In the face of multiple ecological crisis, lawmakers are increasingly regulating markets, to bring the economy back into planetary boundaries. Electronics are impacted or even directly addressed by many of these regulations due to their increasing energy consumption, toxic substances emitted during their production or washed out from e-waste landfills, and scarcity of raw materials. On the other side, electronics are contributing to ‘green’ technologies, which need urgent scaling for the sustainability transition ahead. 

Both ways, the rapidly increasing number of environmental regulations is substantially influencing innovation: They have a strong influence on which technologies, products and business models can thrive in the future electronics industry. 
This interdisciplinary PhD project will focus on the company perspective. The goal is to conduct case studies on companies from the electronics sector and their approach to sustainable innovations based on regulations. From these case studies a general framework should be derived. 

This framework should support companies in answering questions like: 

• What does the regulatory landscape of environmental, social, and geostrategic regulations in the EU look like, and which of these regulations are relevant for innovations in the electronics sector?
• What are potential impacts of current and announced environmental, social and geostrategic regulations in the EU on the competitiveness of existing and future technologies, products, materials, and business models in the electronics sector?
• Which radical future sustainable innovations from the electronics industry do society, customers, and markets need in addition to those already enforced by regulation? 
• What are possible innovation strategies for the electronics sector – given the increasing influence of regulations on markets, their vast complexity and dynamic development, and the availability of information on future markets within these regulations?
• What are suitable organisational structures and processes to manage future-oriented sustainable innovations based on regulations?
• What are the electronics industry’s requirements for policymakers to enable successful regulation-based innovation?

The PhD candidate will be supported by an interdisciplinary team of supervisors with combined expertise in innovation management, regulatory and sustainability law, environmental systems sciences, and electronics. The PhD candidate will benefit from the network of leading companies in the electronics sector at Silicon Austria Labs. 

You would work mainly at Silicon Austria Labs in Linz. You will be supervised by an interdisciplinary team from University of Graz (Environmental Systems Sciences & Innovation Management) and Vienna University of Economics and Business (Public Law). Your activities include: 

• Desk research on the sustainability regulation landscape and the impacts on innovation management (emphasis on EU).
• Conducting case studies within the electronics industry – utilizing the existing cooperation of SAL with many international companies.
• Data collection (e.g. by means of interviews or surveys).
• Deriving a first version of a framework that supports companies in identifying and managing sustainable innovation based on regulations.
• Participating in the doctoral programme Interdisciplinary doctoral studies at the URBi Faculty at University of Graz.
• Publication of 3 peer reviewed articles: 1 as main author, 2 as co-author. These will constitute the core of your cumulative PhD thesis to be submitted at University of Graz.

• Application deadline: 3 November 2024
• Weekly working hours: 38.5
• Diversified research activities with plenty of technical challenges.
• State-of-the-art lab facilities and instruments.
• Internal and external training opportunities for further development.
• Home Office possible.
• € 4 per day food allowance in restaurants or € 2 per day in supermarkets.
• Family & kids friendly.
• Free coffee/milk/tea & fresh fruits.

For this position you will receive a monthly gross salary of EUR 3,827, which will be paid 14 times a year. Financial support for housing for stays abroad (e.g., in case of secondments) and travelling expenses will be offered on a case-by-case basis.

Silicon Austria Labs (SAL) is a top research center for Electronics and Software Based Systems (ESBS). At three locations (Graz, Villach, Linz), SAL is conducting research along the entire ESBS value chain in the areas of sensor systems, power electronics, intelligent wireless systems, microsystems and embedded systems to develop future-oriented solutions for industrial production, health, energy, mobility, safety and more. SAL brings together key players from industry, science and research and thus valuable expertise and know-how and conducts cooperative, application-oriented research along the value chain. Cooperative projects are co-financed by SAL and enable a fast and unbureaucratic project start. SAL is thus shaping the high-tech location Austria and Europe and developing the future