Center for Digital Transformation

27TH AUGUST 2024
New publication in the journal “Journal of Banking and Finance” by Prof. Sebastian Müller

The publication entitled "Analyst Recommendations and Mispricing Across the Globe" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller in cooperation with Prof. Vitor Azevedo from the Department of Financial Management - RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau. This study analyzes analysts' recommendations across 45 countries from 1994 to 2019. It finds that, unlike in the U.S., these recommendations result in significant abnormal returns in international markets. Analysts tend to favor underpriced stocks, and their recommendations are particularly valuable in less developed markets. The findings suggest that analysts' recommendations are more beneficial to investors than previously believed.

The publication can be accessed here

30TH JUNE 2024
Highlights from the KI Festival Heilbronn

At the KI Festival 2024 in Heilbronn, the CDT showcased several initiatives:

Johannes Gölz, a doctoral researcher under Prof. Förderer, delivered a talk on successful prompt engineering. In his presentation, "Successfully Using ChatGPT – The Superpower of Clever Prompts," Gölz explained the critical factors for effective prompt generation.

Jasper Brüns, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Meißner, discussed user reactions to AI-driven content creation on social media. Additionally, Yun Fu, another doctoral researcher under Prof. Meißner, provided insights into how artificial intelligence and machine learning enable voice cloning, opening new possibilities for communication and technological interaction. Attendees had the opportunity to experience the magic of voice cloning firsthand at the interactive TUM booth, where they could clone their own voice or experiment with others.

10TH JUNE 2024
Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing

Hosted by David Wuttke and Martin, the 4^th  Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing attracted around 35 international experts and young scientists to TUM Campus Heilbronn. Emphasizing the human element, the participants presented and discussed research. Karen Donohue and Carl-Philip Ahlbom delivered keynote lectures. Moderated by metaverse expert Philipp A. Rauschnabel, the panel featuring Michela Carraro, Dominik Mahr, Christoph Schmidt, and Teck Ming (Terence) Tan explored "A slightly technical perspective on technologies".

15TH MAY 2024
Christian Breitung discusses AI's role in economic data analysis on 'Breaking Data' Podcast

Christian Breitung was recently featured as a guest on the podcast 'Breaking Data,' a podcast focusing on data analysis and artificial intelligence. In the episode, Christian, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Sebastian Müller, discussed the use of AI in analyzing economic data. He is also a co-founder of Qannual, a company specializing in economic data analysis.

You can listen to the podcast here (in German).

15TH MAY 2024
Unraveling Google's Choice Architecture: Insights from Alexander Stolte's Research

In this article, Alexander Stolte, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Jens Foerderer, delves into the dynamics of digital platforms, particularly focusing on Google's choice architecture. He highlights the platform's influence in shaping user experience and market dynamics. Despite Google's dominance, Alexander Stolte identifies potential competition from players like Microsoft and emerging innovations such as Large Language Models (LLMs). Concerns arise regarding transparency and the potential misuse of choice architecture, prompting calls for regulatory intervention. Alexander Stolte emphasizes the need for transparency and regulation to ensure fair competition and protect user interests in the digital realm.

22ND MARCH 2024
Johannes Gölz discusses prompt engineering during “AI Monday” event series

At the Heilbronn Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI), Johannes Gölz, a doctoral researcher under Prof. Jens Förderer, shared insights on prompt engineering at a panel discussion during the "AI Monday" event series. Led by Dennis Kline, the panel featured experts such as Prof. Claudia Finkbeiner (University of Kassel), Dorothée Töreki (entrepreneur “Denkräume im Digitalen”), and Rebecca Rutschmann (AI expert), who explored the intersection of AI with language and creativity. They underscored the importance of effective prompts for AI and highlighted its potential for skill enhancement. The takeaway? Good prompts yield good results, emphasizing AI as a tool for learning, not just task completion.

10TH MARCH 2024
Prof. Foerderer receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)

Prof. Jens Foerderer and Alexander Stolte receive third-party funding of 229.970€ from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) for the project “Decision architectures on search engine platforms: An analysis of the impact of infinite scrolling on companies and competition”.
The project will start in 2024.

25TH DECEMBER 2023
Article in Heilbronner Stimme about Prof. Jens Förderer's research being funded with an ERC Starting Grant

Article in Heilbronner Stimme about Prof. Jens Foerderer's research being funded by the European Research Council with 1.5 million euros and what the project is about. Click here for the article (in German) with the headline "TUM-Forscher am Campus Heilbronn schauen App-Stores auf die Finger".

20TH DECEMBER 2023
New study by Sebastian Müller and Gunther Friedl unveiling a climate risk assessment method to analyze European banking resilience

A new study by Gunther Friedl, Sebastian Müller, Alexander Schult and Alberto Spagnoli entitled "The Impact of Transitory Climate Risk on Firm Valuation and Financial Institutions: A Stress Test Approach" addresses urgent calls by European regulatory bodies. The team has developed an innovative bottom-up climate risk assessment method to analyze the resilience of the European banking sector against transitory climate risks.

Key Insights:
- An estimated impact of a 50–100 EUR carbon tax per tCO2 on the valuation and default risk of STOXX Europe 600 firms.
- A startling revelation: Asset devaluation shocks larger than 30% for about 5% of the sample firms!
- Investment-grade probabilities of default (PDs) dropping below 3% for about 16% of the firms.
- At the sector level, asset devaluations shocks of 15–36% and new PDs of 5–34% for the six most affected sectors.
- A stress test on credit risk shows a decrease in capital ratios between 1.2 and 1.6 percentage points in the most adverse scenario.

This study illuminates the substantial transitory climate risk for asset portfolios of banks and contributes significantly to integrating climate risk into risk management and regulation of financial institutions.

Read the full paper here

13RD DECEMBER 2023
Discovery Dialogue: Networking and Exchange between KODIS and CDT

During the recent Discovery Dialogue event, around 30 members from the Center for Digital Transformation (CDT) and the Research and Innovation Center for Cognitive Service Systems (KODIS) from Fraunhofer IAO converged for an evening of invaluable networking and exchange.

The event, hosted by Dr. Bernd Bienzeisler (KODIS) and Prof. Sebastian Müller (CDT), kicked off with warm welcomes and insightful introductions. Afterwards, attendees engaged in 5 brisk networking rounds, fostering meaningful connections among CDT and KODIS members, delving into shared research interests and collaborative possibilities.The event ended with open networking, after which some participants enjoyed the festive atmosphere at the Heilbronn Christmas market.

The evening was truly inspiring and we look forward to more transformative engagements between KODIS and CDT!

17TH NOVEMBER 2023
Prof. Jens Foerderer receives ERC Starting Grant

Excellent news and a great honor for Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer, Professor for Innovation and Digitalization at the CDT, who will be funded by the European Research Council (ERC) with a Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros over the next five years. His research project "Fair Competition in App Markets" convinced the ERC committee. His pioneering research aims to understand how Apple's and Google's obligations under the European Union's Digital Markets Directive affect competition and innovation in their app stores. With this prestigious funding, Prof. Foerderer will advance his research goals in a targeted and focused manner.

09TH NOVEMBER 2023

Prof. Meißner receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG

Prof. Martin Meißner receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) for a project that investigates shopping behavior in online and virtual environments using eye tracking.

