About the Project

Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship, supported by the College of Business and Social Sciences to be undertaken within the Department of Operations and Information Management at Aston University.

The position is available to start in October 2024.

Department: College of Business and Social Sciences

Contract Type: Fixed Term

Basis: Full Time

Closing Date: Monday 3rd June at 23.59 (UK time)

Supervisor: Dr Ahmad Beltagui

Background to the Project

This project will examine whether and how history-based digital stories can support behaviour change in the context of digital transformation. Individuals and organisations find digital transformation challenging because it requires behaviour change. They may struggle to understand why and how to manage the change. Studies of organisations have identified storytelling as a powerful strategic tool and history as an important resource not only for conveying the past but for understanding the present and creating a vision of the future.

The project draws on the framework of prospective history and adaptation studies. The former suggests that history can be a resource, which can be harnessed to create a vision of the future and mobilise stakeholders to achieve it. It presents storytelling as a strategic action and an important capability in organisations. The latter argues that stories should be adapted to suit their intended function and audience rather than strictly seeking faithfulness to the original source. In the context of history-based storytelling, it suggests that understanding the audience and the intended behaviour change should guide which details are relevant and how to communicate them. The project will examine digital stories created at Aston, titled “Insights from History” 

Through interviews, focus groups and other social science research methods it will explore how audiences engage with and respond to these digital stories.

The successful candidate will have a degree in social science and/or business, with a focus on an area such as history, science & technology studies, digital humanities, innovation management, strategy or organisational behaviour. You should have experience of applying appropriate methods for collecting, identifying and analysing qualitative data and/or historical sources, for example interviewing, focus groups, using physical or digital archives, case research, grounded theory, thematic analysis. You should be curiosity-driven and keen to explore the practical impact of digital storytelling on individual and organisational behaviour. Experience of storytelling, digital content creation, participatory design, digital or transmedia storytelling or public history would also be desirable for this project. You will develop a theoretical model that explains the characteristics of digital stories and explore how these characteristics affect audiences. The outcome will be a practical tool to guide individuals and organisations in creating history based-digital stories that help in understanding the present and strategic planning of the future.

Person Specification

The successful candidate should hold a Masters degree in business, management, or 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).

Contact information

For formal enquiries about this project please contact Dr Ahmad Beltagui a.beltagui@aston.ac.uk or Dr Brian Sudlow b.sudlow@aston.ac.uk

Submitting an application

As part of the application, you will need to supply:

• A copy of your current CV
• Copies of your academic qualifications for your Bachelor degree and Masters degree; this should include both certificates and transcripts, and must be translated in to English.
• A research proposal statement*
• A personal statement
• Two academic references
• Proof of your English Language proficiency

Details of how to submit your application, and the necessary supporting documents can be found here. 

*The application must be accompanied by a “research proposal” statement. An original proposal is not required as the initial scope of the project has been defined, candidates should take this opportunity to detail how their knowledge and experience will benefit the project.

Please include the supervisor’s name, project title and project reference in your Personal Statement.

If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team at pgr_admissions@aston.ac.uk