The Space Business Initiative (SBI) studies how firms, capital, and policy interact to build the commercial space economy. We combine archival/econometric methods with large-scale computational text analysis (patent data, multilingual news corpora, machine learning classification) to build novel longitudinal datasets.
SBI is building a small, focused team of postdoctoral researchers and research assistants.
Selected Research Topics
Industry emergence and firm strategy in nascent commercial space markets
Financing and institutional logics of commercial space ventures (state vs. private capital)
Policy-driven entrepreneurship — how government industrial policy shapes venture formation
Postdoctoral Researchers (2): Business of the Global Space Economy
We seek two postdoctoral researchers to conduct quantitative empirical research on how firms compete, innovate, and are governed in the global commercial space industry. Researchers will work with established global datasets on firms, technologies and markets. The goal is publishable research in leading strategy and management journals.
We welcome applicants with research interests in strategy, organization theory, international business, innovation, or related fields. Prior knowledge of the space industry is preferred.
Ideal candidates have:
A PhD (completed or near completion) in management, strategy, international business, economics, or a related field
Experience with quantitative empirical methods (panel data, econometrics, causal inference) using Stata, R or Python
A clear trajectory toward publishing in leading management journals
Strong academic English writing
We offer:
A competitive salary
A two-year appointment with a flexible starting date
Close mentorship within a defined, publication-focused research agenda, with first-author opportunities
Shared research assistant support
To apply: Submit your CV, a 1–2 page research statement, and a writing sample here. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
DE BRUYN Gianni
Director
Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology (GZ)
AO Jingning
External Academic Contributor
Morgan State University
YOU Jingya
External Academic Contributor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
WANG Guanhua
Postdoctoral Researcher
(Tsinghua University)
FANG Jing
Ph.D. Student
Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology (GZ)