31ST OCTOBER 2023
TUM Talk 2023: Johannes Gölz's speech unveiled the potential of AI at work

Johannes Gölz, research associate at the Center for Digital Transformation at TUM Campus Heilbronn, recently illuminated the potential of AI at this year's TUM Talk.

Gölz captivated the audience with a demonstration of ChatGPT's latest advancements, showcasing its ability to not just recognize and process business process imagery but to delve deeper, analyzing and enhancing these processes.

Further exploring the capabilities, he explained how ChatGPT could be instrumental in tailoring communication to specific organizational domains. 

Overall, the implications for firms are significant. They suggest a paradigm shift towards AI-driven frameworks to redefine and enhance their processes.

10TH OCTOBER 2023
New publication in the journal “Finance Research Letters” by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Dr. Karoline Bax

The publication entitled "Sustainability Transmission through Focal Nodes in Supply Chain Networks" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Dr. Karoline Bax from the CDT in cooperation with Prof. Sandra Paterlini from the University of Trento. Supply chain networks can be instrumental in transmitting sustainability levels among connected nodes, particularly from customers to suppliers. In this context, they introduce a third type of node, the focal node which is a constituent of a large index and functions dually as both customer and supplier. Further, it is characterized by its centrality, large size, and high visibility within the network. By regression analysis, they show that the ESG scores of these focal nodes exert a positive influence on both their suppliers and customers, highlighting their role in promoting sustainability across the entire network.

The publication can be accessed here

21ST SEPTEMBER 2023
Apple's App Store Strategy Explained: Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer Contributes to Dev-Insider.de

Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer has written an article for Dev-Insider.de, addressing the intricacies of balancing quality and quantity in Apple's App Store. This work outlines Apple's governance mechanisms and offers actionable advice for platform operators. Förderer's analysis emphasizes the critical role of transparent guidelines, rigorous enforcement, and adaptability in managing the quality of digital platforms. For an in-depth look at the insights, the article is accessible in German here. 

20TH JULY 2023
New publication in the Journal of Asset Management by Prof. Sebastian Müller

The publication entitled "Stock market anomalies and machine learning across the globe" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller in cooperation with Prof. Vitor Azevedo from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Department of Financial Management, and with Georg Sebastian Kaiser from Roland Berger. The study analyzed nearly 1.9 billion stock-month observations from 1980 to 2019, highlighting the outstanding performance of machine learning models in predicting future stock returns. These significantly outperformed conventional forecasting methods, achieving monthly excess returns of 1.8-2.2%. The most successful models were feed-forward neural networks. Overall, the study shows that machine learning approaches can uncover market inefficiencies that challenge standard asset pricing theories. The publication can be accessed here.

15TH JUNE 2023
Fortschrittsbarometer Digitale Transformation Mittelstand 2023

The majority of SME´s in the region of Heilbronn-Franken do not strategically investigate digital transformation and stay below the potential provided by new technologies, a study shows and suggests an action plan for firms, educational and public institutions.

The study conducted by Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer and Michaela Lindenmayr from the CDT and Dr. Christoph Geier shows that the majority of companies see digitization as a one-off project and prefers to pragmatically react to the challenges at hand. Almost two thirds (62 percent) of medium-sized companies do not yet have a strategy for digital transformation. More than half of them also have no plans to address the issue strategically in the future. Thus, so far, many companies lack a long-term vision for the digital transformation. In parts this is because companies lack ideas on how digital transformation can create value for the business. Moreover, they face a lack of skilled workers, poor digital infrastructure, and a complex legal environment. Based on these findings, the research team provides recommendations for action for companies, policy-makers, and universities.

To access the full study and learn more about digital transformation of the German Mittelstand, you can access www.mgt.tum.de/fortschrittsbarometer (in German).

19TH MAY 2023
New publication in the Journal of Empirical Finance by Christian Breitung

In his single-authored article Automated Stock Picking using Random Forests, Christian Breitung, doctoral candidate of the TUM School of Management, derives a stock ranking by applying a technical features based random forest model on an international dataset of liquid stocks. He finds that predicting outperformance probabilities rather than returns may lead to superior out-of-sample portfolio performance. Moreover, he shows that outperformance probabilities serve as a superior measure of future returns in the context of portfolio optimization. Mean-variance portfolios using this measure are less volatile and more profitable than equally- or value-weighted portfolios. These findings are robust to firm size, regional restrictions, non-crisis periods, and cannot be explained by limits to arbitrage. The article can be found here: “https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0927-5398(23)00045-2”

17TH MAY 2023
Prof. Sebastian Müller receives third-party funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Prof. Sebastian Müller receives third-party funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, BMWK) for his project “Subscription Business Case Calculator - Wirtschaftlichkeitsberechnung von Subscription-Geschäftsmodellen für Einstieg und Erfolg im KMU-Subscriptiongeschäft“ (Subscription Business Case Calculator - Subscription business model profitability calculation for entry and success in SME subscription business). This project will be conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Industrial Management FIR at RWTH Aachen.

18TH APRIL 2023
New publication in the Journal of Banking and Finance (JBF) by Dr. Daniel Huber, Prof. Heiko Jacobs, Prof. Sebastian Müller and Fabian Preissler

In the article International Factor Models, Prof. Sebastian Müller and his doctoral researcher Fabian Preissler investigate the performance of competing factor-based asset pricing models in international regions and globally. The tests show that recently proposed models tend to perform better than classical model, which points to the need for new powerful asset pricing models for global stock markets. 

The holistic analysis controls for model transaction costs and incorporates both, right-hand-side tests (based on maximum squared Sharpe ratios) and left-hand-side tests (based on individual return predictors or composite mispricing proxies). The research work was done in cooperation with Prof. Heiko Jacobs from the University of Duisburg-Essen and Dr. Daniel Huber from the University of Hamburg. The article can be found here.

05TH APRIL 2023
Workshop on data-driven dynamic and robust resource management (Prof. Xie)

To discuss the latest developments in data-driven dynamic and robust resource management, about 20 international professors and researchers met for a 2-day workshop at TUM Campus Heilbronn. The workshop was organized by Prof. Jingui Xie from our Center, and Prof. Thierry Garaix and Prof. Xiaolan Xie from the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne.

03RD MARCH 2023
Are data breach announcements and stock market reactions a matter of timing?

In recent articles by Harvard Business Manager, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and other newspapers, a study by Prof. Jens Foerderer from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Prof. Sebastian Schuetz from the Florida International University (FIU) was reported on.

The study analyzed over 8,000 data breaches of US-listed companies between 2008 and 2018. It revealed that many companies intentionally plan to disclose data breaches on busy news days to avoid negative impacts on their stock prices. The researchers suggest that shorter time frames for reporting data breaches could prevent companies from strategically planning their disclosures.

You can discover the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4264.

21ST FEBRUARY 2023
Wissenschaftliche Kommission Operations Research at TUM Campus Heilbronn

After not meeting in person for three years due to the pandemic, 21 professors and researchers discussed the latest developments in operations research in a two-day meeting of the Wissenschaftliche Kommission Operations Research of the Verband der Hochschullehrerinnen und Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. (VHB, engl. Association of University Teachers of Business Administration). The meeting, organized by Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller, included lectures and interactive sessions. Prof. Guido Voigt, the head of the commission, reported on important topics concerning the commission.

