Eldorado Community:
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/176
2024-03-27T11:47:51ZA shifting regulatory landscape: the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure and EU regulations on the judgments of investors and non-financial stakeholders
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42406
Title: A shifting regulatory landscape: the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure and EU regulations on the judgments of investors and non-financial stakeholders
Authors: Chrzan, Sandra
Abstract: This dissertation presents a thorough investigation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosures across four essays, examining its development, present implementations, regulatory shifts, and impacts on diverse stakeholders. Prompted by the European Union's European Green Deal, the growing focus on sustainability and the incorporation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into corporate strategies have led to an increased demand for transparent disclosure of companies' ESG performance. This analysis highlights a significant increase in sustainability reporting throughout Europe.
Nonetheless, a pronounced lack of consensus and standardization in CSR reporting is identified in this examination, particularly in Germany. The investigation progresses to analyze CSR disclosure's effects on both financial and non-financial stakeholders, addressing the challenges of information asymmetry and the evolving regulatory environment in the EU, which seeks to direct investments towards sustainable entities. The impact of CSR disclosures on corporate reputation among non-financial stakeholders is evaluated. Empirical results indicate no significant impact of CSR reporting on corporate reputation within this group, suggesting that CSR reports may not serve as an effective communication tool. In contrast, CSR disclosures via corporate websites are found to significantly influence corporate reputation among non-financial stakeholders. Further, we explore the EU taxonomy's effect on investors’ judgments, revealing that EU taxonomy indicators enhance transparency for professional investors. Notably, EU taxonomy indicators convey positive signals to private investors, even if the taxonomy indicators are below the presented industry average. Drawing upon these findings, the concluding essay discusses the legal implications for fostering green investments.
By merging empirical evidence with theoretical discourse, this dissertation aims to contribute to the understanding and development of CSR reporting. It highlights the critical need for precise, standardized reports taking into account the individual requirements of diverse stakeholder groups. This approach is intended to facilitate sustainable decisions and improve corporate reputation, in alignment with the EU's objectives towards a sustainable economy.2024-01-01T00:00:00ZInternational trade in the European Union
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42394
Title: International trade in the European Union
Authors: Kaliske, Maren
Abstract: The European Union stands as a remarkable example of regional economic and political integration,
fostering trade relationships among its member states through committing to joint laws
and policies. Despite all the EU’s successes, it faces constant challenges. This thesis combines
three chapters and reflects upon various dimensions of international trade within the EU. By
applying theory consistent structural gravity estimations this thesis sheds light on the influence
of converging and diverging political preferences, environmental policies, and infrastructure investments
on trade flows at both country and regional levels. The first chapter of this thesis
examines the interdependence of the political and economic integration process by raising the
question of how changes in the similarity in political preferences affect intra-EU trade integration.
The findings of this chapter suggest that member states converging to the EU’s political
mainstream experience a reduction in domestic trade and an increase in trade with other EU
member states. Building on the results of chapter one, the second chapter delves into the question
of whether differences in environmental policy preferences within the EU have given rise
to “pollution havens”. This chapter provides evidence for binding multilateral environmental
agreements successfully eliminating comparative advantages for emission-intensive industries.
The third chapter of this thesis shifts the focus of revealed policy preferences to the effect of
cohesion policy in the form of infrastructure investment. The results of this chapter reveal that
improved infrastructure helps facilitate trade and promotes economic linkages of NUTS-2 regions
thereby reducing persistent trade costs in the EU Single Market. The three chapters of this
thesis thereby deepen the understanding of factors determining and promoting trade integration
in the EU Single Market.2024-01-01T00:00:00ZCorporate disclosure and investor sentiment
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42388
Title: Corporate disclosure and investor sentiment
Authors: Beer, Christian
Abstract: Investor decision-making relies on accurate, timely information, but market efficiency theories and information asymmetry challenge the ability to outperform the market. Disclosure practices, including the emerging importance of ESG information, play a key role in shaping investor sentiment and market dynamics. Digital platforms, especially social media, have transformed how information is disseminated, influencing corporate disclosure practices and investor reactions. Behavioral finance highlights how psychological factors can lead to deviations from fundamental valuations. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the impact of external shocks on investor sentiment, with government interventions playing a critical role in market responses. Auditing, adapting to include non-financial information like ESG, remains essential in reducing information asymmetry, with modern data-analytic tools like Process Mining offering potential to enhance audit efficiency. This dissertation explores the interplay between financial reporting, news dissemination, auditing practices, and their collective impact on the capital market, highlighting the importance of active corporate communication, government response to crises, and the evolving role of auditing in maintaining market trust.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays on platform work: freelancers on digital labor platforms
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42343
Title: Essays on platform work: freelancers on digital labor platforms
Authors: Gussek, Lisa
Abstract: More and more people are working independently as online freelancers on digital labor platforms and the number of different projects mediated and coordinated on these online markets is increasing. We argue that the current understanding of platform work is incomplete. A mixed-method research strategy was used in this thesis. First, we collected and linked previous research findings to capture the status quo and derive avenues for future research. Based on this, we conducted four qualitative and quantitative empirical studies. First, we combined a latent-dirichlet allocation analysis of almost 3,000 forum posts from IT freelancers with an additional qualitative analysis. This was followed by two qualitative exploratory analyses using a total of 35 interviews with freelancers and clients on digital labor platforms and secondary data in the form of the personal online profiles and archival documents downloaded from the platforms. Finally, we analyzed a dataset of about 7,000 IT freelancer profiles using a negative binomial regression. Therefore, we develop a framework on digital labor platform research. By synthesizing findings from the literature, we develop a classification of forms of platform work and identify research gaps. Second, we synthesize and extend the challenges and identify discussion topics of online IT freelancers. We also illustrate specifics of IT freelancing. Third, we systematize the advancement, decline, and exit dynamics within a career model of online freelancing. We also define four underlying factors that alter freelancers' relationship with the platform. The probability of exit and the dependence and benefit of the platform change over time. Fourth, we illustrate the positive relationship between the use of signals and the success of IT freelancers. We develop a new signaling typology on digital labor platforms that includes three types of signals: activating, pointing, and supporting signals. Finally, we identify concrete IT-specific success factors. This work makes several contributions to theory and practice. We contribute to research on digital platforms by characterizing the forms of platform work, structuring and add-ing new aspects to the challenges of online freelancing, identifying success factors, and devel-oping a long-term and dynamic freelance career model. We also contribute to the platform literature that addresses specific platform mechanisms by explaining lock-in effects and switching costs related to platform power. We also contribute to the career literature by illustrating that the careers of online freelancers do not fit traditional career theories or perceptions of bounda-ryless or protean careers. We contribute to signaling theory by proposing a typology of signals and analyzing the signaling environment as an under-researched aspect. Moreover, we provide empirical evidence on the specifics of IT work on digital labor platforms. We also contribute to research dealing with skill obsolescence or IT teams. Finally, our results on the platform exit dynamics contribute to research on IT turnover. For practice, our results provide insights for online freelancers, organizations or individuals as clients and the platform owners.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZThe relationship between works councils and firms’ further training provision in times of technological change
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42270
Title: The relationship between works councils and firms’ further training provision in times of technological change
Authors: Lammers, Alexander; Lukowski, Felix; Weis, Kathrin
Abstract: Participating in further training is strategically important for employees to ensure their employability. Particularly for employees in low-skilled jobs, works councils — firm-level organizations that represent employees — constitute an important employee advocacy instrument in European countries, such as France and Germany. With comprehensive co-determination rights, works councils can influence firms’ hiring policies, job design and career paths (e.g. promotions). Using German firm-level data, we empirically investigate the influence of works councils on firms’ training provision for employees in firms below and above the industry level of technology. The results show that works councils have a positive effect on the percentage of employees in general, and of employees in low-skilled jobs in particular, participating in training, but only for firms below the industry level of technology. These results show the importance of works councils in supporting training in such firms and enhancing the employment prospects of employees in low-skilled jobs. In contrast, firms above the industry level of technology invest in training with or without a works council, indicating that the training interests of employers and employees are aligned.2022-09-14T00:00:00ZDigital gravity? Firm birth and relocation patterns of young digital firms in Germany
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42265
Title: Digital gravity? Firm birth and relocation patterns of young digital firms in Germany
Authors: Hellwig, Vanessa
Abstract: This paper analyses the spatial patterns of young (<10 years) digital firms in Germany between 2008 and 2017 on county level. Determinants of firm birth locations as well as relocations are considered jointly to understand differences in location choices within firms' life cycles. I match commercial register data of 107,321 firms with county-level administrative data to capture local characteristics. Using an OLS model with fixed effects, I find that the local knowledge base—that is, universities, research institutes, and colocated incumbents—are significant key determinants of digital firm birth when controlling for a host of local characteristics. My results indicate that for five firms per 1000 inhabitants, there is around one firm birth. Second, using a fixed effects gravity model for the analysis of relocations, I find that the most dominant explanatory factor for firm relocation across specifications is distance, that is, relocation costs. Relocation flows are more than twice as high to neighboring counties relative to other locations which shows that digital firms are not as footloose as their business model may suggest. Jointly, my results reflect economic activity's regional persistence, particularly for new firms. My paper provides evidence for policies targeting homogenous digital clusters based on strong colocation and that digital economic activity is not shifted over long distances, but the regional entrepreneurship capital is crucial for local growth.2022-09-23T00:00:00ZMit dem Rad oder mit dem Auto zur Uni? Ein soziologisches Modell zur Erklärung des Mobilitätsverhaltens
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42188
Title: Mit dem Rad oder mit dem Auto zur Uni? Ein soziologisches Modell zur Erklärung des Mobilitätsverhaltens
Authors: Weyer, Johannes; Hoffmann, Sebastian
Abstract: In der Verkehrs- und Mobilitätsforschung sind Konzepte verbreitet, die das alltägliche Mobilitätsverhalten auf individuelle Einstellungen oder auf die Wohn- und Lebenssituation der Menschen zurückführen und dabei Zusammenhänge zwischen Bündeln unterschiedlicher Variablen aufzeigen. Der eigentliche Entscheidungsprozess, also die alltägliche Wahl zwischen den Verkehrsmitteln Privat-Pkw, ÖV, Fahrrad usw., bleibt jedoch eine Black Box.
