Research Focus

The chair’s research focus is on the management of information as a central resource for value creation in the 21^st century. The targeted and purposeful management of information plays a critical role to support operational processes, make strategic decisions, improve services and products, create new business models, and ultimately sustain competitive advantage in the digital era. Information management has, therefore, become an indispensable cross-sectional function in corporate management that is dedicated to these complex issues. Beyond competitive advantage, our research also addresses the societal implications of the digital transformation and the crucial role of information management for sustainable development.

Our research covers all major industries including manufacturing, service, and public sector with a special focus on the vibrant field of digital health.The following figure illustrates the focus areas of our research and teaching:

Following the Humboldtian ideal of higher education, we strive to link our teaching and research activities in two directions: 1) research-based teaching, and 2) teaching-based research. We build on the body of research in Information Systems and related disciplines to develop our teaching offerings in information management, digital entrepreneurship, and digital governance. In addition, we involve learners in our own research in these areas through the supervision of bachelor, master, and seminar projects. Through our research-based teaching and by sharpening the students’ research skills, our objective is to equip life-long learners with the analytical competencies and knowledge that will let them thrive in a digital society.

Our research exploits the range of methods available in Information Systems and neighboring disciplines. We leverage qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research to gain empirical insights, for example, on managerial actions, user behaviors, and technology impacts. We leverage computational approaches to derive insights from large sets of structured and unstructured data. In addition, we construct design artifacts that address business problems and translate our theoretical insights into viable solutions for practice. Our research is not bound to a specific level or unit of analysis. While the organizational level represents a common perspective, we also look at phenomena at the level of individual organizational units, at the level of individual users, as well as the level of the individual IT artifact.