Key learnings from the various presentations include:

• Combining traditional OR methods with machine learning helps to solve complex problems
• OR methods can be used to analyse the capacity of the electricity market and to reduce energy consumption of manufacturing companies
• OR researchers can solve complex problems of retailers, manufacturers, and many other companies

Thanks to everyone who participated!

01ST DECEMBER 2022
Congratulations Florian Sachs! The first doctoral researcher successfully completed his doctoral thesis at the CDT

We congratulate Florian Sachs on receiving his Ph.D., making him also the first doctor of our Center and at the TUM Campus Heilbronn!

In his dissertation, Florian Sachs analyzed unreliable production systems. Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller supervised his thesis. Prof. Geert-Jan van Houtum, Professor at Technical University Eindhoven, was acting as a second reviewer and was also part of the committee.

Florian Sachs will continue his scientific career and become an assistant professor for Supply Chain Analytics at the University of Cologne in spring 2023. Congratulations on this as well!

Johannes Gölz, research associate at the Center for Digital Transformation at TUM Campus Heilbronn, recently illuminated the potential of AI at this year's TUM Talk.

Gölz captivated the audience with a demonstration of ChatGPT's latest advancements, showcasing its ability to not just recognize and process business process imagery but to delve deeper, analyzing and enhancing these processes.

Further exploring the capabilities, he explained how ChatGPT could be instrumental in tailoring communication to specific organizational domains. 

Overall, the implications for firms are significant. They suggest a paradigm shift towards AI-driven frameworks to redefine and enhance their processes.

30TH NOVEMBER 2022
Prof. Wuttke receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)

Prof. Wuttke receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)

21ST NOVEMBER 2022
Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization contributes to the Springer book “Digitalization Across Organizational Levels”

Firms and researchers are concerned about the opportunities and challenges of digitalization. The book Digitalization Across Organizational Levels was published on the occasion of Prof. Dr. Armin Heinzl’s 60th birthday with the help of his former Ph.D. students and other academics with whom he has worked during his career. It covers various topics along digitalization, namely outsourcing, multi-party projects, culture, and gender, as well as digital platforms and ecosystems. Prof. Jens Förderer and his doctoral students Michaela Lindenmayr, Tobias Kircher and Alexander Stolte contribute to the book by evaluating digital platforms’ economic and social consequences, including privacy, hate speech, and innovation in a competitive environment. A systematic literature review is conducted, which allows for capturing the state-of-the-art research papers and for outlining trade-offs faced by platform firms when considering these consequences. The article is available here.

02ND OCTOBER 2022
Prof. Kiesmüller and Prof. Wuttke conduct the "Supply Chain Monitor Heilbronn-Franken" survey until November 30, 2022

Supply chains and digital transformation are omnipresent. But what specifically affects companies in the Heilbronn-Franken region? Which trends can be observed in this area? What solutions are required? What makes this particular region of "hidden champions" unique in terms of its supply chains?

Prof. Kiesmüller and Prof. Wuttke are conducting a survey on global topics such as supply chain management, spare parts logistics and digital transformation. They are particularly interested in investigating these topics in the Heilbronn-Franken region. Companies in the Heilbronn-Franken region with > 50 employees can participate in the survey here.

29TH SEPTEMBER 2022
Prof. Sebastian Müller and Christian Breitung present at the 28th Annual Meeting of the German Finance Association (DGF)

Prof. Sebastian Müller and his doctoral student Christian Breitung attended the 28th Annual Meeting of the German Finance Association (DGF) at the University of Marburg (September 29 - October 1, 2022), where they presented two papers entitled: “When Firms Open Up: Identifying Value Relevant Textual Disclosure Using simBERT” and “Digital innovation…and the cross-section of stock returns" (together with Katharina Drechsler und Heinz-Theo Wagner). In their research, they analyze how content changes in firm's annual reports are incorporated into stock prices over time, how the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of annual reports can be used to identify digital leaders and digital laggards, and how digital innovation is priced in the stock market.

10TH AUGUST 2022
Interview of Prof. David Wuttke on Deutschlandfunk about his study on the use of Augmented Reality in production

Radio station “Deutschlandfunk” recently interviewed Prof. David Wuttke about his study on Augmented Reality in production. Listen to the interview here.

28TH JULY 2022
New publication in OR Spectrum by J. Ralfs and G.P Kiesmüller

In the article, Inventory management with advance demand information and flexible shipment consolidation, Prof. Kiesmüller and her PhD student Jana Ralfs investigate how truck utilization in a time based shipment consolidation program can be increased by using advance demand information. To fully exploit the benefit of advance demand information, safety stocks have to be increased to enable flexible deliveries and reduce costs. The publication can be found here.

29TH MARCH 2022
Annual report on research, innovation and technological gerformance in Germany considers the platform economy highly relevant

Recently, the Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI - Expert Commission for Research and Innovation) published its Annual Report on Research, Innovation and Technological Performance in Germany for 2022. The Commission considers the platform economy to be one of the four key areas for future research and innovation strategy in Germany.

The Commission notes that Germany has significant weaknesses in the area of digital technologies, which applies in particular to innovations in the platform economy. Germany has a high value creation potential for B2B and data-driven platforms in the industrial sector, so further research and innovation is needed to expand this area. Prof. Förderer exchanged with the EFI on the topics of the platform economy.

01ST MARCH 2022
Study by Prof. Kiesmüller on “Evaluation of unreliable flow lines with limited buffer capacities and spare part provisioning”

As manufacturing systems are highly technical with many connected robots and machines, there is unfortunately always a risk that one of the machines will fail, resulting in a production stop of the machine, the subsystem, or even the entire system. Prof. Kiesmüller and her doctoral researcher Florian Sachs, together with Prof. Stefan Helber (Leibniz University Hannover), have developed a new evaluation procedure to compute the throughput of a failure-prone flow line in which both buffers and spares cushion the impact of failures. This approach also helps identify machines where high spare parts availabilities are beneficial. The study was published in the European Journal of Operational Research.

18TH FEBRUARY 2022
SOCIAL BOTS ON TWITTER – MICHAELA LINDENMAYR PRESENTS AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK

Social Bots are increasingly used on social media imitating human behavior and influencing social media users. To understand their impact, Michaela Lindenmayr, research assistant of Prof. Jens Förderer, studies how social bots manipulate social media users and how this affects business metrics. This project was presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (WI22) as part of the highly competitive doctoral consortium.

14TH FEBRUARY 2022
INSIGHTS FROM VIRTUAL REALITY-ENHANCED TEACHING AT TUM CAMPUS HEILBRONN

In a white paper, Prof. Wuttke explains experiences, findings and recommendations when using Virtual Reality (VR) in teaching: “We want to share a modern way of online teaching. We want to publish our lessons learned and hope that the insights on technical effort, didactic approaches, and organizational aspects are valuable for others.” The report is targeted to all those who are excited about VR — be it faculty, students, or teaching support staff. The white paper is available for download here.

27TH JANUARY 2022
STUDY BY PROF. WUTTKE “SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE? RAMPING UP PRODUCTION WITH THE USE OF AUGMENTED REALITY”

A study by Prof. Wuttke, Ankit Upadhyay (TUM), Enno Siemsen (University of Wisconsin) and Alexandra Wuttke-Linnemann (Landeskrankenhaus Mainz) was published in “Manufacturing and Service Operations Management” under the title “Seeing the Bigger Picture? Ramping Up Production with the Use of Augmented Reality”.