Der Beitrag basiert auf der These, dass es erforderlich ist, den Prozess der subjektiv-rationalen Verkehrsmittelwahl zu entschlüsseln, um so zu einem vertieften Verständnis des Mobilitätsverhaltens der Menschen zu gelangen. Der Beitrag verwendet daher ein soziologisches Modell der Handlungswahl, das systematisch erklärt, wie die Entscheidungen zustande kommen, die dem manifesten Mobilitätsverhalten zugrunde liegen, das in Kapitel 3 anhand des Modal Split der UA-Ruhr-Angehörigen skizziert wird.
Mithilfe von Daten aus dem Projekt InnaMoRuhr wird gezeigt, dass ein um Kontextfaktoren erweitertes soziologisches Handlungsmodell eine große Prognosekraft hat, da sich eine hohe Übereinstimmung zwischen modelliertem und realen Mobilitätsverhalten erzielen lässt. Dies hilft zugleich, Ansatzpunkte für Veränderungen in Richtung Nachhaltigkeit zu identifizieren.
Kapitel 4 skizziert die Grundzüge des soziologischen Handlungsmodells, das aus der analytischen Soziologie stammt und mit zwei Faktoren arbeitet: der subjektiven Definition der Situation und den individuellen Einstellungen bzw. Präferenzen.
Das zentrale Kapitel 5 versucht das Rätsel aufzulösen, warum viele Menschen, die das Rad am besten bewerten, es für ihre Alltagsmobilität nicht nutzen, sondern den eigenen Pkw oder den ÖV nutzen. Es identifiziert zunächst neun Kontextfaktoren, die zur Entwicklung dreier binär logistischer Regressionsmodelle (jeweils mit den Hauptverkehrsmitteln Auto, Rad und ÖV als abhängige Variable) genutzt werden, um den Einfluss dieser Faktoren genauer zu bestimmen und das oben beschriebene Delta zu schließen, das sich zwischen modelliertem und realem Verhalten insbesondere beim Fahrrad ergeben hat. Alle drei Modelle liefern zufriedenstellende bis gute Werte, wobei vor allem das Auto-Modell (Kap. 5.2) mit recht guten Werten hervorsticht.
Die Daten des Regressionsmodells werden zudem genutzt, um die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Auto-, ÖV- oder Fahrradnutzung zweier fiktiver Personen zu modellieren und zudem zu zeigen, welche Verhaltensänderungen möglich sind, wenn man die Kontextfaktoren variiert.
Das abschließende Kapitel 6 resümiert den theoretischen Ertrag der vorliegenden Analysen und verweist auf die Notwendigkeit, das basale Handlungsmodell der analytischen Soziologie, das mit den beiden Faktoren Präferenzen und Situationsdefinition arbeitet, um ein drittes Element, die Kontextfaktoren, zu ergänzen. Mit diesem erweiterten Modell des Mobilitätsverhaltens lässt sich eine hohe Übereinstimmung von modelliertem und realem Verhalten erzielen.2023-09-01T00:00:00ZThe innovator's media dilemma: how journalists cover incumbents' adoption of discontinuous technologies
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42172
Title: The innovator's media dilemma: how journalists cover incumbents' adoption of discontinuous technologies
Authors: Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz; König, Andreas; Banfield, Richard; Rauch, Markus; Boutalikakis, Angelo
Abstract: We offer a new vantage to the literature on the role of infomediaries in incumbent firms' struggles to adopt discontinuous technologies: the perspective of news media. Specifically, we combine the discontinuous technology literature with studies on news media journalism to theorize that journalists cover an incumbent's new product introductions differently, depending on whether a given new product builds on a discontinuous technology or on the respective established, continuous technology. First, discontinuous-technology-based product introductions receive a greater volume of coverage than continuous-technology-based product introductions because journalists prefer covering issues that are novel, deviate from the conventional, and potentially strongly impact society. Second, the coverage of discontinuous-technology-based product introductions is more divergent in tenor than the coverage of continuous-technology-based product introductions, as journalists seek to present opposing and thus more engaging opinions. Our analyses of unique archival data from two samples of product introductions in the automotive and photography industries, respectively, support our hypotheses. We also find intriguing indications that news media coverage of new products introductions using hybrid technologies is significantly context-dependent. Overall, our study points to so-far undescribed, media-related dilemmas for incumbent firms that aim to adopt discontinuous technologies.2022-11-18T00:00:00ZWe have got company – bystanders’ evaluations of organizational responses to user posts on social media
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42129
Title: We have got company – bystanders’ evaluations of organizational responses to user posts on social media
Authors: Raufeisen, Xenia
Abstract: Social media has changed our lives in many ways. The way we communicate is probably affected the most, since social media platforms turn audiences into communicators.
By facing these new challenges, organizations have to make sure, not only to satisfy the primary target audience, as it was with mass media before the rise of social media, but also satisfy the online community who observes marketing relevant interactions. The so called by-standers outnumber a single customer with whom the organization interacts with, and therefore they are an important target group. Thus, when organizations are interacting with online users, it is even more critical to determine how the by-stander evaluates the organizational behavior than the actual interaction partner. Altogether, the present dissertation aims to address these new developments by deepening the understanding of by-standers’ evaluation of organizational responses on social media. Two empirical research papers respectively address one of the two discussed major challenges for marketers. Paper 1 aims to investigate how companies should reply to complaints on social media to achieve favorable outcomes of by-standers. Paper 2 examines if the post type of information is crucial for users to determine credibility.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays on international trade and economic geography
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42110
Title: Essays on international trade and economic geography
Authors: Abashishvili, Avtandil
Abstract: This dissertation consists of three chapters in the field of international trade and economic geography.
The first chapter introduces endogenous workplace quality choice into an international trade model with a monopsonistically competitive labour market, in which firms compete for potential
employees by offering them a combination of monetary and non-monetary benefits. To attract
the workers required to produce for the foreign market in addition to the domestic market,
exporting firms have to offer more attractive compensation to their employees than comparable
non-exporting firms, which is why they are not only paying higher wages but also offering better
workplace amenities. The gains from trade, therefore, not only materialise in terms of a higher
purchasing power but also in terms of a higher average workplace quality. Welfare metrics,
which exclusively focus on real income gains, might underestimate the gains from globalisation.
The second chapter, co-authored with Lu Wei, studies to what extent trade liberalization affects regional production fragmentation. regional input-output data from the European Union (EU) to study the effect of trade liberalization on regional production fragmentation in the EU. We calculate the regional value-added to gross exports (RVAX) ratio to measure the intensity of production sharing across the EU NUTS2 regions. We exploit a unique policy variation associated with the 2004 EU enlargement – abolishing the trade-related tariffs between the EU states and ten new countries joining the EU. Using a gravity-style specification, we quantify the impact of regional tariff reduction on the RVAX ratio. Our findings reveal that a one percentage point decrease in tariff rate between EU member states leads to a 3.2% increase in regional production fragmentation as measured by RVAX. Our results could be interpreted as follows: EU regions facing higher tariff cuts after the EU enlargement got more engaged in cross-border production sharing and increased their trade with their bilateral partners through the regional value chains.
The third chapter tests the main prediction of Christaller’s (1933) central place property (CPP), which postulates that the smaller cities can always be found between larger cities. By collecting the data on populated volcanic islands, the spatial distribution of economic activity is matched to the key assumption of CCP, which dictates that all economic activity has to take place either on a line or on a circle. The urban areas on each island are identified using the Open Street map’s building data. The findings demonstrate that, on average, 70% of the size distribution of the neighbouring urban areas follows the spatial pattern predicted by CPP. The size distribution of urban areas in the data is then compared to the counterfactual counterpart obtained by randomizing the location of the cities on each island. A simple one tailed statistical test reveals that the observed and counterfactual size distributions of the cities in the data are significantly different.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in regional and labor economics
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42089
Title: Essays in regional and labor economics
Authors: Furbach, Nina
Abstract: Over the past decades, skilled and unskilled households in Western economies have been
making increasingly different location choices. College graduates cluster in dense, urban
regions to a considerably larger extent than high school graduates. This thesis tries to
make progress in understanding the driving forces behind the diverging location choices
of different groups of workers and their implications for regional disparities, policies and
welfare. It consists of three self-contained essays that investigate the causes and consequences
of geographic worker sorting using highly disaggregated microdata for Germany.
