On this page you will find a selection of our current and completed research projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), companies, federal and state ministries and foundations, among others. Do you have questions about the projects and the results? Talk to us.
A Smart Living Data Ecosystem to Promote Health and Sustainability
Description
Data is the raw material for data-driven innovation such as AI-based services. Thus, access to large amounts of data has evolved as an essential, strategic resource for companies. Unfortunately, data is often locked in proprietary data silos which hinders their economic and social potential to fully unfold. Moreover, in many markets the access to data is highly skewed giving gatekeepers owning vast amounts of data a competitive edge in data-driven innovations, especially regarding artificial intelligence (AI). Thus, for competitors or new market entrants these large, proprietary data silos owned bygatekeepers have erected high barriers for innovation and have led to a skewed level playing field.
To tackle the trend of emerging data silos the concept of data ecosystems has emerged—a dynamic and interconnected web of data sources, processes, and stakeholders. These ecosystems are characterized by the seamless flow of information across various channels and platforms, fostering an environment where data is not merely a static asset but a living, breathing entity with the potential to drive innovation and decision-making.
Data ecosystems encompass a diverse array of components, including dataspaces, cloud services, analytics tools, and the individuals who generate, manage, and utilize data. The interplay of these elements creates a symbiotic relationship that goes beyond traditional data silos, enabling a holistic approach to information management. As organizations increasingly recognize the strategic value of data, the concept of data ecosystems becomes paramount in understanding how data moves, evolves, and adds value throughout its lifecycle. The rise of big data, AI, and the Internet of Things has further accelerated the complexity and scale of data ecosystems, demanding a nuanced understanding of their intricacies. In this context, exploring the challenges and opportunities within data ecosystems becomes imperative for businesses and policymakers alike.
In the context of the Project Foresight Next an ecosystem is to be established that emphasizes on smart health and smart energy use cases facilitated by intelligent algorithms. Besides the technical challenges the focus is also set on the governance and business logic, within the ecosystem, as well as the general acceptance of the offered services and business models among all stakeholders.
Goal
The goal is to create a Smart Living ecosystem tailored to the needs of all market participants. Thereby all data can be found in a way that makes them universally usable across manufacturers and systems for the development and dissemination of sustainable, AI-based Smart Living services and applications, ensuring trustworthiness. Our emphasis is thereby set on establishing sound governance mechanisms based on the associated rules and roles within the ecosystem. On top of that we determine suitable business models for different ecosystem participants to ensure the ecosystem’s economic attractiveness. Lastly, we develop a framework to evaluate the acceptance of services among users to facilitate perceived benefit.
Funding
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Research project investigating the social, environmental, and economic challenges and opportunities arising from the metaverse
Description
The idea of a metaverse is currently one of the most discussed topics in the digital world. However, research findings on the current state of development, consistent definitions, possible players, and the expected market potential of the metaverse are scarce.
A study focusing on the area of public administration will therefore provide evidence-based, structured information on the following questions:
Approach
In terms of methodology, the first step involves comprehensive research and preparation of current studies on the topic of the metaverse. In addition, a Delphi study will be carried out, whose systematic survey procedure will allow a structured analysis of future trends such as the metaverse. To this end, selected experts (from the fields of regulation, industry, administration, science, consumer protection, health, education, etc.) will be interviewed in a multi-stage process.
Funding
Bavarian State Ministry for Digital Affairs
Research Project to Support SMEs in the Digital Transformation
Description
In an era where digital technologies are dramatically altering the business environment, the project "Digital Transformation of Mittelstand Enterprises" is playing a leading role. In particular, the project offers support to resource-limited Mittelstand enterprises that are faced with the complex task of transforming their traditional business activities into the digital world. To ensure the long-term competitiveness of Mittelstand enterprises, we provide scientific research results and practice-oriented recommendations for action to help Mittelstand enterprises successfully position themselves and grow in an increasingly digitalized world. Our approach combines academic research expertise and practical applicability to support these enterprises on their journey to becoming leaders in the digital world.