15TH DECEMBER  2021
PROF. FÖRDERER PRESENTS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN TEXAS

A recent research project of Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer and his doctoral student Tobias Kircher was presented at the 42nd International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Austin, Texas, in December 2021. The project, titled “Does EU-Consumer Privacy Harm Financing of US-App-Startups? Within-US Evidence of Cross-EU-Effects” investigates an important question faced by policymakers: should they tighten up privacy?

06TH DECEMBER  2021
INTERVIEW OF PROF. MÜLLER IN HEILBRONN MAGAZINE “HANIX”

The Heilbronn magazine Hanix interviewed Prof. Müller about the importance of the financial market, the relation to the real economy and about the predictability of developments on the financial market. Read the full interview here (in German) and the summary in English here.

17TH NOVEMBER  2021
PROF. WUTTKE AND HIS TEAM AT THE DECISION SCIENCES (DSI) CONFERENCE

At the Decision Sciences (DSI) conference, Prof. Wuttke participates in an invited panel on Teaching Industry 4.0. His doctoral student Begimai Marlenova presents a study on “Supply Chain Finance and Supply Chain Resilience” together with Prof. Wuttke and Prof. Eve Rosenzweig (Emory). Additionally, doctoral student Sairam Sriraman presents on “Supply Chain Resilience through Supply Chain Finance”.

30TH OCTOBER 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER SHEDS LIGHT ON THE OPPORTUNITIES AND DANGERS OF A “METAVERSE”

Following the renaming of Facebook to “Meta”, Prof. Förderer sheds light on the opportunities and dangers of a “Metaverse”. The metaverse allows people to interact as avatars and work, shop, learn and play in virtual reality without being physically together. Read the full article here (in German).

30TH OCTOBER  2021
STATEMENTS OF PROF. MÜLLER IN ARTICLE OF STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG

In its article “Depot-Eröffnung – Die ersten Schritte zu mehr Rendite”, the Stuttgarter Zeitung interviewed Prof. Müller, e.g. about actively managed investment funds. Read the full article here (in German).

27ST OCTOBER 2021
PROF. WUTTKE PRESENTS STUDY ON “SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE DURING CORONA: INCREASED TOGETHERNESS OR COMMERCIAL TRUTH?”

At the INFORMS conference Prof. Wuttke,  together with Begimai Marlenova and Eve Rosenzweig (Emory) presents a study by “Supply Chain Finance during Corona: Increased Togetherness or Commercial Truth?”

29TH SEPTEMBER 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER DEFINES 5 TIPS ON HOW CIOS AVOID DEPENDENCIES

In his article in the CIO Magazine, Prof. Jens Förderer summarizes 5 tips for CIOs on how not to become dependent on cloud providers, as well as the benefits of a thorough analysis and exit strategy. Read the full article here (in German).

21ST JULY 2021
RESEARCH ON ESG RISKS AND BANKING REGULATION

A research project by Prof. Sebastian Müller (CDT) and Prof. Gunther Friedl (Dean of the TUM School of Management, Munich) on ESG risks and banking regulation was funded by the Frankfurt Institute for Risk Management and Regulation (FIRM e.V.). The results were presented at the FIRM research conference in June 2021 and recently discussed in this article in the Börsenzeitung.

21ST JUNE 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER COMMENTS IN HANDELSBLATT ON THE ANTITRUST INVESTIGATIONS OF APPLE BY THE BUNDESKARTELLAMT (GERMAN FEDERAL CARTEL OFFICE)

Prof. Jens Förderer comments on the investigations of the Bundeskartellamt (German Federal Cartel Office) on Apple’s market power, particularly the AppStore. Read the full article in the newspaper HANDELSBLATT here.

09TH APRIL 2021
PROF. KIESMÜLLER HAS JOINED LUND UNIVERSITY AS A GUEST PROFESSOR

Prof. Kiesmüller has joined Lund University (Sweden) as a guest professor where she collaborates with Prof. Marklund from the Division of Production Management. Their common research interests have resulted in joint research projects  about the coordination of inventory and transportation management.

04TH FEBRUARY 2021
REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE ON PLATFORMS

A recent literature review on platform management tactics has appeared as part of the Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Systems. The research project has been co-authored by Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer.

The review brings together work that has so far been dispersed over different academic disciplines and distills different types of management tactics that platform companies can use to manage their partners and ecosystems. Find more Information here.

27TH JANUARY 2021
RESEARCH GRANT ON COMPETITION IN PLATFORM MARKETS

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) has recently announced to fund a research project on the platform economy headed by Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer.

The project, titled “Competition with the Platform Owner: An Empirical-quantitative Investigation of Mobile App Platforms”, seeks to study the competition between platform companies and their partners. Platform firms such as Amazon and Apple have been criticized for being too powerful, and part of this criticism has been related to the observation that platform companies enter the markets of their partners with own rival products. Such entries can represent an existential threat for many firms that currently build their business on platforms. However, so far, it remains little understood when complementors face competition with platform companies. The research project will, amongst other questions, investigate the causes of competition between platform companies and their complementors.

20TH JANUARY 2021
RESEARCH PROJECT ON PLATFORMS AND PRIVACY PRESENTED AT WISE 2020

A recent research project of Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer and Tobias Kircher was presented at the 31st Workshop on Information Systems and Economics, held from December 16-19 2020.

The project, titled “Does Consumer Privacy Harm Innovation? Evidence from Google’s Enforcement of COPPA in Android’s Market for Kids-Games” investigates an important question faced by platform companies: should they encourage privacy on their platforms? While privacy fosters user adoption, it potentially harms complementary innovation. So far, little is known about the actual consequences of privacy on innovation. The paper is currently being finalized and will shortly appear as a working paper on this website.

WISE is the primary academic forum for the discussion of cutting-edge information systems research questions related to business and economic outcomes.

11TH SEPTEMBER 2024
Michaela Lindenmayr's Successful Doctoral Dissertation Defense

Michaela Lindenmayr has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at TUM Campus Heilbronn. Lindenmayr, a researcher at the Professorship for Innovation and Digitalization under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer, presented her work on countermeasures against misinformation on online platforms. Her dissertation addresses a highly relevant topic in today's digital age, contributing significant insights into combating the spread of misinformation online. We extend our gratitude to Prof. Dr. Hanna Hottenrott for her role as examiner and to Prof. Dr. Martin Meißner for chairing the examination committee. Their contributions were invaluable to the successful defense. We congratulate Michaela Lindenmayr on this remarkable achievement and wish her continued success in her future endeavors.

18TH JULY 2024
Tobias Kircher's Successful Doctoral Dissertation Defense

Congratulations! Tobias Kircher, a doctoral researcher at the Professorship for Innovation and Digitalization of Prof. Dr Jens Foerderer, has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation.

Tobias presented his critical examination of recent data protection and privacy interventions in digital content. His dissertation explores the potential downsides of these interventions, particularly their effects on innovation and pricing, offering timely and important insights into this issue.

Gratitude is extended to Prof. Dr. Joachim Henkel for his review and Prof. Dr. Jochen Hartmann for chairing the committee. Their expertise and support were crucial to this successful defense.

24TH MARCH 2024
Award Ceremony: Successful Investing with AI and Large Language Models

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Campus Challenge "Successful Investing with AI and Large Language Models," organized by Prof. Sebastian Müller, Professor for Finance, and doctoral researcher Christian Breitung.

