Job opening: PhD Candidate in Marketing (Retail Marketing/Quantitative Marketing) (23639)



The job has been sent to

Tilburg University | Tilburg School of Economics and Management

is looking for a

PhD Candidate in Marketing (Retail Marketing/Quantitative Marketing)

Department: CentER PhD / Marketing

Hybrid or On site: Tilburg

Contract size: 1 FTE 

Full-time gross monthly salary: €3059 – €3881  

Contract duration: 4 years 

Intended start date: 1 September 2026

The department of Marketing at Tilburg University is looking for a PhD Candidate in Quantitative Retailing and Marketing.  This position is fully funded for a period of 4 years, with no tuition fees to be paid.

Tilburg University is one of Europe’s leading universities in the fields of business and economics, ranking #28 worldwide in Business and Economics (Times Higher Education Ranking 2019).   The marketing group at Tilburg conducts academic research at a world class level. Our aim as a department is to excel in all three areas of marketing: Quantitative Modelling, Consumer Behavior, and Marketing Strategy. Independent evaluations, UTD rankings, and our track record in top marketing journals all testify to the high quality of our work. Our faculty members each have their specializations, and cover the wide field of marketing from retailing to online behavior, from branding to media effects, and from (social) perception to decision making.

The School of Economics and Management has 7000 students (26% international) and 400 academic staff (50% international).  The campus provides a green, academically centered environment with modern facilities and convenient local transportation. Tilburg’s central position in the Benelux offers excellent regional and international access.  Major airports nearby include Amsterdam (Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium) and Düsseldorf (Germany).

The quantitative marketing group at Tilburg University offers a vibrant and intellectually stimulating research environment, anchored by world-renowned scholars at the forefront of empirical marketing research. The group has a strong tradition in econometric modeling and the analysis of large-scale secondary data, spanning topics such as retailing, pricing, digital platforms, and consumer decision-making.

PhD Candidates benefit from close interaction with leading faculty and are embedded in an active research community that emphasizes rigor, relevance, and methodological innovation. The broader Tilburg ecosystem further strengthens this environment, with close connections to research in econometrics, behavioral economics, and data science. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the world-class PhD program of CentER Graduate School of Business, where you will receive extensive training in theory and methods by taking several PhD-level courses.

Your position

The PhD Candidate will be working with dr. Gielens and dr. Geyskens as the primary advisors. The PhD project will be situated in the broad domain of retailing, with a particular emphasis on quantitative modeling and the analysis of secondary data. The research may address both offline and online retail contexts and can draw on a variety of data sources, including scanner data, scraped data, and other large-scale observational datasets. Topics may span multiple stakeholders across the distribution channel, such as brand manufacturers, traditional retailers, and platform-based intermediaries. Candidates are encouraged to develop their own research direction within this domain and are not restricted to these perspectives.

Your profile

Please review the formal admission requirements here. In short, we are looking for the following:

1. An academic Master’s or MPhil/Research Master’s degree in business studies, economics, psychology, or another relevant field that is deemed an equivalent to the previous education.
2. Completed the previous degree with an excellent GPA (top 10% of class)
3. Proof of English proficiency (IELTS, TOEFL, CPE, etc.).  You can get an exemption for the English language test if you have completed a 3-years Academic Bachelor’s program (of at least 180 ECTS credits) fully taught in English at an accredited research university.
4. GRE or GMAT score. You do not need to provide a GRE or GMAT test score if you have obtained a Dutch university Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field with GPA>=8. If your test date is scheduled after the application deadline, you can submit the results as soon as you have taken the test.
5. Able to work both independently and as part of a team
6. Excellent research and analytical skills e.g. demonstrated in a master thesis

Our offer

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment:

• Employment of 1 FTE
• Salary between €3059 (year 1) and € 3881 (year 4) gross per month for full-time employment (UFO-profile PhD Candidate, salary scale P).
• This is a vacancy for a PhD in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 sub b CLA DU. You will initially be given a temporary contract for the duration of 18 months. The evaluation will take place after about 14 months. Upon a positive evaluation, this contract will be followed by a new fixed-term contract of 30 months. (N.B. program is 4 years, full-time).
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave.
• Hybrid working with home working allowance (€2 p/day) and internet allowance (€25 p/month).
• Reimbursement sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport.
• Options model for additional leave, pension, a bicycle or personal training.
• Moving allowance (subject to conditions).
• 30% rule for international employees (if applicable).
• Pension through ABP.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research, or a language course at our Language Center.
• A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities.
• A green, inviting campus that’s easily accessible by public transport.

For more information, please see our website and the CLA Dutch Universities.

Want to know more?

Would you like to know more before applying? Feel free to contact Tatiana Sokolova, Graduate Program Coordinator at [email protected], Inge Geyskens at [email protected] or Katrijn Gielens at [email protected]

Want to apply?

We kindly invite you to apply before May 15, 2026; this can only be done online via the “Apply” button. Please do NOT submit your documents via email to individual faculty members as your application may get caught by university filters and, consequently, not be given full consideration. We look forward to your response. To apply for this position, please submit the following documents:

1. Letter of motivation, including research area/topics of interest
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Official copy of your university degree and grades (transcripts)
4. A pdf copy of your master thesis written in English or other research-oriented output.  This work must be single- or first-authored.  If you are currently working on your master thesis, feel free to submit your thesis draft.
5. Contact details of at least two referees (recommendation letters will be requested for shortlisted candidates)
6. Proof of English
7. GRE or GMAT score. 

Interviews are expected to take place in May. You will ideally start working for Tilburg University on 1 September 2026.

The selection committee consists of:

1. Dr. Tatiana Sokolova, Associate professor and Graduate Program Coordinator
2. Prof. Inge Geyskens, Professor in Marketing Strategy
3. Prof. Katrijn Gielens, Professor in Retailing

About Tilburg University 

Tilburg University is an academic, inclusive, and engaged community. Together with nearly 3,000 employees, we are committed to broad prosperity, sustainably, and inclusion. For current and future generations. We develop and share knowledge for the requirements of people and our society. This is how we contribute to solving complex social issues and help society move forward.

We educate our 19,500 students of 110 nationalities to become responsible leaders with knowledge, skills, and character. With our education and research for broad prosperity, we exceedingly focus on themes such as mental and preventive care, an inclusive labor market, the energy transition, and digitalization.

Application Code

Tilburg University uses the NVP job application code.

Disclaimer

The text of this job posting is the copyright property of Tilburg University. Use, distribution or publication of (parts of) this text is not permitted without the express permission of Tilburg University. This also applies to recruitment and selection agencies not acting on behalf of Tilburg University. Tilburg University only cooperates with agencies with which an agreement has been concluded. Unsolicited acquisition or mediation will not be considered.