Goal
The main goal of the research project "Digital Transformation of Mittelstand Enterprises" is to formulate well-founded recommendations for action and systematic process models that are tailored to the specific requirements of this group of companies, based on an in-depth analysis of the specific challenges faced by Mittelstand enterprises in Germany. In addition, the project's goal is to integrate the acquired knowledge into academic courses in order to contribute to the education of future managers and scientists in the field of digital transformation.
Funding
Schick'sche Familienstiftung
Description
The possibilities of using artificial intelligence (AI) in human resource management (HRM) have increased rapidly in recent years. The application of AI-powered solutions in organizations is a part of the field of business informatics that deals with the development and use of AI in information systems which can perform tasks previously requiring human intelligence, such as logical reasoning, independent learning and problem solving.
Companies are also using AI-supported solutions to optimize various HRM processes and to improve and accelerate HRM decisions. As such, AI-based solutions are increasingly being used for talent acquisition, CV analysis and talent selection to speed up the recruitment process and allow HR managers time for strategic tasks. In addition, AI-based chatbots and virtual assistants are proving to be valuable tools for answering employees' questions quickly and easily whilst offering personal support. Even more complex HRM tasks, such as performance management processes, can be improved with AI-supported solutions by providing data-driven insights for employees and managers, thereby contributing to more objective decisions and more suitable development opportunities. Furthermore, AI-supported predictive analytics can be used to forecast turnover rates and proactively support companies in employee retention.
However, the implementation of AI in HRM also entails challenges, such as ensuring data protection and avoiding biases and discrimination in algorithmic decision-making processes, which in turn can have a negative impact on employees' perceptions of fairness, satisfaction and acceptance of AI. In order to use AI in HRM processes in an economically profitable way, it is therefore crucial for companies to find a balance between technological possibilities on the one hand and social and ethical concerns on the other. In this area of tension, employers must take action at an early stage in order to make targeted use of the potential of AI-supported solutions in HRM and to be able to counter any technical and social challenges and resistance.
Goal
The aim of the project is to determine and evaluate the potential of AI-based applications in HRM. The findings form the basis for the subsequent development of design recommendations and a process model for the implementation of AI projects in HRM.
Funding
Audi AG
Research Project on Digital Ecosystems
Description
Driven by technological progress and the need to innovate, research and business practices have recognized digital technologies as a key determinant of success to meet customers’ requirements. Digital technologies impact businesses across all industries by enabling a plethora of new ways to create, deliver, and capture value, blur industry boundaries, and accelerate the pace of change. Thereby, they shift the understanding of information technology from a mere response at the functional level to a fundamental driver of business value, which companies have to leverage to remain competitive.
Goal
Over the past two decades, companies used several approaches to deal with these changes. However, besides the recognition that cross-functional collaboration is essential and that the IT department should not only be seen as a cost center but also as a partner for business, more concrete knowledge on the implementation and effects of different approaches, methods, and instruments are missing. This is the aim of our research project.
Funding
IBC e.V.
Interdisciplinary research project to address the research question: How can organizations encourage their employees to act pro-environmentally in the workplace?
Description
The project funded by the German Research Foundation ran from July 2016 to December 2020 and addressed the following research question: How can organizations encourage their employees to act pro-environmentally in the workplace? As digital technologies have permeated every aspect of our daily lives, they offer great potential for promoting pro-environmental behavior (PEB), especially in the workplace. Yet knowledge about how to actually promote PEB with information systems (IS) in the workplace is scarce. A particular challenge is that the use of technology depends not only on technological features, but also on the usage behavior of others and organizational goals. Thus, our interdisciplinary project integrated technological, human, and organizational factors to understand how to encourage employee PEB by leveraging the motivating potentials of IS.
Results
Based on rich data from interviews, documents, observations at our partner companies, and experiments, we found that gamification and tailored feedback are effective IS-enabled ways for making environmental impact salient to attenuate the attitude-behavior gap in organizational and societal contexts. Additionally, we found that a sustainability shift in a company requires balancing and blending mechanisms to change the dominant institutional logic to incorporating sustainability.