In this exciting challenge, student teams were tasked with developing and implementing an investment strategy for the equity market using AI and/or Large Language Models (LLM). Emphasis was placed on a systematic and structured approach, guided by the finance literature.

Taking home the 1st prize is the team of Hannes Sebastian Voucko-Glockner and Luis Ganßloser, students of the Master in Finance and Information Management (FIM) at the TUM School of Management, Campus Munich. By combining a momentum strategy with AI-based diversification strategies, their portfolio substantially outperformed its benchmark. To acknowledge their innovative approach, they will receive a prize of 300 Euro sponsored by the Behavioral Finance e.V. (https://www.behavioral-finance.de/).
Securing the 2nd place is the team of Jannik Nerpel, Cihan Yilmaz, and Kadir Erdem Sahin, students of the Master in Management (MiM) at TUM Campus Heilbronn. They showed how LLMs with traditional Machine Learning (ML) models may be successfully combined to construct a profitable investment strategy, congratulations!

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winners and express our gratitude to all participants for their hard work and contributions to this challenging and fascinating challenge!

15TH JANUARY 2024
Dissertation Award to Dr. Florian Sachs

Dr. Florian Sachs was awarded the Dissertation Award 2023 of TUM School of Management, presented by Prof. Alwine Mohnen and Prof. Gunther Friedl at the TUM School of Management's graduation ceremony in November 2023. Congratulations!

Florian Sachs was a doctoral student at the CDT under the supervision of Prof. Kiesmüller before moving to the University of Cologne as a Junior Professor in Supply Chain Analytics.

13TH JUNE 2023
Honorary doctorate awarded by Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg to Prof. Gudrun P. Kiesmüller

Prof. ‌Gudrun P. Kiesmüller, Professor of Operations Management at TUM Campus Heilbronn, received an honorary doctorate from ‌Otto-von-Guericke University. She receives this award for her outstanding scientific achievements, particularly in connection with the optimal planning and design of supply chains, manufacturing systems and maintenance processes. Furthermore, prior to her move to TUM in 2019, Prof. Kiesmüller was instrumental in founding the research cluster "Center of Operations Research and Business Analytics" (CORBA) at the University of Magdeburg and developed the successful master program "Operations Research and Business Analytics". Her dedicated work and commitment have contributed to the redesign of the Master's programs at the Faculty of Economics and Management, thus significantly influencing the study landscape of business administration at the University of Magdeburg.

The honory doctorate was presented to Prof. Kiesmüller by the dean of the faculty of Economics and Management Prof. Dr. Abdolkarim Sadrieh (left) and the rector of the university Prof. Dr. Jens Strackeljan (right). (Photo: Jana Dünnhaupt/Uni Magdeburg)

22ND DECEMBER 2022
Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller and Prof. Jens Förderer belong to the best researchers in the area of business & management in the DACH region, as announced by the business magazine WirtschaftsWoche

Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller and Prof. Jens Förderer belong to the best researchers in the area of business & management in the DACH region, as announced by the business magazine WirtschaftsWoche. Congratulations!
➡️ Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller, professor for operations management, was honoured in the category „lifetime achievement“
➡️ Prof. Jens Foerderer, professor for innovation and digitalization, was honoured in the categories „top business researchers“ and „best researchers under the age of 40“

Find out more here.

21ST DECEMBER 2022
Prof. Jens Foerderer wins "Runner Up" for the overall "Best Completed Research Paper Award" and "Best Paper Award" in the track "Sharing Economy, Platforms, and Crowds" at ICIS 2022

Together with Nele Lueker and Armin Heinzl from the University of Mannheim, Jens Foerderer has won "Runner Up" for the overall "Best Completed Research Paper Award" and also received the "Best Paper Award" in the track "Sharing Economy, Platforms, and Crowds" at this year's International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Kopenhagen. Their paper "Competing With Superstars: Does Exclusive Content Discourage Complementary Innovation?" investigates how the introduction of exclusive third-party applications affects competing complementors innovation strategies in platform ecosystems. You can access the paper via the following link: here.

14TH SEPTEMBER 2022
Prof. Jingui Xie and his collaborative partner Prof. Xiaolan Xie received seed funding from the Franco-German Academy for the Industry of the Future (GFA)

Prof. Jingui Xie from the CDT and his collaborative partner Prof. Xiaolan Xie from the research department of healthcare engineering at Ecole nationale superieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne, France, received €60,000 of seed funding for the project Data-Driven Dynamic Resource Management for Random Time-Varying Demands in the Context of Covid-19 and future crises from the German-French Academy for the Industry of the Future (GFA).

25TH AUGUST 2022
Prof. Dr. G.P. Kiesmüller received the Service Award of the International Society for Inventory Research

During the 21st International Symposium on Inventories in Budapest, Prof. Dr. G.P. Kiesmüller received the Service Award of the International Society for Inventory Research for her outstanding contributions to the operation of the Society. The award was presented by Prof. Attila Chikán, Executive Vice President of ISIR.

Within the Society, Prof. Kiesmüller is section chairperson for Interfaces of Inventory with Transportation, Production, Finance and Marketing and has been a member of ISIR for many years.

13TH JANUARY 2022
DATA SCIENCE CHALLENGE FOR STUDENTS AT TUM CAMPUS HEILBRONN

To prepare the students of the Master in Management program at TUM Campus Heilbronn for their future roles in the industry, Professor Dr. Jens Förderer and doctoral student Tobias Kircher have initiated the Data Science Challenge, staged together with the department for AI of a large company headquartered in the region of Heilbronn. On 13 January 2022, fourteen teams of students pitched their results. The students provided detailed insights, made various recommendations to personalize prices and coupons, and presented their ideas enthusiastically. The winning team received a prize – congratulations!

15TH DECEMBER  2021
VIVEK MODI HAS RECEIVED AN AWARD

Vivek Modi has received the best master thesis award for his outstanding master thesis by the Supply Chain Finance Community! Vivek’s thesis “How do supply chains manage to stay liquid during the COVID-19 crisis?” was mentored by Prof. Dr. David Wuttke and Sairam Sriraman.

6TH JULY  2021
PROF. WUTTKE RECEIVES OUTSTANDING REVIEWER AWARD

Prof. Wuttke has been selected for IJOPM’s 2020 Best Reviewer Award for his excellent reviews in 2020 for the International Journal of Operations & Production Management. The award acknowledges an outstanding set of reviewers who provided reviews not only consistently on time, but who also stood out in terms of the level of constructive and developmental feedback, the value added to the authors and the comprehensiveness and dedication of their reviews.

10TH JUNE 2021
PROF. WUTTKE RECEIVES OUTSTANDING REVIEWER AWARD

Prof. Wuttke receives the Outstanding Reviewer Award of the International Journal of Production Economics for his excellent reviews in 2020.

29TH MARCH 2021
PROF. KIESMÜLLER RECEIVES OUTSTANDING REVIEWER AWARD

Prof. Kiesmüller received the Outstanding Reviewer Award of the journal “OR Spectrum – Quantitative Approaches in Management” for her excellent reviews in 2020.

10TH FEBRUARY 2021
PROF. DR. JENS FÖRDERER NOMINATED FOR THE VHB-NACHWUCHSPREIS

Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer’s recent research paper “Interfirm Exchange and Innovation in Platform Ecosystems: Evidence from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference” has been nominated for the VHB-Nachwuchspreis. The VHB-Nachwuchspreis honors outstanding research papers by junior faculty members and is awarded by the German Academic Association of Business Research (VHB). Find more information here.