Chapter 1 examines to what extent regional disparities in housing costs drive geographic
worker sorting by skill. It further analyzes how place-based policies optimally respond
to the observed trends. Chapters 2 and 3 investigate the effects of sorting by skill and
demographics on regional wage disparities.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZCOVID-19 pandemic and capital markets: the role of government responses
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42072
Title: COVID-19 pandemic and capital markets: the role of government responses
Authors: Beer, Christian; Maniora, Janine; Pott, Christiane
Abstract: This paper analyzes the moderation effect of government responses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, proxied by the daily growth in COVID-19 cases and deaths, on the capital market, i.e., the S&P 500 firm’s daily returns. Using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, we monitor 16 daily indicators for government actions across the fields of containment and closure, economic support, and health for 180 countries in the period from January 1, 2020 to March 15, 2021. We find that government responses mitigate the negative stock market impact and that investors’ sentiment is sensitive to a firm’s country-specific revenue exposure to COVID-19. Our findings indicate that the mitigation effect is stronger for firms that are highly exposed to COVID-19 on the sales side. In more detail, containment and closure policies and economic support mitigate negative stock market impacts, while health system policies support further declines. For firms with high revenue exposure to COVID-19, the mitigation effect is stronger for government economic support and health system initiatives. Containment and closure policies do not mitigate stock price declines due to growing COVID-19 case numbers. Our results hold even after estimating the spread of the pandemic with an epidemiological standard model, namely, the susceptible-infectious-recovered model.2022-07-07T00:00:00ZBioökonomie-Start-up Puls 2023
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42069
Title: Bioökonomie-Start-up Puls 2023
Authors: Strese, Steffen; Flatten, Teresa; Kindermann, Bastian; Lentzen, Lena; Hame, Daniel2023-01-01T00:00:00ZInnovation and corporate governance in the firm - an empirical analysis with a focus on patents and ownership structure
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42051
Title: Innovation and corporate governance in the firm - an empirical analysis with a focus on patents and ownership structure
Authors: Grünebaum, Tim
Abstract: This thesis aims at better understanding the complete process of knowledge production in the firm with a focus on Corporate Governance. I theoretically and empirically investigate firm decisions on innovation throughout a concept called the Innovation Value Chain (IVC). This concept includes all relevant firm decisions regarding developing innovative strategies. It
starts at evaluating when firms innovate and – if they do – how much they invest in Research and Development (R&D) activities. Next it investigates which factors affect the transition from innovation input into actual tangible innovative assets. In case innovation projects are successful, I evaluate their actual value for the firm. Chapter 2 of this thesis offers a summary of the concept of innovation in the firm, a literature review on how it is affected by Corporate Governance, a discussion on innovation and patent measures as well as descriptive evidence on patenting activities of German firms. Chapter 3 investigates both the investment decision of firms as well as how these investments are transformed into innovative assets. These assets are – unlike in most other concepts – divided into different consecutive measures: Patent applications, patent grants and patent citations. In doing so we are able to address a project’s quality and novelty. A particular focus lies on the role of Corporate Governance in the form of ownership structure. It turns out that – whereas R&D investments are not affected by such structures – firms where managers own shares (owner-led firms) underperform in transferring investments into patents. Moreover – if they innovate – they rather focus on less risky
worldwide conformity in innovation. On the other hand it turns out that firms benefit from monitor ownership, thus owners in the supervisory board that tend to control managers. Other control channels like capital concentration and institutional ownership also do not
prove beneficial for firm-level innovation. Chapter 4 examines the effect of successful innovation on different performance measures. It turns out that patent grants and citations both increase sales in a production function environment, whereas there was no impact on return on assets and return on equity. Concerning ownership information the results again speak in favor of monitor rather than managerial ownership. Firms should thus endow monitors with shares to increase their effort and interest in the firm. Also owners should withdraw from management positions and rather carry out controlling duties. Chapter 5 focuses on the effect of innovation on firm survival. I am able to confirm the results from former studies that innovation decreases the probability of market exit. Furthermore the opinion of a stable effect throughout a firm’s life cycle is rejected. Whereas mature firms benefit from innovation by strategic renewal when competitors have caught up, young firms
should rather stick to conventional investments rather than risky innovation. In summary this thesis helps in better understanding the complete process of knowledge production within the firm. It addresses ownership structure as a crucial factor of Corporate Governance which can be chosen by the firm as well as the role of different patent measures and their impact on different performance dimensions. Firms are thus encouraged to pick adequate Corporate Governance techniques in combination with clear innovation and performance goals, as links can be complex.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZHow bricoleurs go international: a European cross-country study considering the moderating role of governmental entrepreneurship support programs
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42016
Title: How bricoleurs go international: a European cross-country study considering the moderating role of governmental entrepreneurship support programs
Authors: Kollmann, Tobias; Hensellek, Simon; Jung, Philipp Benedikt; de Cruppe, Katharina
Abstract: Research increasingly suggests that innovativeness and internationalization are two intertwined pathways to growth for entrepreneurial ventures. However, both ways can be resource intensive and thus challenging. Therefore, theory points to the emerging concept of entrepreneurial bricolage to explain how resourceful behavior helps entrepreneurial ventures thrive despite facing the challenges associated with growth. At the same time, recent studies increasingly emphasize the importance of institutional support for successful venture growth. Combining both streams, this study explores product/service innovativeness as a mediator in the relationship between bricolage and the degree of internationalization and further investigates the moderating role of governmental entrepreneurship support programs in this relationship. By drawing on a unique dataset of 681 European entrepreneurial ventures, we find that bricolage is an important means for entrepreneurial ventures that target foreign markets, as it fosters product/service innovativeness and thereby enhances a venture’s degree of internationalization. Interestingly, governmental entrepreneurship support programs do not affect the link between bricolage and innovativeness, but they influence how innovativeness translates into greater degrees of internationalization. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.2022-05-20T00:00:00Z(Schein-)Autonomie in der Wärmeversorgung
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/42005
Title: (Schein-)Autonomie in der Wärmeversorgung
Authors: Wesely, Karen Dagmar
Abstract: Zur Reduktion des Verbrauchs für Raumwärme und Warmwasser sowie Transformation des Wärmesektors bedarf es eines Ausbaus von energieeffizienten Wärmenetzen. Jedoch stellen geringe Anschlussquoten sowie fehlende Akzeptanz oftmals eine Herausforderung bei der Verdichtung und Neuimplementierung von Nah-/Fernwärmelösungen dar. Von besonderer Relevanz ist hierbei die Zielgruppe der Zwei- und Einfamilienhausbesitzer, die mit 16 Millionen die größte Kategorie im Gebäudebestand darstellt. Als möglicher weiterführender Erklärungsansatz für die Reaktanz von Hauseigentümern gegenüber einem Wärmenetzanschluss und die hohe Zufriedenheit mit (fossilen) Einzelgebäudeheizungen wurde sich im Rahmen der Dissertation dem noch weitestgehend unerforschten Konstrukt der subjektiv wahrgenommenen Versorgungsautonomie (VA) gewidmet. In einer ersten Studie wurden die Treiber und Hemmnisse von privaten Hauseigentümern gegenüber einem Nah-/Fernwärmeanschluss exploriert. Im Rahmen von 14 problemzentrierten Interviews mit Hauseigentümern und 8 Experteninterviews zeigte sich, dass insbesondere der starke Service-Charakter der Fernwärme, der Einfluss des Quartiers als sozialer Raum und vertragliche sowie technische Abhängigkeiten im Entscheidungsprozess eine Rolle spielen können. In diesem Zuge konnte zudem eine (Schein-)Autonomie – eine Diskrepanz zwischen subjektiver und technisch vorliegender Autonomie bei Einzelgebäudeheizungen – aufgedeckt werden. In einer zweiten Studie wurde im Rahmen einer standardisierten Umfrage mit privaten Hauseigentümern (n = 196) ein Messinstrument zur subjektiven VA im Wärmekontext entwickelt sowie nomologisch validiert. Zudem zeigte sich eine Wahrnehmungsverzerrung zwischen subjektiver und objektiver VA. In einem zweiten Modell konnten verschiedene Einflussfaktoren auf die Diskrepanz, wie die internale Kontrollüberzeugung und das Alter, nachgewiesen werden. Auf Basis der empirischen Ergebnisse wurden Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet, um (a) Eigentümer zu einem Wärmenetzanschluss zu aktivieren und (b) die subjektive VA im Rahmen der Wärmewende zu adressieren.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZDie Entmaterialisierung des Wertpapiers und seine ökonomische Bedeutung
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41352
Title: Die Entmaterialisierung des Wertpapiers und seine ökonomische Bedeutung
Authors: Kühn, Svenja
Abstract: Heutzutage vollzieht sich der börsliche Handel rein faktisch durch Buchungen zwischen (digitalen) Depots, ohne dass physische Wertpapierurkunden ausgetauscht werden. So nimmt es Wunder, dass elektronische Wertpapiere dem in Deutschland geltenden Recht lange fremd waren. Denn in Deutschland bildet das Sachenrecht, welches nur Rechte an körperlichen, jedoch nicht an unkörperlichen Gegenständen anerkennt, die rechtliche Basis zur Übertragung von Wertpapieren. Dies trägt dem Umstand Rechnung, dass Rechte nach wie vor in Papierurkunden verkörpert sind, um den sachenrechtlichen Übereignungsgrundsätzen zu unterfallen und damit den für den Rechtsverkehr wichtigen Gutglaubensschutz zu gewährleisten. Im Zuge der Einführung computergestützter Arbeitsabläufe und der fortschreitenden Digitalisierung führte der Gesetzgeber die Möglichkeit ein, statt der einzelnen Wertpapierurkunden lediglich eine über eine gesamte Emission ausgestellte Globalurkunde zentral zu verwahren. Andere Länder sind in diesem Bereich seit geraumer Zeit weiter. In Frankreich und in der Schweiz beispielsweise sind rein elektronische Wertpapiere — sogenannte Wertrechte — schon seit längerem gesetzlich geregelt. Deutschland hat erst kürzlich mit dem Gesetz zur Einführung von elektronischen Wertpapieren nachgezogen, welches am 10. Juni 2021 in Kraft getreten ist. Die Dissertation analysiert die bisherige Rechtslage hinsichtlich der Übertragungsmöglichkeiten klassischer sowie in Globalur-kunden verbriefter Wertpapiere. Im Anschluss an eine rechtsvergleichende Betrachtung wird sodann die deutsche Neuregelung rechtlich und ökonomisch bewertet.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZBeneficial, harmful, or both? Effects of corporate venture capital and alliance activity on product recalls