Overall, our research setting and design delivers rare insights into IS-enabled organizational sustainability and provides two key findings. First, informating and automating Green IS affordances positively affect sustainability at the individual and firm level and second, organizational sustainability benefits from integrating individual knowledge and decentralizing responsibilities to the extent possible to more operational levels.
Selected Publications
Funding
German Research Foundation
Research Team
Anna-Raissa Seidler
Christopher Henkel
Kim Strunk
Anne Ixmeier
Data-based innovations, e.g. through artificial intelligence, require a great amount of data. However, data is often locked up in data silos of dominant gatekeepers. This prevents the broad use of data, innovation and competition and cements the supremacy of gatekeepers. The right to data portability in the GDPR and the DMA may provide a remedy.
Description
Many consider data to be the oil of the digital economy. Although the comparison is not entirely accurate, as oil is a private, exclusive commodity and data can be used multiple times by many without losing its value, both the availability of oil and data have led to ground-breaking innovation and economic growth.
As with oil at the beginning of the 20th century, today an oligopoly of dominant companies controls access to the most valuable resource of our time, namely data. Due to their dominant position in key online service markets, these gatekeepers are able to accumulate ever-increasing amounts of data that their users knowingly or unknowingly provide. This data is stored in proprietary data silos that give the companies owning it a competitive advantage in increasingly data-driven innovations, especially in the context of artificial intelligence. For competitors or new market entrants, these large, proprietary data silos owned by dominant digital platform providers have created high barriers to innovation and distort competition.
As a result, these gatekeepers are becoming increasingly powerful and use their data silos to expand into other markets based on their market power and user base. For a number of reasons, European companies lack these rich data sets, threatening future competitiveness and innovation not only in the online space but also in the AI space. Therefore, measures to revive competition and create balanced competition in the digital economy are essential.
In order to strengthen users' data sovereignty and enable data interoperability between online services, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced data portability as a new fundamental right for users. However, user awareness of their rights enshrined in the GDPR is low . Although the GDPR introduced data portability as a new user right to strengthen user choice and privacy protection and to boost competition in "tipped" online service markets, data portability is difficult to implement effectively in practice. As a result, data portability is still only a blunt sword. Apart from the low awareness and motivation of users to make use of data portability and the emerging solutions, technical obstacles such as a lack of standardization, compatibility and interoperability make data transfer between different online service providers difficult.
Result/Goal
Against the background of the problems mentioned, the project aims to investigate how the EU requirements on data portability can be implemented in practice as simple and effective as possible. Particular attention is given to user awareness and motivation, the evaluation of technical solutions and the economic impact of data portability. Based on these results, we design, develop and evaluate various informational, economic and technical solutions considering different levels of education, IT and economic knowledge.
Selected Publications
Funding
bidt – Bayerisches Forschungsinstitut für Digitale Transformation
Description
Not only legal regulations such as the Supply Chain Duty of Care Act or the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), but also customers and NGOs are interested in the tracking of supply chain processes. Against the backdrop of geopolitical, pandemic and climate-related crises, the transparency of supply chains is also becoming increasingly important for the resilience and sustainability of companies.
With increased supply chain transparency, companies can overcome serious environmentalchallenges from an ecological (e.g. environmental risks), social (e.g. child labor) and economic (e.g. product counterfeiting) perspective. As a result of global supply chains and increasing complexity, this problem is difficult for manufacturers with existing technologies to manage, regardless of their investment in established technologies.
In order to improve the transparency of supply chains, the use of blockchain technology promises new possibilities compared to established technologies. These include (1) the detection of weak spots in the supply chain, (2) verified and unalterable storage of data across companies and (3) the avoidance of unnecessary costs for the IT infrastructure.
Goal
The aim of the project is to investigate and test the extent to which blockchain technology can be used in companies to seamlessly track the final and preliminary products in the supply chain of a leading pharmaceutical company.
For this purpose, an industry-specific application is being implemented and tested in collaboration with a major pharmaceutical manufacturer. The aim is to avoid possible recalls caused by counterfeiting or inadequate product quality in the company's own supply chain.
Funding
Federal Ministry of Education and Research