16ST NOVEMBER  2023
Workshop on Current Research Trends in Sustainable Finance

We are delighted to recap the enriching experience from the recent two-day Workshop on Current Research Trends in Sustainable Finance, hosted by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Dr. Karoline Bax from the CDT. This event served as a hub for approximately 25 global experts and aspiring young scientists, gathering at our TUM Campus Heilbronn. Engaging discussions generated new connections and invaluable insights. Renowned scholars presented diverse and compelling topics, including a keynote by Prof. Samuel Hartzmark from Boston College, who said: "The TUM workshop brought together researchers interested in better understanding how finance can help the world to achieve sustainable outcomes, encouraged interaction and facilitated discussions across individuals from different perspectives. The event was a huge success in terms of both developing ideas and fostering connections for future research. "

The workshop also featured a dynamic panel discussion moderated by Sebastian Müller on the recent trends and advancements in sustainable finance with panelists Prof. Roberto Rigobon from MIT Sloan School of Management, Prof. Julia Hartmann from EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht and Prof. Martin Weber from the University of Mannheim.

22TH JUNE 2023
Night of Science Heilbronn

The Center for Digital Transformation at the TUM Heilbronn Campus took part in the Night of Science in Heilbronn with three exciting events:

• 6:30 - 10:00 p.m. (XR-Lab in room L.U.13, Bildungscampus 9):
• Experience virtual worlds in the XR-LAB - Different experiments will be simulated in virtual worlds at two stations (by Team Prof. David Wuttke)
• 6:30 pm (Room L.0.13, Bildungscampus 9):
  Lecture by Prof. Sebastian Müller: "Typische Fehler in der Kapitalanlage – und wie man sie vermeiden kann” (“Typical mistakes in investing - and how to avoid them.")
• 7:30 p.m. (Room L.0.13, Bildungscampus 9):
  Lecture by Johannes H. Gölz | Prof. Jens Förderer: "Produktiver mit KI: Entdecke das Potenzial von ChatGPT und Co. für deinen Alltag” (“More productive with AI: Discover the potential of ChatGPT and Co. for your everyday life.")

You can find all contributions of TUM Campus Heilbronn here.

12TH JUNE 2023
Inspiring Insights and Exchange at the 3rd DTOM Workshop

We are thrilled to share highlights from the two-day Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing, hosted by Prof. David Wuttke, Prof. Martin Meißner, and Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller. The event brought together around 30 experts and young scientists from across the globe, meeting at our TUM Campus in Heilbronn.

During the workshop, the participants explored the latest advancements in the digital landscape with focus on Operations Management and Marketing, engaging in thought-provoking discussions and fostering new connections. The topics covered were diverse and captivating, including keynote lectures by Prof. Christopher Tang (University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA) and Prof. Reto Hofstetter (University of Lucerne), presentations by leading scientists, and a panel discussion on the metaverse with Prof. Sven Henkel (EBS Business School), Prof. Enno Siemsen (University of Wisconsin-

Madison), Prof. Thies Pfeiffer (University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer), and Prof. Philipp Rauschnabel (Universität der Bundeswehr München). In an insightful session moderated by Michela Carraro (CDT), Prof. Harmen Oppewal (Monash University), Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller, Prof. Eve Rosenzweig (Emory University) and Prof. Christopher Tang discussed how junior scientists should plan their academic careers. Let's build upon the connections made and the insights gained, propelling innovation and advancement in our respective fields.

22ND JUNE 2022
Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations Management (DTOM)

Finally back on campus with the 2nd Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations Management (DTOM), hosted by Prof. David Wuttke and Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller. Around 30 experts and young scholars from all around the world discussed the latest developments with presentations, panel discussions and an interactive research pitch. 

👉 Key learnings:

• The human factor will gain more importance. Leveraging human skills and better integrating them into industry 4.0 will be critical.
• For operations management researchers, one way to impact the fourth industry is to work in interdisciplinary teams and provide a clear understanding of the problems in the industry.
• A paper-centric approach to research is likely to lead to disciplinary research, while a problem-centric view opens up more interdisciplinary research.

27TH APRIL 2022
Presentation of Prof. Förderer at “SciDay” of the Heilbronn Science Museum “Experimenta

At this year’s SciDay of the Heilbronn Science Museum “Experimenta” on 27 April, Prof. Foerderer gave a presentation on “How to become a successful content creator”. In a multi-year study, he and his team have scientifically investigated one of the most interesting career paths of our time, that of content creators. Which effect has a superstar on content production? For their research, the scientists chose Twitch and the superstar ‘Ninja’, who is the most successful streamer on the platform. Whenever a superstar is present and covers a topic, the attention for other content creators is reduced. As a consequence the supply of new content decreases, as the financial incentives diminish. ‘Ninja’ switched platforms from Twitch to Mixer – later on Mixer stopped operating – such a wrong choice can be severe for content creators. Moreover, superstars are strong competitors that crowd out other content creators. Thus, niche content offers more opportunities. Three outstanding findings can be derived from this: It has to be the right platform. Choose your content strategically. Be aware: You will probably get nothing at all.

18TH-19TH NOVEMBER  2021
PROF. MÜLLER HOSTS NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING WORKSHOP

On November 18/19, 2021, an inspiring workshop on Textual Analysis and Natural Language Processing (NLP) was held at TUM Campus Heilbronn. Leading researchers and doctoral students from the fields of management, finance, and computer science accepted the invitation of Prof. Sebastian Müller. Read the summary here.

2ND NOVEMBER 2021
SUPPY CHAIN FINANCE HUB FROM 26-28 OCTOBER 2021

The 3rd Supply Chain Finance Hub addressed the opportunities and challenges of supporting supply chain finance with blockchain technology. Participants gained new insights from the knowledge and experience of our top speakers coming from leading firms and universities as well as heard about the latest research on the topic, introduced by the host Prof. David Wuttke. More information at www.wi.tum.de/hub.

19TH NOVEMBER  2021
PROF. WUTTKE AT THE WIESBADENER COMPLIANCE DAY

Prof. Wuttke presents a supply chain management perspective on the new supply chain diligence act at the Wiesbadener Compliance Day

2ND NOVEMBER  2021
PROF. WUTTKE AT THE UNIVERSITY FUTURE FESTIVAL 

Prof. Wuttke presents at the University Future Festival on key take-aways from teaching in virtual reality

26TH OCTOBER 2021
PARTICIPATION OF PROF. KIESMÜLLER IN DISCUSSION PANEL OF THE MAX SYRBE SYMPOSIUM ON 3 NOVEMBER 2021

Prof. Kiesmüller took part in the Max Syrbe Symposium of the Ferdinand Steinbeis Institute and the Steinbeis Foundation on 3 November 2021 at 3:30 PM. The topic of the discussion event was “Was bringt’s?! Vom Nutzwert der Wissenschaft” (“What’s the use?! On the Usefulness of Science”) and focused on the benefits that science brings to the economy and society and how these can be measured. Participants included representatives from research institutions as well as from companies and society. More information can be found on www.max-syrbe-symposium.de.

