Professor in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship (089518)

Surrey Business School is a mid-sized business school with over 100 academic staff members from around the globe, and a highly cohesive and collegial atmosphere. The School is accredited by AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and AMBA (the Association of MBAs). With a strong Senior Management Team led by its Dean, Professor Ansgar Richter, the School is ambitious in building a world-class interdisciplinary business school where innovative thinking is accelerated into action. It is growing strongly both in terms of its size and the quality and impact of the work. A heavy emphasis is placed on research excellence, with faculty members regularly publishing research in the top journals in their fields of expertise. The School comprises of colleagues joining from prestigious universities and business schools worldwide, with recent appointments including individuals who earnt their PhD at institutions including Stanford, MIT, LSE and elsewhere. In 2018, Surrey Business School co-organised and hosted the first Academy of Management Specialized Conference on “Big Data and Managing in a Digital Economy”, which attracted over 400 scholars from 37 countries. Based in Guildford just outside of London, the University of Surrey is an outstanding international University with an enterprising spirit.

Surrey Business School is now seeking to recruit a Professor of Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This is a senior appointment to the Department for Digital Economy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and it is part of an ambitious recruitment initiative that will bring four or more additional colleagues into the Department, further strengthening the existing team. The appointee will also be a member of the Centre of Digital Economy (CoDE).

Members of the Department for Digital Economy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation are engaged in interdisciplinary, collaborative research on how the digital economy transforms the organisation of entrepreneurial ventures, changes the nature of competition, alters the innovation process, stimulates the emergence of innovation ecosystems, impacts social innovation and related areas. The Department also offers two degree programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and is involved in the provision of the School’s doctoral programme

The Centre of Digital Economy (https://surreycode.org/), led by Professor Annabelle Gawer, is a multidisciplinary centre dedicated to understanding the social, technological, economic, managerial, organisational, political and ethical implications of the digital economy. Examples of research include work on digital platforms, innovation ecosystems, e-government, the internet of things, new forms of media, and related topic areas. Members of the team come from the fields of Strategy, Information Systems, Organisation Theory, and Sociology. Through the Business Insights Lab, they work closely with companies and other partner organisations. In particular, they have strong links with many technology-oriented start-ups and established firms in London, Surrey, and the South-East of England in general.

In line with their ambitious plans for growth of the Department and Centre, integrating further capabilities in the area of the digital innovation, digital entrepreneurship, and technology management, the School is looking to appoint a strongly research-active academic with an excellent track record of publications in top international journals. Individuals whose work focuses on entrepreneurship in the digital economy, business model innovation, digital transformation, disruptive technologies, and the economics and management of innovation processes will present as particularly interesting for this role. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing a growing academic unit. You will play a strong role in developing the research, teaching and collaboration agenda of the Department and the Centre for Digital Economy: Supervising PhD students, collaborating with early career researchers, and attracting and managing externally funded research programmes. There will be ample opportunities for you to become active in business engagement and executive education. The School will also expect you to become engaged in degree programmes in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation management.

The Candidate Pack for this job has not yet been finalised. It will be uploaded here shortly. 

To download additional information, and to apply, please visit the website of the University’s recruitment partners Society by clicking here.

For an informal conversation please contact Rebecca Hankin on +44 (0) 203 653 0486 or via email rebecca.hankin@society-search.com.

Applications must consist of a full academic CV and, ideally, a covering letter addressing the criteria in the person specification. Alongside this a statement outlining research plans would be desirable.

The deadline for receipt of applications is midday (GMT) on Friday, 7 December 2018.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview at Surrey Business School in January 2019.

This is a senior appointment, and the position is equivalent to a Full Professor (with tenure) at other institutions. Conditions and compensation will be at internationally competitive standards and be commensurate with the appointee’s experience and expertise.

Closing Date: 07 Dec 2018
Category: Research & Teaching