digital application form