23RD/24TH JUNE 2021
WORKSHOP ON DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

How do new technologies affect operations management? Will blockchain lead to better supply chain financing? Will augmented reality systematically improve the commissioning of new manufacturing processes? These were some of the questions discussed by researchers from around the world at the first Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations Management, organized by Prof. Wuttke and Prof. Kiesmüller and held online due to the pandemic.

Virtual reality was also used for two interactive research-industry roundtables, where the 30 workshop participants met online with their VR headsets, represented by their avatars. The first roundtable focused on autonomous driving, while the second looked at virtual and augmented reality in research and education. The next Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations Management will be held on site if possible.

14TH APRIL 2021
PROF. WUTTKE HOSTS THE SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE HUB ON 19-21 MAY 2021

Prof. Wuttke is organizing the Supply Chain Finance Hub on Increasing Sustainability Performance with Supply Chain Finance on 19 May 2021. Participants will learn from the knowledge and experience of top speakers from leading industries as well as hear about the latest research on the topic and interact in networking sessions and the two accompanying workshops on 20 and 21 May.
More information at www.wi.tum.de/hub.

22ND APRIL 2021
PROF. KIESMÜLLER AND PROF. WUTTKE TOOK PART IN GIRLS DAY AT TUM CAMPUS HEILBRONN ON 22 APRIL 2021

On Girls’ Day, colleagues at TUM Campus Heilbronn encouraged schoolgirls to take up professions that are not typical for their gender. The girls particularly enjoyed the many personal reports on the experiences of female students and professors like Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller who also gave helpful advice to the girls. A highlight was the virtual reality lecture by Prof. David Wuttke who presented how school lessons might look like in the future. Read more in the newspaper article of Heilbronner Stimme (in German).

1ST MARCH 2021
VIRTUAL RESEARCH DAY AT THE CENTER FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

On 26th February 2021, twelve young researchers of the Center for Digital Transformation presented their ongoing and planned research projects. The presentations on the impact of digital technologies on operations as well as the effect of digitalization on financial markets were followed by lively and constructive discussions. New opportunities for firms with digital platforms were the subject of debate, too, as they provide the infrastructure for example for supply chain finance. Further topics with a reference to the current situation included research on intensive care unit management decisions. The young scientists demonstrated their deep methodological knowledge in the fields of econometrics, game theory, robust optimization, Markov decision processes, and machine learning. The great success of the day was also achieved through the valuable feedback of the senior researchers from the Center for Digital Transformation.

24TH MARCH 2024
Prof. Zhe George Zhang presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On Apriil 24, 2024,  Prof. Zhe George Zhang, Professor of Management Science at Western Washington University, USA, and at Simon Fraser University, Canada, visited our Center at the invitation of Prof. Jingui Xie. His presentation was entitled Choosing the Right Tools: Analyzing Stochastic Systems with Analytics, Simulation, and Machine Learning. Thank you for your visit and the great converstaions and discussions!

18TH JANUARY 2024
Prof. Jens Brunner presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On January 10, 2024,  Prof. Jens Otto Brunner, Professor of Decision Science in Healthcare at the Technical University of Denmark, visited our Center at the invitation of Prof. Jingui Xie. His presentation was entitled Resident scheduling in teaching hospitals with the use of quantitative methods. Thank you for your visit and the fruitful discussions!

15TH NOVEMBER 2023
Prof. Michael Ungeheuer presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On November 15, 2023,  Prof. Michael Ungeheuer, Professor of Finance at Aalto University, Finland, visited our Center at the invitation of Prof. Sebastian Müller. His presentation was entitled The Frequency of Outperformance and Investment Decisions. Thank you for your visit and the fruitful discussions!

19TH JULY 2023
CDT meets KODIS - Janika Kutz presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On July 19, 2023, Janika Kutz from the Research and Innovation Center for Cognitive Service Systems (KODIS) in Heilbronn (part of the Fraunhofer Institut für Arbeitswirtschaft und Organisation IAO) gave a presentation entitled Human-Centered AI for Manufacturing - Design Principles for Industrial AI-based Services. Janika Kutz is head of the team Public Service Innovation at KODIS and also a member of the Center for Cognitive Science at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, where she is doing her PhD.

Thank you for the presentation and the fruitful discussions with Janika Kutz and Dr. Bernd Bienzeisler (Head of KODIS). Your insights were truly valuable. With the KODIS and CDT in the immediate vicinity on the Heilbronn Bildungscampus, we also found that our research was close in terms of content and we look forward to getting to know each other further.

10RD MAY 2023
Prof. Christoph Glock presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On May 10, 2023,  Prof. Christoph Glock, Professor of Production and Supply Chain Management at the Technical University of Darmstadt, visited our Center at the invitation of Prof. David Wuttke. His presentation was entitled Does workplace safety reduce system performance? Insights from the optimization of manual materials handling tasks. Thank you for your visit and the fruitful discussions!

3RD MAY 2023
Prof. Florian Pethig presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On May 3, 2023, Dr. Florian Pethig from the Chair of Enterprise Systems, University of Mannheim visited our Center at the invitation of Prof. Jens Förderer. His presentation was entitled Behavior Toward Newcomers and Contributions to Online Communities. During his visit, he also met professors, PhD students and Postdocs from our Center. Thank you for your presentation, your visit at the CDT and the fruitful discussions!

27TH APRIL 2023

Prof. Sean Cao presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On April 27, 2023, the guest of our CDT Seminar Series was Prof. Sean Cao, associate professor of AI, FinTech, and sustainability (with tenure) in the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His presentation was titled "Uncovering Mutual Fund Private Information with Machine Learning". Sean Cao is also an affiliated professor at Harvard Business School (D^3 Institute). His research has been featured in the Financial Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and Quartz. Sean Cao has been honored with the award by the Deloitte Initiative for AI and Learning (DIAL), leading to develop AI solutions for social inclusion and climate change. During his visit, he also met professors, PhD students and Postdocs from our Center. Thank you for your visit and the fruitful discussions!

18TH JANUARY 2023
Prof. Arnd Huchzermeier presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On January 18, 2023, the guest of our CDT Seminar Series was Prof. Arnd Huchzermeier. Since 1993, he acts as the Chaired Professor in Production Management at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management with numerous visiting positions in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Prof. Arnd Huchzermeier has published 10 Springer books and numerous articles in leading academic and managerial journals. His research interests include Industrial Excellence, Supply Chain Finance and Retail Analytics. He is co-founder and academic director of the European Industrial Excellence Award.
Prof. Huchzermeier’s presentation was entitled Bespoke supply-chain resilience: The gap between theory and practice. During his visit, he also met several professors and PhD students from our Center. We thank you for your visit and the fruitful discussions!

11TH JANUARY 2023
Prof. Constantin Blome presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On January 11, 2023, Prof. Constantin Blome, Professor of Operations Management and Associate Dean for Research at University of Sussex Business School, visited our Center at the invitation of Prof. David Wuttke. His presentation as part of the CDT seminar series was entitled When it’s the slaves that pay: In search of a fair due diligence cost distribution in conflict mineral supply chains. Thank you for your visit!

23RD NOVEMBER 2022
Prof. Stefan Raff presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On November 23, 2022, Prof. Stefan Raff, Assistant Professor at Bern University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Digital Technology Management, visited our Centre at the invitation of Prof. Martin Meißner. His presentation as part of the CDT seminar series was entitled Does algorithmic advice harm service relationships? Thank you for your visit and the fruitful conversations and discussions during your visit!