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41335
Title: Beneficial, harmful, or both? Effects of corporate venture capital and alliance activity on product recalls
Authors: Bendig, David; Hensellek, Simon; Schulte, Julian
Abstract: Despite growing numbers of corporate venture capital (CVC) deals and alliances, their effectiveness is not guaranteed. This paper investigates the positive and negative impacts of CVC and alliance activity on product safety under different levels of market turbulence. Using a resource-based learning perspective and panel data from large U.S. firms, we find that both CVC and alliance activity have inverted U-shaped relationships with product recall likelihood. Market turbulence moderates both relationships, but differently. We discuss how learning theory complements the resource-based view to understand why no or rather bold external venturing are less harmful than small-scale “stuck-in-the-middle” initiatives.2023-01-13T00:00:00ZThe double-edged sword of entrepreneurial orientation: a configurational perspective on failure in newly public firms
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41332
Title: The double-edged sword of entrepreneurial orientation: a configurational perspective on failure in newly public firms
Authors: Kindermann, Bastian; Schmidt, Corinna Vera Hedwig; Pulm, Jeldrik; Strese, Steffen
Abstract: This study draws on the notion of entrepreneurial orientation-as-experimentation to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm failure. For the context of newly public firms after their initial public offering, we hypothesize that EO reduces firm failure particularly in specific configurations of EO, working capital efficiency, and technological turbulence. In a sample of 2578 firms that went public between 1997 and 2018, we find support for this configurational perspective. We contribute to the entrepreneurship literature by showing that the relationship between EO and firm failure needs to be understood in the context of organizational and environmental factors.2022-07-06T00:00:00ZUser-centered requirements for augmented reality as a cognitive assistant for safety-critical services
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41323
Title: User-centered requirements for augmented reality as a cognitive assistant for safety-critical services
Authors: Bräker, Julia; Osterbrink, Anna; Semmann, Martin; Wiesche, Manuel
Abstract: Augmented reality (AR) is widely acknowledged to be beneficial for services with exceptionally high requirements regarding knowledge and simultaneous tasks to be performed and are safety-critical. This study explores the user-centered requirements for an AR cognitive assistant in the operations of a large European maritime logistics hub. Specifically, it deals with the safety-critical service process of soil sounding. Based on fourteen think-aloud sessions during service delivery, two expert interviews, and two expert workshops, five core requirements for AR cognitive assistants in soil sounding are derived, namely (1) real-time overlay, (2) variety in displaying information, (3) multi-dimensional tracking, (4) collaboration, and (5) interaction. The study is the first one on the applicability and feasibility of AR in the maritime industry and identifies requirements that impact further research on AR use in safety-critical environments.2022-12-19T00:00:00ZInheritance taxation, unemployment, and asset pricing in frictional labour markets
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41319
Title: Inheritance taxation, unemployment, and asset pricing in frictional labour markets
Authors: Glück, Kevin
Abstract: This thesis studies the role of labour market frictions for optimal taxation, unemployment, and asset pricing. Chapter 1 studies inheritance taxation of family-owned firms. Using administrative tax data, this chapter shows that generous deductions for family-owned businesses reduce effective inheritance tax rates in Germany. The tax code does not achieve horizontal equity. A tractable model rationalizes the deductions under incomplete capital markets. A firm that is not marketable and cannot hire an external manager needs an intra-family succession to survive. A firm liquidation causes considerable earnings losses for employees with match-specific human capital. Inheritance tax deductions for business assets, conditional on firm continuation, let firm heirs internalize these earnings losses and incentivize succession of the parents' business. The chapter analytically derives an optimal tax formula. In the baseline calibration, the optimal tax rate for small businesses is close to zero, while it is confiscatory for large firms. Chapters 2 and 3 study the co-movement of equity prices and labour market transitions. The chapters study whether extensions of the Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides (DMP) framework can jointly generate i) a high volatility of unemployment and stock prices, ii) the striking correlation of unemployment and stock prices and iii) a large equity premium. Chapter 2 globally solves DMP models with endogenous separations and wage rigidity. Models are parametrized to post-war U.S. data. Neither a model with cyclical fluctuations nor a model driven by a small autoregressive component of productivity growth can generate a large risk premium. Chapter 3 presents a DMP model with slow-moving habits and capital adjustment costs. The framework solves both the equity premium and the Shimer puzzle and reproduces the high correlation of employment and equity prices.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZThe entrepreneurial mind - torn between beliefs, attitude, cognition, and behavior
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41294
Title: The entrepreneurial mind - torn between beliefs, attitude, cognition, and behavior
Authors: Holesch, Mario
Abstract: Entrepreneurship is about making decisions: whether or not to exploit a recognized opportunity, how to interact with potential customers or competitors, which financial source to pursue, how to select a team, and many more. Most of these decisions are made under circumstances of imperfect information that involves a high level of uncertainty. Coping with such circumstances requires cognitive effort. While some individuals tend towards heartfelt cognition styles with intuitive decisions, others prefer analytical decisions from the head.
This work investigates the relationship between cognition styles and decision-making logics and additionally places constructs such as problem-solving ability, self-efficacy, or reflection skills as crucial determinants for entrepreneurial decision-making. In a twofold study, this dissertation quantitatively and qualitatively investigates how the determinants relate to each other and which insights could be derived from that investigation. Both studies contribute to the understanding of cognition styles and decision-making logics in an entrepreneurial environment. By introducing novel determinants to the Theory of Planned Behavior, this dissertation opens the door for practical and educational implications.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZChief digital officers: the state of the art and the road ahead
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41279
Title: Chief digital officers: the state of the art and the road ahead
Authors: Kessel, Lena; Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz
Abstract: There is a lively debate on chief digital officers (CDOs). Some practitioners stress CDOs’ critical role in recrafting digital strategies and accelerating digital transformation, while others predict their disappearance. Academics have also recently begun to study this new executive position and conducted research on CDOs which is, however, scattered across different disciplines and publication outlets. We conduct a systematic literature review that consolidates these initial gains in knowledge. Specifically, we integrate findings on theoretical lenses, research designs, and key themes in studies on CDOs and we propose a framework that organizes CDO research in three broad themes: antecedents of CDO presence, the CDO role, and consequences of CDO presence. We then build on identified gaps to develop an extensive agenda for future research on CDOs. For academic researchers, we not only offer a discipline-spanning overview of knowledge on the topic at hand but also provide useful direction towards fruitful avenues for future research on CDOs. For practitioners, we offer a summary of the current scientific literature on CDOs, including relevant insights on CDO appointments, governance, and performance consequences.2021-06-07T00:00:00ZIdentifikation von Fahrertypen im Kontext des automatisierten Fahrens
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41233
Title: Identifikation von Fahrertypen im Kontext des automatisierten Fahrens
Authors: Hellmann, Marco; Weyer, Johannes; Schlüter, Jan
Abstract: Im Straßenverkehr existieren unterschiedliche Konzepte zur Identifikation von Fahrertypen, die sich hinsichtlich Fahrverhalten und Einstellung zum Fahren unterscheiden. Im Rahmen der Automatisierung von Fahraufgaben gilt es zu überprüfen, wie diese Konzepte an die Herausforderungen veränderter Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion angepasst werden müssen und ob sich neuartige Fahrertypen identifizieren lassen. Auf Basis bestehender Typisierungen aus der Verkehrspsychologie sowie Erkenntnissen der Automationsforschung werden dazu die Konzepte des „Driving Style“ und „Driving Skill“ weiterentwickelt, um Fahrertypen im Kontext des automatisierten Fahrens zu identifizieren. In einer großzahligen Online-Umfrage wurden drei Fahrertypen identifiziert, die sich insbesondere hinsichtlich ihrer Einstellung zum automatisierten Fahren unterscheiden. In einer experimentellen Studie im Fahrsimulator kann anschließend gezeigt werden, dass diese Fahrertypen die Automation im Fahrzeug jeweils anders erleben und daher differenzierte Ansprüche an diese richten. Insgesamt deuten die Studienergebnisse darauf hin, dass die Akzeptanz des automatisierten Fahrens durch nutzergerechte Technik gefördert werden könnte. Die Ergebnisse dienen dazu, die jeweiligen Fahrertypen, ihre Einstellungen und ihre Nutzungspräferenzen im Kontext des automatisierten Fahrens besser zu verstehen und erste Ansatzpunkte für deren Berücksichtigung in der adaptiven Technikentwicklung zu identifizieren.2021-07-06T00:00:00ZThree essays on governance in exporter-distributor partnerships
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41228
Title: Three essays on governance in exporter-distributor partnerships
Authors: Ruoß, Fabienne
Abstract: This dissertation aims at contributing to the discussion on the influence of various governance mechanisms in international business. In particular, regarding exporters and their cooperation with independent foreign distributors, research reveals gaps in understanding how governance mechanisms work. Despite its relevance to successful export management, empirical studies on governance mechanisms applied in cross-cultural settings remain comparably scarce.
The dissertation comprises three essays investigating exporter–distributor relationships based on different methodologies. Essay I provides a detailed analysis of the state-of-the-art operation of various governance mechanisms (i.e., contractual governance, monitoring mechanisms, relational governance, incentive mechanisms) in exporter–distributor relationships. The findings of the study uncover inconsistent results within the four research areas and research gaps that generate promising avenues for future research.
In Essay II governance measures used by exporting SMEs to steer international distributors are explored. Building on 13 qualitative interviews with leading managers of German small- and medium-sized exporters, the best practices for distributor governance are examined. The purpose of this study is to broaden the knowledge regarding governance practices that are commonly utilized by SMEs to steer their international distributors; thus, this study contributes to distributor governance literature by investigating SMEs only. Additionally, this study contributes to existing research by developing a classification scheme that provides an overview of the governance activities applied.
