Research Assistant in Marketing Area (Focused on Consumer Psychology) -Indian Institute of Management Udaipur (IIM Udaipur)

The IIMs have a proud record of quality and accomplishment. IIM Udaipur is positioned to carry forward this illustrious legacy and is breaking ground by focusing on world-class research and transforming the learning of students who will be managers and leaders of tomorrow. The Institute has arrived on the global education stage by getting accreditation from the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) in merely eight years of its establishment. With this accreditation, IIM Udaipur has joined the elite group of 5 per cent of the world’s B-schools to gain this prestigious distinction. IIMU has recently been listed on the QS 2020 Masters in Management (MIM) Rankings as well as the Financial Times (FT) MIM Ranking 2019. IIMU is the youngest B school in the world on both these rankings. According to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), IIM Udaipur is ranked 17th in the Management category. IIM Udaipur is currently ranked 4th in India for research in the field of management according to the methodology used by UT Dallas which tracks publications in the leading global journals.

Research Assistant in Marketing Area (Focused on Consumer Psychology)

Position:

Applications are invited for the role of a Research Assistant in the Marketing area. You will be expected to help the area faculty with their research (in the domain of consumer psychology), and in the process, you will be able to build a research profile of your own.

Benefits:
IIMU is a research-focused institution. You may attend regular research seminars by resident and visiting faculty, in which they present their working papers for feedback and discussion. You may also attend PhD-level coursework and workshops offered at IIMU.

Salaries are competitive with similar positions in India. Furthermore, the faculty you work with will encourage you to initiate your own research and will be amenable to providing recommendation letters and guidance for applying for Ph.D. programs at top universities.

In the last 2-3 years, IIMU’s RAs have secured Ph.D. admission offers from some of the best research universities in the world, including Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management), Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, the University of Texas at Austin, University of Maryland, University of Georgia, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Western University (Canada), London School of Economics, University of Memphis, Kansas State University, among others.

Best Match:
You should consider yourself a good fit for this position if you are seriously considering pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing and your research interests are in the domain of consumer psychology (behavioral aspects of Marketing). This position will help you get some relevant experience to build your research profile before starting the Ph.D. You will be expected to assist faculty on their research projects/papers in the consumer psychology domain (experiment-based consumer research). The skills you acquire and/or develop in the process will help you in applying for the top doctoral programs in the field of Marketing. You should be self-motivated to take ownership of the research work assigned to you.

Responsibilities:
This is a position in an academic setting. Your responsibilities will include:

• Aiding the faculty in data collection (questionnaire design), data cleaning/formatting, and data analysis.
• Conducting comprehensive literature reviews on assigned topics, including summarizing the relevant literature in a Word report and/or PowerPoint presentation.
• Assisting in the writing of: (1) research proposals (for grant applications), (2) extended abstracts (for conference submissions), and/or (3) manuscript drafts (for journal submissions).
• Learning the tools, techniques, and software applications required to do high-quality research work and using the same for assigned research projects.
• Any other research-related work, as may be assigned by the faculty.

Skills and Qualifications:
We are looking for a hardworking, sincere, and self-motivated individual who is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing. Prior training in the experimental research methodology will be an added advantage. The faculty will be willing to provide the requisite training and guidance to the candidate to ensure that they are able to carry out the assigned work efficiently, but they must demonstrate a strong interest in and a basic aptitude for behavioral research. Since the candidate will work primarily on consumer psychology research projects, a bachelor’s or master’s degree in psychology is preferred. However, highly motivated candidates from other backgrounds may also apply if they are strongly interested in research on behavioral aspects of Marketing or consumption.

Required:

• Motivation to pursue a Ph.D. in Marketing.
• Strong interest in and aptitude for behavioral research.
• An open mind to learn new concepts and skills.
• Strong writing skills.
• High standards of work quality – specifically, we want the RA to exhibit: (1) attention to detail, (2) ability to multitask, and (3) absolute commitment to task completion.

Desirable:

• A background in Psychology is strongly preferred.
• Prior understanding of experimental research will be a big plus point.
• Prior research-related experience will also be a plus.
• Familiarity with a survey design platform (e.g., Qualtrics) and/or an experimental data analysis software (e.g., SPSS) will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of automated text analysis methods (e.g., topic models, latent semantic analysis, word embeddings) will also be an advantage.

Job Location: IIMU campus, Balicha, Udaipur

The position is contractual for 11 months and could be renewed for a further period of 11 months, enabling the candidate to build their research profile for Ph.D. applications. Candidates are expected to move on to a strong Ph.D. program at the end of two years.

Application Process:
Interested candidates may apply online. The position will remain open and applications will be accepted till a suitable candidate is found. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please upload:

1. The latest version of your CV; the CV must include all relevant details about you and your background – academic qualification/s, prior work experience, etc.

2. A statement of purpose (SOP), not exceeding 1 single-spaced page, on your motivation for taking up the RA position.

• Please cover the following points in your statement of purpose:
• Why are you motivated to take up the RA role?
• What are your long-term and short-term career plans?
• How does the RA role fit into your career plans?
• Why do you think you will be a good fit for this role?
• Please note that the SOP is not a cover letter. Please do not upload your CV again.

We shall contact shortlisted candidates within three weeks of application submission.

If you do not hear from us within three weeks of submitting your application, you have not been shortlisted for this position.