20TH JULY 2022
Dr. Jan Klostermann presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On July 20, 2022, Dr. Jan Klostermann, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Cologne, Chair of Marketing Science and Analytics visited our Center. He presented his work on When do Influencer Posts Drive Brand Engagement? An Empirical Investigation on Instagram as part of the CDT Seminar Series.

29TH JUNE 2022
Prof. Pengyi Shi presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On June 29, 2022, Prof. Pengyi Shi, Associate Professor of Operations Management at Krannert School of Management (Purdue University, USA), visited our Center in person. As part of the CDT Seminar Series, she presented her work on Data-pooling Reinforcement Learning for Personalized Healthcare Intervention.

08TH JUNE 2022
Prof. Andreas Gernert presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On June 8, 2022, Prof. Andreas Gernert, Assistant Professor for Sustainable Operations at Kühne Logistics University, Hamburg, visited our Center for a view days. He presented his work on Sourcing and Pricing Decisions with a Financially Distressed Supplier and Endogenous Bankruptcy Risk during the CDT Seminar Series.

18TH MAY 2022
Prof. Dongyuan Zhan presents at the CDT Seminar Series

On 18 May 2022, Prof. Dongyuan Zhan, Assistant Professor at UCL School of Management, visited our Center in person. He presented his research on Whether and When Grocery Stores Should Adopt Time-Based Pricing: Competition and Negative Congestion Externality as part of the CDT Seminar Series, followed by fruitful discussions and several one-on-one meetings with our guest.

26TH JANUARY 2022
PROF. HEIKKI PEURA PRESENTS AT THE CDT SEMINAR SERIES

On 26 January 2022, Prof. Heikki Peura, Assistant Professor of Operations and Analytics at Imperial College Business School presented his research on Capacity Expansion in Service Platforms: Financing vs. Employment during the CDT Seminar Series. Thank you for joining us!

20TH OCTOBER 2021
PROF. CHRISTOS MAKRIDIS PRESENTS AT THE CDT SEMINAR SERIES

On 20 October 2021, Prof. Christos Makridis presented his recent work on The Rise of Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Evaluating the Role of Airdrops and Governance Tokens during the CDT Seminar Series. Christos serves as the Senior Adviser on the National AI Institute at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a Research Professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business in Arizona State University, a Digital Fellow at the Digital Economy Lab in Stanford University and a Non-resident Fellow at the Institute for Religious Studies at Baylor University. Thank you for the insightful presentation!

9TH JUNE 2021
PROF. DR. FLORIAN WEIGERT PRESENTS AT THE CDT SEMINAR SERIES

On 9 June 2021, Prof. Dr. Florian Weigert, Professor of Financial Risk Management at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland presented his recent work on Hedge Funds and the Positive Idiosyncratic Volatility Effect during the CDT Seminar Series. Thank you for your insightful talk and the Q&A session!

05TH MAY 2021
DR. GAR GOEI LOKE PRESENTS AT THE CDT SEMINAR SERIES

On 5 May 2021, Dr. Gar Goei Loke, Visiting Assistant Professor with the Department of Analytics & Operations at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, presented his recent work on Inventory-Responsive Donor Management Policy – A Tandem Network Model during the CDT Seminar Series. Thank you for joining us for this interesting talk!

28TH APRIL 2021
DR. DOMINIK GUTT PRESENTS AT THE CDT SEMINAR SERIES

On 28 April 2021, Dr. Dominik Gutt, Assistant Professor of Technology & Operations Management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, presented his recent work on The Rise of Robo-Reviews – The Effects of Chatbot-Mediated Review Elicitation on Online Reviews during the CDT Seminar Series. Thank you for the insightful presentation!

27TH April 2023

Interview of Prof. Jens Foerderer for the newspaper ZEIT Campus on IT career entry

Prof. Förderer was interviewed by the newspaper ZEIT Campus on the subject of IT career entry. Currently, many companies are looking for IT professionals and Prof. Foerderer answers questions on how lateral entry can succeed. Read the full article and Prof. Foerderer’s assessments here (in German).

30TH JANUARY 2023

Interview of Prof. Jens Förderer for n-tv on the wave of layoffs in the USA

Many big US tech companies are currently laying of thousands of employees. In an article by the German news outlet ntv, Prof. Jens Foerderer explains why the layoffs are happening now, and what is to be expected from the performance of the tech sector in the next years.

Read the full article and Prof. Foerderer’s assessments here (in German).

12TH DECEMBER 2022

WeltTV report with interview of Prof. Jens Foerderer

In a WeltTV report on the opportunities and challenges of metaverse technology, Prof. Jens Foerderer talks about the economic perspective of such mega projects. He takes a critical stance regarding the digital universes, calling their cost-benefit ratio into question: “There are indeed many application examples being discussed, but at the moment the real added value is still missing. From an economic perspective, one would have to say that the metaverse is as ingenious as it is insane."

Watch the entire report (in German): https://youtu.be/R4CMRb4ob-I?t=1141

Directly to Prof. Foerderers remarks: https://youtu.be/R4CMRb4ob-I?t=1565

21ST OCTOBER 2022

Interview with Prof. Sebastian Müller in business journal CAPITAL

Uncertainty leads to fluctuations in the capital markets and this causes sleepless nights for many investors. This is one of the reasons why you learn a lot about yourself in the current market environment, believes Prof. Sebastian Müller. What strategies would he recommend now? Learn more in his recent interview in the business journal CAPITAL here (in German).

10TH AUGUST 2022

Interview of Prof. David Wuttke on Deutschlandfunk about his study on the use of Augmented Reality in production

Radio station “Deutschlandfunk” recently interviewed Prof. David Wuttke about his study on Augmented Reality in production. Listen to the interview here.

18TH JULY 2022

3rd Anniversairy of the Center for Digital Transformation - Article in Heilbronner Stimme

In this interview, Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller reflects on the work and research of the Center for Digital Transformation over the past three years. The number of professorships and doctoral students at the TUM Heilbronn Campus is growing. Where do the research priorities actually lie? Read the article in the Heilbronner Stimme here.

16TH JULY 2022

Interview with Prof. David Wuttke in Heilbronner Stimme

A study by Prof. David Wuttke shows that employees can complete tasks in production more quickly if they are guided with AR headsets. However, the use of Augmented Reality also has disadvantages and can inhibit innovation potential. Read the interview with Prof. Wuttke in the Heilbronner Stimme here.

13TH JANUARY 2022

Social bots as a crisis instrument – Michaela Lindenmayr in an interview with the newspaper Heilbronner Stimme

The imitation of human behavior through social bots and the information dissemination at an unprecedented scale brings new challenges on social media, particularly during crisis situation. When people are susceptible to fake news, social bots are able to distort the public opinion and spread misleading content. In an interview with the newspaper Heilbronner Stimme, Michaela Lindenmayr, doctoral student of Prof. Förderer shared insights on her research on social bots and their use during crisis events. Further, she provides readers with some key recommendations about the identification of social bots and the critical questioning of social media content. The full article can be found here.

15TH JUNE 2021

SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE HUB TAKEN UP IN LOGISTIK HEUTE

The journal LOGISTIK HEUTE takes up the important topic of sustainable supply chain finance and reports, among other things, on our Supply Chain Finance Hub on 19 May 2021, organized by Prof. David Wuttke. Read the full article here.