In response to the autonomy of a foreign distributor and the competition between the manufacturers it represents, it is essential for exporters to develop a well-designed and effective governance strategy by resorting to various incentive and control measures. Current export research neglects the question of how different incentives affect the distributor and ultimately export performance and how these incentives interact when used simultaneously with control measures. Thus, Essay III is devoted to the influence of social and economic incentives on export performance and to the interaction of incentive measures with output and process control. Applying a standardized online survey, investigations of a sample of 189 German SMEs demonstrate that social and economic incentives, explained via distributor cooperation and distributor dependence, have a significant impact on export performance.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZThe spatial agglomeration of high tech industries: empirical evidence and theoretical explanations from a micro-perspective
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41211
Title: The spatial agglomeration of high tech industries: empirical evidence and theoretical explanations from a micro-perspective
Authors: Alsleben, Christoph N.2006-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: Generative probabilistic models, firm efficiency, and investor relations
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41202
Title: Essays in finance: Generative probabilistic models, firm efficiency, and investor relations
Authors: Krause, Miguel
Abstract: This dissertation consists of four independently written essays dealing with inference and prediction of financial data sets. The first part of this dissertation focuses on the inference element and contains two chapters that explore the question of how financial markets priced companies’ stocks during the market collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the beginning of 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic lockdown represented one of the most impacting exogenous shocks to financial markets in recent history, it led to a huge increase in uncertainty about a firm’s future cash flows. This environment thus allowed us to examine the drivers and characteristics that may make firms more resilient to crises and help to reduce investor uncertainty. The last two essays of this dissertation move away from the inference element and deal with the prediction of financial time series data using unsupervised machine learning methods. In the finance literature so far, machine learning models are mainly used for discriminative tasks, such as point forecasts or classifications. However, in this dissertation, we show how the finance literature can be extended by using generative probabilistic models, which aim to learn the underlying distribution of the data and are able to generate realistic artificial samples. Since time series in the real world are highly stochastic, probabilistic sampling has the advantage of providing a complete distribution of possible scenarios instead of a single prediction.2022-09-19T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: Sustainability in credit risk, carbon risk and portfolio theory
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41191
Title: Essays in finance: Sustainability in credit risk, carbon risk and portfolio theory
Authors: Aslan, Aydin
Abstract: In the ongoing and aggravating global climate crisis, the effects of ecological disruption on firms, investors, and society as a whole are being increasingly investigated in the literature. Physical risks, such as increasing average temperatures or rising sea levels, are believed to be the top climate-related risk factor for investors over a time horizon of 30 years and motivate the currently increasing demand for green assets. However, the empirical literature is divided on how green assets perform in comparison to non-green assets, and whether the firm performance is influenced by corporate social performance. Furthermore, the impact of implemented measures for greenhouse gas emission reduction on financial markets remains ambiguous. The underlying thesis covers these aspects and contributes to the growing strain of literature on sustainable finance. The first chapter investigates the relationship between ESG ratings and the probability of corporate credit default, while the second chapter focuses on volatility spillover effects between carbon emission allowance future prices and European stock market sector indices. The last chapter contributes to the understanding of how investors value sustainability under the classical expected utility theory using varying levels of risk aversion.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZHow do investors value sustainability?
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41155
Title: How do investors value sustainability?
Authors: Aslan, Aydin; Posch, Peter N.
Abstract: We investigate how an investor’s preference for sustainable assets in the portfolio varies for differing levels of risk aversion. Using a sample of 411 publicly listed firms in the S&P 500, we calculate financial and sustainability returns, on which the investor’s utility depends. We approximate the investor’s preference by the exponential and s-shaped utility function and optimize with regard to the sustainability preference. We find that with increasing levels of risk aversion, both minimum-variance and maximum Sharpe ratio type investors seek to incorporate sustainable assets in the portfolio.2022-11-30T00:00:00ZMensch und Technik in der digitalen Transformation
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41153
Title: Mensch und Technik in der digitalen Transformation
Authors: Hellmann, Marco
Abstract: Die digitale Transformation gilt als zentraler gesellschaftlicher Megatrend. Unklar ist jedoch, welche Veränderungen konkreter Arbeitsmerkmale mit der Digitalisierung einhergehen und welche Bedingungen für Beschäftigte belastend oder unterstützend wirken können. Darüber hinaus wird die Technikakzeptanz aufseiten der Beschäftigten bisher kaum empirisch adressiert. Hier knüpft die vorliegende Forschung an und verfolgt folgende Forschungsfrage: Wie bewerten Beschäftigte die Veränderungen am Arbeitsplatz, die mit der Digitalisierung einhergehen in Bezug auf die Förderung und Belastung ihrer Arbeitsfähigkeit und welche Bedeutung hat dabei die Bewertung der digitalen Technik? Die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse zeigen deutlich die Effekte der Digitalisierung auf: Über die Veränderung der Arbeitsbedingungen steigert die Digitalisierung die Arbeitszufriedneheit und die Motivation. Gleichzeitig werden höhere Anforderungen zur Komplexitätsbewältigung und Leistungsdruck erzeugt. Die positiven und negativen Effekte der Digitalisierung gleichen sich aus. Voraussetzung dazu ist jedoch eine adäquate Gestaltung des soziotechnischen Systems. Der Vergleich zwischen den beiden Fallbeispielen Logistik und IT deutet zudem darauf hin, dass sich die Gesamteffekte der Digitalisierung verstärken, wenn die digitale Transformation voranschreitet.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZEinflussfaktoren von Arbeitszufriedenheit im Kontext der digitalen Transformation
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41148
Title: Einflussfaktoren von Arbeitszufriedenheit im Kontext der digitalen Transformation
Authors: Schlüter, Jan Steffen
Abstract: Seit Jahren setzen sich wissenschaftliche Diskurse mit der Frage auseinander, welche Chancen und Risiken die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt auf Beschäftigte hat. Neue Möglichkeiten der Autonomie und Flexibilität stehen dabei potenziell zunehmenden Arbeitsbelastungen durch Verdichtung von Arbeit oder stärkerer technischer Kontrolle gegenüber. Bislang ist jedoch nur unzureichend geklärt, ob solche mit der Digitalisierung einher gehenden Veränderungen die Beschäftigten zufriedener oder unzufriedener machen.
Die vorliegende Arbeit greift diese Forschungslücke auf: Auf Basis arbeitspsychologischer sowie arbeits- und sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung wird ein Modell entwickelt, welches den Digitalisierungsgrad sowie dessen Auswirkungen auf Arbeitsgestaltung und Arbeitszufriedenheit erhebt. Zentrale Annahme ist dabei, dass bestimmte Faktoren der Arbeitsgestaltung (z.B. Work-Life-Balance, Autonomie und Beziehungsqualität zu Kollegen) die Wirkungsbeziehung zwischen Digitalisierung und Arbeitszufriedenheit vermitteln. Das Forschungsmodell wird mit einer repräsentativen Befragung von 1056 Beschäftigten in drei unterschiedlich stark digitalisierten Branchen (Gesundheitswesen, Logistik, IT) überprüft. Die Datenauswertung erfolgt mittels statistischer Regressionsanalysen sowie einem Strukturgleichungsmodell.
Die Analysen zeigen, dass der Zusammenhang zwischen Digitalisierung und Arbeitszufriedenheit ausschließlich über Faktoren der Arbeitsgestaltung vermittelt wird.
Je niedriger der Digitalisierungsgrad, desto stärker berichten Beschäftigte von subjektiven Belastungen wie hohem Technikstress und Arbeitstempo infolge zunehmender Digitalisierung. Dies wirkt sich negativ auf die Arbeitszufriedenheit aus. Je höher der Digitalisierungsgrad, desto geringer werden diese negativen Effekte. Im Gegenzug wirken sich mehr Faktoren positiv auf die Arbeitszufriedenheit aus, so beispielsweise steigende Autonomie und Flexibilität durch zunehmende Digitalisierung. Als wichtigste positive Einflussfaktoren der Arbeitszufriedenheit werden soziale Aspekte wie die Beziehungsqualität zu Kollegen und Vorgesetzten berichtet. Die Ergebnisse plädieren somit dafür, Digitalisierungsmaßnahmen stark branchenspezifisch zu gestalten. So ist den aufgedeckten Vorbehalten der Digitalisierung im Gesundheitswesen sensibel zu begegnen, beispielsweise durch Aufklärungsarbeit und Weiterbildungen sowie durch Technologien, die unterstützend und nicht kontrollierend wahrgenommen werden. In stärker digitalisierten Branchen wie der IT können punktuelle Maßnahmen die positive Einstellung gegenüber zunehmender Digitalisierung weiter verbessern. Dazu zählen Technologien, die den Austausch sozialer Beziehungen insbesondere bei orts- und zeitflexiblem Arbeiten fördern, und Rahmenbedingungen, mittels derer Beschäftigte ihre Work-Life-Balance selbstbestimmt an ihren Lebensphasen orientieren können.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZDie Echtzeitgesellschaft. Theoretische und methodische Herausforderungen der Soziologie
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41147
Title: Die Echtzeitgesellschaft. Theoretische und methodische Herausforderungen der Soziologie
Authors: Weyer, Johannes
Abstract: In kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit Armin Nassehi und Vertreter:innen einer digitalen Soziologie plädiert der Beitrag dafür, die sozialen Dimensionen der Digitalisierung in den Mittelpunkt zu rücken. Eine bislang kaum beachtete Entwicklung ist die Möglichkeit, komplexe soziotechnische Systeme in Echtzeit zu steuern.
Der Beitrag entwickelt ein soziologisch fundiertes Modell der Echtzeitgesellschaft, das auf einem minimalen Modell sozialer Systeme und dessen Weiterentwicklung zu einem Modell multipler sozialer Systeme basiert und es ermöglicht, steuerungstheoretische Fragen zu bearbeiten.
In drei Simulationsexperimenten zum Thema Verkehrswende wird demonstriert, wie dieses Konzept für empirische Studien genutzt wird, deren Ziel es ist, Szenarien künftiger Mobilität durchzuspielen zu Erkenntnissen über die Wirksamkeit steuernder Eingriffe zu gelangen.2022-11-30T00:00:00ZCorporate Social Responsibility: Untersuchung der Auswirkungen aktueller Entwicklungen und Berichtgestaltungsmöglichkeiten auf Unternehmen und Stakeholder
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41141
Title: Corporate Social Responsibility: Untersuchung der Auswirkungen aktueller Entwicklungen und Berichtgestaltungsmöglichkeiten auf Unternehmen und Stakeholder
Authors: Banke, Marius
Abstract: Corporate Social Responsibility stellt einen strategischen Ansatz zur
Unternehmensausrichtung dar, in dem der ausschließlich wirtschaftliche Blickwinkel auf
unternehmerische Entscheidungen um soziale und ökologische Aspekte ergänzt werden soll.
