Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 13 000 students, 400 professors and close to 4 500 other faculty and staff working on our dynamic campus in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.
Aalto University School of Business is the leading business school in Finland. The School belongs to a selected group of business schools in Finland that have been granted the most important international quality accreditations in the field. The School of Business is an innovative and lively community of about 3500 students and 400 members of faculty and staff.
The Postdoctoral Researcher position is within the Organization and Management Group in the Department of Management Studies at Aalto University School of Business (http://management.aalto.fi). The department comprises several very competitive groups of organization and management theory and strategy but also human resource management, organizational behavior and sustainability management researchers.
We are now looking for a
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN ORGANIZATION STUDIES
Project on “Towards Sustainable Hope: Exploring the Harmful and Beneficial Effects of Techno-Optimism (SUSTHOPE)” (funded by the Research Council of Finland 2024-2028)
Are you interested in exploring how techno-optimism shapes sustainability transitions? Do you want to develop new understandings of how hope towards technology is constructed, circulated, and embedded in policy and institutional settings— and what kind of belief structure techno-optimism constitutes? Do you have strong qualitative research skills and ambition to produce high-quality research in an interdisciplinary environment?
The Department of Management Studies at Aalto University School of Business seeks applications for a two-year position as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Organization and Management -subject. The start date is negotiable, with a preference for an early commencement.
The SUSTHOPE project examines the dual nature of hope towards technology in sustainability transitions through an interdisciplinary approach that combines empirical and conceptual research. The project integrates science and technology studies (STS), philosophy of technology, and political philosophy, placing a strong emphasis on qualitative empirical research methods. Through an empirical-conceptual methodological framework, the project examines how hope towards technology can either drive or hinder sustainability transitions. It aims to refine conceptual tools for distinguishing between hope that fosters systemic change and hope that pacifies, misleads, or reinforces overconsumption. Additionally, the research seeks to generate actionable knowledge for dismantling misleading techno-optimism while identifying pathways to cultivate sustainability-oriented technological hope.
Your role
We seek a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in qualitative empirical research to analyze how techno-optimism is constructed, circulated, and embedded in the formation of optimism towards technology within Finnish ‘communities of promise’ in the context of green transition policies.
The researcher will play a key role in conducting multi-sited fieldwork to investigate these dynamics and will manage, in collaboration with the Principal Investigator, the design and implementation of this empirical research. The research will explore:
- The role of optimism towards technology in forming sociotechnical imaginaries of sustainable futures through multi-sited fieldwork including interviews, observations and document analysis. The focus is on both narratives and concrete actions.
- How optimism towards technology is constructed, manifested, and circulated within institutional and policy settings that shape sustainability transitions
- The actors, narratives, and structural elements that shape, challenge, or reinforce techno-optimism as a belief structure—examining its cognitive, affective, and strategic dimensions and how it is socially constructed, sustained, and legitimized in sustainability transitions
Your experience and ambitions
We are looking for a researcher who is proactive, independent, and eager to contribute to a dynamic interdisciplinary research project. The ideal candidate:
- Holds a PhD (completed or near completion) in a relevant field (e.g., sociology, organization studies, anthropology, STS, or other social science)
- Has experience or a strong interest in interdisciplinary research, as the project involves integrating insights from multiple fields
- Has strong qualitative research skills, including experience in interviews and participant observation, as well as expertise in analyzing documents, discourses, and narratives
- Can take initiative in shaping research approaches and contributing to the project’s development
- Has the expertise and enthusiasm to analyze belief structures and policy narratives related to sustainability and technology
- Brings prior conceptual and empirical knowledge in areas such as hope and hype studies, sociology of expectations, sociotechnical imaginaries, organizational storytelling, political ecology, governance and policy processes in sustainability, theories of affect and emotions in technology, cognitive sociology, and feminist and decolonial studies on technology, with knowledge in any of these areas considered a merit.
- Is fluent in English (spoken and written); understanding of Finnish language and the Finnish policy landscape is considered a merit, as it facilitates deeper engagement with policy discussions, institutional settings, and source materials, some of which may not be available in English
- Has a strong ambition to publish in high-impact academic journals, with demonstrated publishing skills considered a merit
The postdoctoral researcher is expected to be in residence for the duration of the appointment.
What we offer - A full-time position for 2 years
- The expected starting salary for a Postdoctoral Researcher is approximately 4300 €/month (income before deduction of taxes), depending on experience and qualifications
- A thriving sustainability research community committed to shaping a more sustainable future through collaboration and critical inquiry
- Possibility to pursue cutting-edge research in an interdisciplinary setting
- Opportunities for international research visits and conference participation
- Ability to focus on research, enabled by a low teaching load
- Access to Aalto University’s excellent research facilities, learning and development opportunities, occupational healthcare, and staff benefits
Your team
The postdoctoral researcher will join an engaging project that is already well underway conceptually. The recruited scholar will work closely with the project’s Principal Investigator, Academy Research Fellow Johanna Ahola-Launonen (Ph.D. in Moral and Political Philosophy), whose research focuses on the Philosophy of Technology, Political Philosophy, and Science and Technology Studies. Ahola-Launonen has conducted multiple projects focusing on the conceptual and empirical study of technological expectations in sustainability transitions. The project also has a robust network of international and national collaborators, as well as an inspired group of Master’s students working on theses related to the project.
We work Otaniemi campus, a thriving and connected community of 100 nationalities, 13,000 students and 4,500 employees. Life at the transformed campus is vibrant and filled with interesting architecture, calming nature, and a variety of cafes, restaurants, services and good connections along the metro line. The department has a lively, international research community with numerous doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers from several countries. The working language is English. For more information, please see:
http://management.aalto.fi.
How to apply
Please submit your application enclosing all relevant documents through our recruitment system
Workday no later than
March 31, 2025 at 23:59 EET (UTC+2). Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position by using their existing Workday user account. Please see how to do it
here.
To apply, please share the following application materials as a single file in PDF format (‘lastname_firstname_application.pdf’):
- Motivation letter explaining your interest in the position.
- Research statement (1-3 pages) describing your relevant experience in qualitative data collection and analysis, as well as how your expertise aligns with the empirical research required in this project
- Curriculum Vitae
- List of publications (highlighting the most significant ones to this project)
- A selected research paper or writing sample
- Names and contact details of two academic references
Application materials can be submitted in English or Finnish (the language can be either in each attachement). Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview shortly after the application period ends.
Further Information
For further information, please contact Dr. Johanna Ahola-Launonen, johanna.ahola-launonen(at)aalto.fi. In questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Jenna Knuutinen, jenna.knuutinen(at)aalto.fi.
Please note that candidates will be informed about the process only after the application period has closed. Please do not send any attachments to HR via e-mail. All documents shall be provided through the Workday -recruitment tool.
Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open or to extend the application period.
Public description of the project
“A growing body of literature explores hope as both a motivator and a potential pitfall in climate action, yet discussions regarding hope toward technological solutions are predominantly framed within the polarized debate about techno-optimism. This project applies the concept of hope's dual nature to techno-optimism, distinguishing between techno-optimism that facilitates systemic behavioral change and that which impedes it by perpetuating overconsumption and offering a misguided view of available resources. Additionally, the project develops technology impact assessment frameworks to consider the influence of beliefs about technology when evaluating its effects. Democratic acceptance of sustainability transitions can be advanced by challenging misleading techno-optimism and cultivating beneficial technological hope. Research methods encompass philosophical conceptual and normative analysis, complemented by multi-site fieldwork in three case study organizations.”
