Research

Digital management is the focus of the chair's research. At its core, this is rooted in the belief in the transformative potential of digital technologies and media for our individual lives, our companies, and our society. Our chair contributes to raising this potential and to keeping the risks and side effects of digitalization in check. We are thus dedicated to analysing and shaping one of the most profound current changes in our economy and society, taking account of issues of economic, ecological and social sustainability.

As a chair, we create and impart knowledge on digital management. Our team develops relevant knowledge by means of scientific methods and embeds it in the discourse of the scientific community by means of publications and lectures, opens it for students by means of research-oriented teaching and for companies and other organizations by means of applied research projects together with practice partners. In addition to the unity of research and teaching, we support the "third mission" of universities in knowledge transfer and innovation and therefore participate in the public discourse on issues of digitization.

The following graphic depicts the topic areas and sample topics:

Topic areas

Artificial, hybrid and collective intelligence

In this area, we contribute to promoting intelligent collective decisions and behavior through clever combinations and interactions between human and technical systems.

Smart Sustainability and Ethics

In this area, we contribute to moving closer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through digitization. Our work over the past two years contributes in relation to 13 of the 17 SDGs. In addition, we are addressing ethical issues related to human-AI interaction.

Digital Business

In this area, we help companies realize the potential of digitizing their business models, internal structures, and external value networks for the benefit of their stakeholders.<o:p></o:p>

New Digital Work

In this area, we contribute to a human-centered digitalization of work and deal with how digital work should be designed in the future.

Social Network Dynamics

In this area, we contribute to a deeper understanding of digital communication and collaboration and the resulting dynamic network structures inside and outside companies. This includes efficient digital collaboration as well as the integration of external crowdworkers, and the negative and positive effects of social media.

Digital Health and Well-being

In this area, we contribute to the healthy use of digital technologies and address how digitization can contribute to higher health. We also contribute to the digitization of healthcare, whether in the digitization of hospital processes, in IT support for multi-professional collaboration, or in how digital technologies and media can empower patients to maintain and promote their health.<o:p></o:p>

In all these areas, we take perspectives from business administration and business informatics, partly supplemented by facets from economics, sociology, psychology, medicine, and computer science. The chair follows a methodologically pluralistic approach, using predominantly quantitative empirical studies, sometimes combining, or complementing them with design-oriented and model-theoretical approaches. In the area of quantitative empirical studies, the focus is particularly on laboratory and field experiments, quantitative surveys, meta-analyses, and secondary data analysis. Here, the usual statistical and econometric methods come into play, social network analyses, and machine learning methods. Other methods and paradigms used, depending on the fit to the research question, include mixed-methods research, design science research, simulation, conceptual modelling, taxonomy development, interview and focus group studies, structured literature review, and bibliometrics. 

 

Examples of this research can be found in our projects.