Aktuelle epidemische und rechtliche Entwicklungen wirken sich auf CSR-Maßnahmen in
Unternehmen aus und eröffnen neue Forschungslücken. Die vorliegende Dissertation zielt
darauf ab, einige der neu aufgekommenen und noch offenen Forschungslücken zu schließen,
indem die Auswirkungen der aktuellen Entwicklungen auf Unternehmen und Stakeholder
identifiziert werden. Neben einer Untersuchung eines Effekts der Corona-Pandemie auf CSR
in mittelständischen Unternehmen werden die Auswirkungen des Reformvorschlags der EU Kommission zur Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive sowie die Verabschiedung des
nationalen Lieferkettengesetzes auf Unternehmen festgestellt. Darüber hinaus wird in
einem quantitativen Forschungsdesign untersucht, ob mit einer gezielten CSR Berichterstattung eine positive Beeinflussung der Stakeholder möglich ist.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZThree perspectives on fertility treatment – a temporally extended and high-risk service and a conversational taboo
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41119
Title: Three perspectives on fertility treatment – a temporally extended and high-risk service and a conversational taboo
Authors: Grothaus, Jana
Abstract: According to recent estimates, one in six couples worldwide is—at least temporarily—affected by infertility. For those couples, fertility treatment is often the last resort, which, however, involves high levels of emotional distress. In the vein of transformative service research, the aim of this dissertation is to identify ways to enhance their well-being during this stressful period of life. In three papers, the researcher focuses on the long duration of treatment, the high risk of failure and the perception as a taboo topic, which are key sources of patients’ emotional distress.
In Paper 1, fertility treatment is considered as a temporally extended service, suggesting that patients’ well-being changes over time. Surveying 212 infertility patients at different stages of the patient journey, this paper aims to answer the research question, how emotional distress and fertility-related needs evolve (1) over the course of a treatment cycle and (2) across multiple treatment cycles.
In Paper 2, fertility treatment is explored as a high-risk service. Researchers have comprehensively studied uncertainty in consumers’ decision-making and how they cope with service failures, but little is known about how consumers cope with uncertainty while waiting for a service outcome. Building on 23 in-depth interviews with infertility patients, this paper explores strategies of coping with uncertainty in high-risk services.
In Paper 3, the focus lies on fertility treatment as a conversational taboo. While taboo topics used to be discussed only behind closed doors—for instance, in secluded online forums—they have recently begun to be discussed also on public social media platforms. In a netnographic study, the potential of social media with regard to the well-being of consumers confronted with taboos is outlined through the analysis of 69 infertility-related YouTube videos from various infertility vloggers.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZShared leadership and trust: A two study investigation of the relationship, antecedents and boundary conditions on several levels of an organization
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41107
Title: Shared leadership and trust: A two study investigation of the relationship, antecedents and boundary conditions on several levels of an organization
Authors: Marschalkowski, Maximilian M.
Abstract: In this dissertation, the reciprocal relationship between shared leadership and trust on different levels of an organization (top-management to team members) is investigated in two studies. Furthermore, the focus are antecedents and boundary conditions (empowering leadership, vision communication, voice, feedback seeking and perceives team support) that may shape this relationship.
We found at the top-management and middle management, by using a multilevel analysis, significant positive associations between organizational trust and empowering leadership, and empowering leadership and shared leadership. In addition, there was a significant positive mediation of empowering leadership for the relationship between organizational trust and shared leadership.
At team leader and team member level, by using a structural equation model, we found a significant positive relation of voice on shared leadership and perceived team support on team trust of the team leader.
Keywords: Shared leadership, empowering leadership, organizational trust, vision communication, voice, perceived team support, feedback seeking, followership-theory, trickle-down-effect, top-management2022-01-01T00:00:00ZLeadership 4.0
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41099
Title: Leadership 4.0
Authors: Nogga, Julia2022-01-01T00:00:00ZKlimafolgenanpassung in Unternehmen: Eine empirische Untersuchung von Motiven, Hemmnissen und Möglichkeiten zur Sensibilisierung von Führungskräften
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41073
Title: Klimafolgenanpassung in Unternehmen: Eine empirische Untersuchung von Motiven, Hemmnissen und Möglichkeiten zur Sensibilisierung von Führungskräften
Authors: König, Simon Manuel
Abstract: Zur Dissertation von Simon Manuel König mit dem Titel „Klimafolgenanpassung in Unternehmen: Eine empirische Untersuchung von Motiven, Hemmnissen und Möglichkeiten zur Sensibilisierung von Führungskräften“
Um das klimawandelbedingt zunehmende Risiko von Extremwetterereignissen zu bewältigen, ist es notwendig Maßnahmen zur Klimafolgenanpassung (KFA) zu ergreifen. Trotz der steigenden Gefahr und potentiell betriebsbedrohenden Auswirkungen sind viele Unternehmen nicht ausreichend auf die Folgen des Klimawandels vorbereitet. Um ein tiefergehendes Verständnis für den Prozess der KFA in Unternehmen sowie den Sensibilisierungsmechanismen von Führungskräften für die Risiken des Klimawandels zu erhalten, werden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit zwei Studien durchgeführt. In Studie 1 werden Motive und Hemmnisse auf Unternehmensseite anhand von 24 Fallstudien untersucht, die Aufschluss darüber bieten was Unternehmen von einer Umsetzung von Maßnahmen zur KFA abhält bzw. diese dazu antreibt. Dabei überwiegen die identifizierten Barrieren der KFA den Treibern deutlich. Zudem können einige Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen Treibern und Barrieren festgestellt werden, die je nach Ausprägung die KFA in Unternehmen anregen bzw. beeinträchtigen (z.B. das Erfahrungswissen der Führungskräfte). Studie 2 befasst sich mit der Sensibilisierung von Führungskräften hinsichtlich Klimawandelrisiken durch eine Sensibilisierungsmaßnahme. Hierzu wurde ein Online-Experiment durchgeführt. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass einzig die Durchführung einer Sensibilisierungsmaßnahme nicht ausreicht, um Führungskräfte zu sensibilisieren. Allerdings lassen sich unter gewissen Voraussetzungen Teilsensibilisierungen erzielen. Auf Grundlage der Forschungsergebnisse der beiden Studien werden Maßnahmen abgeleitet, die zur Anregung von KFA in Unternehmen eingesetzt werden können.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZEU-Beihilfen an gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41072
Title: EU-Beihilfen an gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen
Authors: Oehl, Benedikt
Abstract: Um die Funktionalität eines Gemeinwesens hinreichend gewährleisten zu können, ist durch den einzelnen Nationalstaat eine ausreichende Versorgung seiner Bevölkerung mit öffentlichen Dienstleistungen sicherzustellen. Die Bereitstellung dieser öffentlichen Dienstleistungen im Sinne einer Daseinsvorsorge obliegt innerhalb der Europäischen Union dabei den einzelnen Mitgliedsstaaten. Zur eigentlichen Leistungserbringung bedienen sich die Mitgliedsstaaten überwiegend privatwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen, welche mit dieser Aufgabenerfüllung betraut werden. Hierbei werden durch die Mitgliedsstaaten verbindliche Vorgaben für diese Dienstleistungen zur Daseinsvorsorge festgelegt. Aus diesem Umstand ergibt sich, dass diese Dienstleistungen für die erbringenden privatwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen oft nicht kostendeckend betrieben werden können und so folglich am freien Markt nicht im geforderten Maße erbracht werden würden. Aus diesem Grund gewähren die Mitgliedsstaaten den mit Dienstleistungen von allgemeinem wirtschaftlichen Interesse (DAWI) betrauten Unternehmen Zuwendungen, um die gemeinwirtschaftlich bedingten Aufwendungen zu kompensieren. Staatliche Zuwendungen stellen allerdings einen Eingriff in den freien Markt dar, welches dem Grundgedanken auf einen freien Wettbewerb innerhalb der Europäischen Union zuwiderläuft. Es stellt sich daher die Frage, inwieweit Zuwendungen an betraute Unternehmen mit dem europäischen Beihilfenrecht vereinbar sind. Diese Dissertation hat einerseits den Anspruch, einen Überblick über das europäische Beihilfenrecht zu offerieren und dabei die relevanten Begrifflichkeiten zu erläutern. Andererseits darzustellen, inwieweit diese Zuwendungen notwendig und geboten sind. Um die gegenwärtige Rechtsprechung der Europäischen Gerichte und die Entscheidungspraxis der Europäischen Kommission im Sinne eines dualistischen Systems im gebotenen Maße bewerten zu können, wurde eine quantitative Datenanalyse betreffend DAWI durchgeführt. Im Ergebnis kann festgestellt werden, dass sowohl der Anteil von Daseinsvorsorgeleistungen in den einzelnen Mitgliedsstaaten wie auch das einzelstaatliche Verständnis der Begrifflichkeiten stark heterogen ist. Das Europäische Beihilfenrecht berücksichtigt dieses hinreichend und bietet den einzelnen Akteuren ein ausreichendes Regelwerk an, um einen guten Interessenausgleich zwischen diesen Antipoden zu gewährleisten. Im Zuge des gesamtgesellschaftlich stattfindenden Wandels, zeigt sich das europäische Beihilfenrecht nicht nur als statisches Konstrukt, sondern trägt diesem dynamischen Anpassungsprozess auch unter Zuhilfenahme seiner umfassenden historischen Genese gebührend Rechnung.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZStructural vector autoregressions and information in moments beyond the variance
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41066
Title: Structural vector autoregressions and information in moments beyond the variance
Authors: Keweloh, Sascha Alexander
Abstract: This dissertation is concerned with the estimation of the simultaneous interaction in non-
Gaussian SVAR models using generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators with higher-
order moment conditions. The dissertation contributes to the literature by providing identification
results using higher-order moment conditions derived from the assumption of independent structural shocks, by proposing modifications to the GMM estimation procedure to improve the small sample performance in the presence of higher-order moment conditions, and by developing a framework to combine traditional restriction based approaches with data-driven identification and estimation approaches.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZESG ratings in the corporate reporting of DAX40 companies in Germany: effects on market participants
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41043
Title: ESG ratings in the corporate reporting of DAX40 companies in Germany: effects on market participants
Authors: Banke, Marius; Lenger, Stephanie; Pott, Christiane
Abstract: This study identifies to what extent DAX40 companies integrate ESG rating information into their reporting and whether the disclosure of ESG ratings results has a positive impact on professional and non-professional stakeholders, and thus represents a benefit for the reporting company. Our study shows that 82.5% of DAX40 companies report ESG rating results and we find that the disclosure of ESG rating results is a useful method for reporting companies (compared to non-reporters), as it leads to higher stock prices and better reputations. Considering that ESG rating results can differ substantially among different agencies, therefore, even companies with mixed ESG rating results benefit from reporting. In addition, our results support the literature that non-professional stakeholders use low-threshold information offers as an information channel. We show that companies that additionally report their ESG rating results on company websites generate higher reputation scores compared to companies that do not report their rating results on their websites.2022-08-08T00:00:00Z“I made it work”: how using a self-assembled product increases task performance
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41011
Title: “I made it work”: how using a self-assembled product increases task performance
Authors: Köcher, Sören; Wilcox, Keith
Abstract: Although it is well established that consumers have an increased valuation for self-assembled products, less is known about how using such products influences objective consumption outcomes. Across three experiments, the current research demonstrates that consumers perform better on tasks when they use a product they have self-assembled—as opposed to an identical but ready-to-use product. We show that this effect results from an increase in self-efficacy and rule out possible alternative accounts (i.e., product efficacy beliefs, performance motivation, feelings of psychological ownership, and product liking). In addition, we demonstrate that the self-assembly effect emerges only when consumers actually use the self-assembled product, is robust when product assembly requires different amounts of time and effort, and is not merely the result of a question-behavior effect. Theoretical contributions and opportunities for future research are discussed.2021-06-14T00:00:00ZFour essays on the complexity of entrepreneurial ecosystems
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40987
Title: Four essays on the complexity of entrepreneurial ecosystems
Authors: Haarhaus, Tim
Abstract: Over the course of the last decade, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has emerged as a popular approach to examine entrepreneurial activity within regional agglomerations and the relationships between the stakeholders of such systems. Building on the growing body of literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems, this doctoral dissertation aims to improve the understanding of how entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve and how digitalization influences the broader entrepreneurial landscape. In order to answer these guiding research questions, a range of methodological approaches is employed, including nonlinear time series analysis, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), literature reviews and network analysis. Essentially, it is found that (1) the evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems exhibits features of deterministic chaos, (2) specific combinations of digital technologies and infrastructures are conducive to high or low to medium levels of start-up activity in entrepreneurial ecosystems, (3) ecosystems can be categorized by five overarching ecosystem characteristics and five generic ecosystem types, and (4) prominent APIs from incumbent companies represent crucial resources for health start-ups that operate in the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem.2022-04-01T00:00:00ZShort-run shocks, longer-run consequences: how business cycle fluctuations affect technological progress
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40975
Title: Short-run shocks, longer-run consequences: how business cycle fluctuations affect technological progress
Authors: Seepe, Andre
Abstract: This dissertation is composed of four self-contained chapters and complements the recent stream of literature that tries to integrate short-run business cycle fluctuations and long-run technological progress. It therefore adds endogenous technological progress to otherwise standard real business cycle models and takes a look on the longer-run
implications of classical business cycle shocks. The first chapter analyses how matching efficiency shocks affect the firm's innovation decision. It is noted that the
slowdown in TFP growth during the Great Recession was accompanied by an outward shift in the Beveridge Curve, which is typically thought to be induced by a strong decline in matching efficiency during this time. It is argued that this outward shift in the Beveridge Curve was a major contributor to the slowdown in endogenous TFP growth. The second
chapter deals with the longer-run effects of inflation target shocks. If the inflation target is increased, the economy experiences a period of adjustment to the new long-run
inflation rate. In a Newkeynesian model, price markups decrease during this period and thus the gain of innovation. The empirical assessment of the model shows that longer-run
changes in the inflation target due to inflation target shocks reduce technological progress. The third chapter takes a look at monetary policy and stock market shocks from a
more econometric point of view. It is argued that neither short- nor long-run restrictions can be used to identify the SVAR here. A partly recursive, partly data-driven
identification scheme to solve this identification problem is proposed and monetary policy shocks are found to have an instantaneous and long-run negative effect on stock prices and output. The fourth chapter examines the effect of true news and noise on technological progress in an SVAR. It is assumed that stock prices and research spending
contain information regarding news, while researchers have an informational advantage concerning the truth of research related news. The main result is that true news shocks
lead to an immediate increase in research spending and stock prices, while noise shocks that induce the same stock price reaction are associated with a much more cautious response in research spending and a weaker effect on stock prices.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZThe politics of piracy: political ideology and the usage of pirated online media
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40958
Title: The politics of piracy: political ideology and the usage of pirated online media
Authors: Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz; Goyal, Tarun; Ouardi, Yannick; König, Andreas
Abstract: There is a lack of clarity in information systems research on which factors lead people to use or not use technologies of varying degrees of perceived legality. To address this gap, we use arguments from the information systems and political ideology literatures to theorize on the influence of individuals’ political ideologies on online media piracy. Specifically, we hypothesize that individuals with a more conservative ideology, and thus lower openness to experience and higher conscientiousness, generally engage in less online media piracy. We further hypothesize that this effect is stronger for online piracy technology that is legally ambiguous. Using clickstream data from 3873 individuals in the U.S., we find that this effect in fact exists only for online media piracy technologies that are perceived as legally ambiguous. Specifically, more conservative individuals, who typically have lower ambiguity intolerance, use (legal but ambiguously perceived) pirated streaming websites less, while there is no difference for the (clearly illegal) use of pirated file sharing websites.2021-10-19T00:00:00ZCrossover of resources within formal ties: how job seekers acquire psychological capital from employment counselors
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40956
Title: Crossover of resources within formal ties: how job seekers acquire psychological capital from employment counselors
Authors: Schmidt, Corinna Vera Hedwig; Flatten, Tessa Christina
Abstract: Unemployed job seekers experience stress which impedes their job search. Research suggests that psychological capital is a key resource which enables job seekers to cope with their stress. Yet it is still unclear how they acquire this key resource. During job search, job seekers engage in task-oriented, infrequent interactions with counselors in employment agencies and establish formal ties. We explore these largely neglected formal ties and draw on conservation of resources theory and the crossover model to show that psychological capital crosses over from counselors to job seekers. We examine 209 dyads collected from two sources—counselors and job seekers—in an employment agency in Germany. Our hierarchical linear modeling results support the crossover of psychological capital within formal ties: Our results indicate that counselors' psychological capital impacts job seekers' psychological capital, which in turn lowers their stress. This relationship is mediated by job seekers' perception of counselors' social support. This study advances research on job loss and the crossover model as it explains the transfer of key resources within an institutional context characterized by formal ties, and it reveals social support as underlying mechanism. The practical implication is that counselors serve as enablers transferring key resources to job seekers.2021-10-28T00:00:00ZDo firms hedge in order to avoid financial distress costs? New empirical evidence using bank data
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40935
Title: Do firms hedge in order to avoid financial distress costs? New empirical evidence using bank data
Authors: Hahnenstein, Lutz; Köchling, Gerrit; Posch, Peter N.
Abstract: We present a new approach to test empirically the financial distress costs theory of corporate hedging. We estimate the ex-ante expected financial distress costs, which serve as a starting point to construct further explanatory variables in an equilibrium setting, as a fraction of the value of an asset-or-nothing put option on the firm's assets. Using single-contract data of the derivatives' use of 189 German middle-market companies that stems from a major bank as well as Basel II default probabilities and historical accounting information, we are able to explain a significant share of the observed cross-sectional differences in hedge ratios. Hence, our analysis adds further support for the financial distress costs theory of corporate hedging from the perspective of a financial intermediary.2020-08-11T00:00:00ZPredicting managers' mental health across countries: using country-level COVID-19 statistics
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40920
Title: Predicting managers' mental health across countries: using country-level COVID-19 statistics
Authors: Li, Lun; Zhang, Stephen X.; Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz
Abstract: Background: There is limited research focusing on publicly available statistics on the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as predictors of mental health across countries. Managers are at risk of suffering from mental disorders during the pandemic because they face particular hardship.
Objective: We aim to predict mental disorder (anxiety and depression) symptoms of managers across countries using country-level COVID-19 statistics.
Methods: A two-wave online survey of 406 managers from 26 countries was performed in May and July 2020. We used logistic panel regression models for our main analyses and performed robustness checks using ordinary least squares regressions. In the sample, 26.5% of managers reached the cut-off levels for anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7; GAD-7) and 43.5% did so for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9) symptoms.
Findings: We found that cumulative COVID-19 statistics (e.g., cumulative cases, cumulative cases per million, cumulative deaths, and cumulative deaths per million) predicted managers' anxiety and depression symptoms positively, whereas daily COVID-19 statistics (daily new cases, smoothed daily new cases, daily new deaths, smoothed daily new deaths, daily new cases per million, and smoothed daily new cases per million) predicted anxiety and depression symptoms negatively. In addition, the reproduction rate was a positive predictor, while stringency of governmental lockdown measures was a negative predictor. Individually, we found that the cumulative count of deaths is the most suitable single predictor of both anxiety and depression symptoms.
Conclusions: Cumulative COVID-19 statistics predicted managers' anxiety and depression symptoms positively, while non-cumulative daily COVID-19 statistics predicted anxiety and depression symptoms negatively. Cumulative count of deaths is the most suitable single predictor of both anxiety and depression symptoms. Reproduction rate was a positive predictor, while stringency of governmental lockdown measures was a negative predictor.2022-05-19T00:00:00ZPersonal resources and leadership behavior
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40913
Title: Personal resources and leadership behavior
Authors: Hartmann, Nele
Abstract: This dissertation examines the role of leaders’ personal resources in the work-related context. The main goal is to explore the influence of leaders’ mindfulness and resilience on leadership behavior and employees’ work-related outcomes based on the integrative framework by Good et al. (2016). The first study explores leaders’ mindfulness and resilience as potential antecedents of servant and destructive leadership and the mediating effect of these leadership behaviors regarding employees’ trust in the leader and perceived psychological safety climate. The second study investigates the mediating effect of servant leadership between leaders’ mindfulness as well as leaders’ resilience and employees’ perceived stress. The third study explores potential relationships between heart rate variability as indicator for resilience and constructive (servant, transformational, and transactional) leadership behavior as well as whether changes in heart rate variability due to a stressful event are related to resilience. In summary, this dissertation reveals insights regarding personal resources and leadership behavior. Identifying the role of leaders’ mindfulness and resilience as antecedents of servant and destructive leadership represents a major step towards the understanding of leadership behavior. Furthermore, servant leadership represents an important leadership behavior regarding employees’ perceived psychological safety climate, stress, and trust in the leader. Furthermore, it shows insight in neurophysiological processes in the organizational context and their effects on leadership behavior.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZEducation: optimal choice and efficient policy
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40842
Title: Education: optimal choice and efficient policy
Authors: Richter, Wolfram F.; Schneider, Kerstin
Abstract: This paper argues that it suffices to assume distortionary wage taxation to prove the efficiency of effective subsidization of education. The paper does not rely on considerations of equity and market failure to justify subsidies. Instead, the optimal subsidy reduces the social cost of distortive wage taxation. The theoretical approach assumes a Mincer-type earnings function, analyzes corner solutions of optimal schooling choice and derives the result of efficient subsidization in a Ramsey-type framework. Second-best policy is confronted with empirical evidence from OECD countries. The majority of countries are shown to subsidize tertiary education in effective terms.2021-08-11T00:00:00ZEfficiency and distributional effects of German labor market institutions
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40840
Title: Efficiency and distributional effects of German labor market institutions
Authors: Lammers, Alexander
Abstract: This thesis expands knowledge on the efficiency and distributional effects of German labor market institutions. Chapter 2 considers the relevance of employee representation institutions for innovative output and disentangles the relationship between statutory and voluntary representation in this regard. This chapter finds positive effects of voluntary employee representation for incremental and radical product and for process innovation. Chapter 3 combines the concept of the social exchange theory within employee-employer related research. Using a dynamic difference-in-differences framework combined with matching algorithms, results from this chapter add to the previous literature and provide evidence that voluntary representation institutions raise labor productivity by 8 to 12 percent. In addition to employee representation, this thesis also broadens the perspective and investigates consequences of the Hartz reforms, i.e. changes in labor market institutions induced by Hartz III and Hartz IV. In this regard, empirical findings in Chapter 4 provide evidence that establishments that use the Federal Employment Agency as their recruitment channel, realize an increase in employment growth compared to establishments, which do not use the placement services. Finally, the results of chapter 5 indicate that labor market institutions also generate distributional effects. The Hartz IV reform exogenously reduces alternative wages and thus provides the opportunity to investigate this exogenous reduction in the outside option in wage bargaining in fine detail. First, structural break algorithms identify the Hartz IV policy reform as a significant change point in the labor share. Second, a synthetic control approach and a variant of a difference-in-differences framework are applied using unemployment rate variation among German counties in the year 2002 as a measure of treatment intensity. Results of this chapter contribute to the debate on income distribution and indicate that the Hartz IV reform results in a persistent reduction of the labor share by about two percentage points. In summary, the results of this thesis show that manager-initiated voluntary forms of representation are beneficial for establishments in terms of innovative output and labor productivity. Moreover, institutional changes induced by the Hartz III reform benefit establishments in terms of employment growth. Regarding distributional effects, employees seem to bear the cost in terms of lower labor shares during this period in Germany. To summarize and considering the empirical findings of this thesis, future designs and reforms of labor market institutions should therefore carefully balance efficiency gains with equity considerations.2022-01-01T00:00:00ZUnderstanding the effect of market orientation on circular economy practices: the mediating role of closed-loop orientation in German SMEs
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40813
Title: Understanding the effect of market orientation on circular economy practices: the mediating role of closed-loop orientation in German SMEs
Authors: Schmidt, Corinna Vera Hedwig; Kindermann, Bastian; Behlau, Cassian Felix; Flatten, Tessa Christina
Abstract: The implementation of circular economy (CE) practices is considered a key driver towards sustainable development of firms. Earlier studies point to the general strategic approach of market orientation as an antecedent to CE practice implementation. Still, insights are limited as the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Based on a sample of 121 German small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), we empirically examine how the strategic approach of closed-loop orientation mediates the relationship between market orientation and the implementation of three types of CE practices. Using structural equation modelling, we find that while market orientation is positively related to all three types of CE practices, closed-loop orientation mediates these relationships for only two. Our study extends CE literature by suggesting that market orientation is translated into closed-loop orientation to spur CE practice implementation. We also offer a differentiated understanding of CE practice implementation in the context of German SMEs.2021-07-21T00:00:00ZIs the readability of abstracts decreasing in management research?
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40811
Title: Is the readability of abstracts decreasing in management research?
Authors: Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz
Abstract: The readability of scientific texts is critical for the successful distribution of research findings. I replicate a recent study which found that the abstracts of scientific articles in the life sciences became less readable over time. Specifically, I sample 28,345 abstracts from 17 of the leading journals in the field of management and organization over 3 decades, and study two established indicators of readability over time, namely the Flesch Reading Ease and the New Dale–Chall Readability Formula. I find a modest trend towards less readable abstracts, which leads to an increase in articles that are extremely hard to read from 12% in the first decade of the sample to 16% in the final decade of the sample. I further find that an increasing number of authors partially explains this trend, as do the use of scientific jargon and corresponding author affiliations with institutions in English-speaking countries. I discuss implications for authors, reviewers, and editors in the field of management.2021-05-31T00:00:00ZVermenschlichung der Technik? Die Interaktion von Menschen und künstlicher Intelligenz in alltäglichen Kontexten
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40735
Title: Vermenschlichung der Technik? Die Interaktion von Menschen und künstlicher Intelligenz in alltäglichen Kontexten
Authors: Weyer, Johannes
Abstract: Wenn autonome Autos – mit künstlicher Intelligenz an Bord – eines Tages im Straßenverkehr auftauchen, werden sie uns Menschen als Fußgänger:innen oder Radfahrer:innen in alltäglichen Kontexten begegnen. Um komplexe Situationen etwa an einer Straßenkreuzung zu bewältigen, müssen sie zu sozialer Interaktion in der Lage sein, also menschliches Verhalten nicht nur verstehen, sondern sich auch verständlich machen, z.B. durch Blickkontakt oder Gesten. Künstliche Intelligenz führt also genau zu dem Gegenteil dessen, was sie verspricht: Der Mensch wird nicht überflüssig, sondern die Technik wird vermenschlicht. Ob es wünschenswert ist, mit Maschinen zusammenzuleben, die soziale Wesen mit menschlichen Eigenschaften sind, lässt der Beitrag bewusst offen.2022-02-17T00:00:00ZDance your way through entrepreneurial irrationality, errors, and rejection: unveiling entrepreneurial cognition, decisions, and learning under complex circumstances
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40673
Title: Dance your way through entrepreneurial irrationality, errors, and rejection: unveiling entrepreneurial cognition, decisions, and learning under complex circumstances
Authors: Dinh, Anh Phuong
Abstract: The entrepreneurial journey is an emotional rollercoaster with unpredictable ups and downs, and entrepreneurial actions are performed in an ill-defined environment. For educational psychologists, the strengthening of students’ abilities to solve and reflect on ill-defined situations of the venturing process is the main learning objective. The discipline of entrepreneurship can benefit from research that enables clarification towards the entrepreneurial context and understanding of the individual’s behavior that promotes new venture formation. Hence, this dissertation contributes to establishing a better understanding of the complex and dynamic entrepreneurial context and particularly on the cognitive aspects that facilitate entrepreneurial activities. The focus lies particularly on promoting academic entrepreneurship. There is growing recognition that research on college students is central to the development of entrepreneurial activities and this group should receive higher attention. For this purpose, four studies have been carried out to provide novel insights into entrepreneurial cognition, learning, and academic entrepreneurship.
The first study is dedicated to detangling the complex nature of the entrepreneurial environment. Literature calls for novel research that provides more clarity on the role of rationality that enables to unveil the relationship between the precarious circumstances and entrepreneurial action. More so, integrating the concept of rationality in entrepreneurship education can help prepare college students towards situations in which lack of information is dominant. While the first study strives to understand the contextual environment of entrepreneurial decisions, the second study investigates entrepreneurial activities from a cognitive-psychological point of view. A central concept for entrepreneurial activities is opportunity recognition. The second study focuses on cognitive factors that affect the process of opportunity recognition. The intention of this study is to explain the emergence of entrepreneurial opportunities and to contribute to differentiating between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs.
The third study continues with analyzing factors that influence entrepreneurial activities and examines the impact of entrepreneurial rejection on the individual’s decision to continue with the entrepreneurial opportunity. Finally, the last study is dedicated to understanding troubling concepts during the process of entrepreneurial learning. Entrepreneurship education bears the potential to equip future entrepreneurs with the entrepreneurial competencies required to deal with challenging situations during the venturing process. Thus, the final study investigates troublesome knowledge in entrepreneurship education in order to provide practical implications for dealing with these obstacles.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: The impact of trust, firm efficiency, investor relations, and operational leanness on financial markets
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40647
Title: Essays in finance: The impact of trust, firm efficiency, investor relations, and operational leanness on financial markets
Authors: Neukirchen, Daniel Lukas
Abstract: This dissertation consists of four essays and aims to contribute to a better understanding of financial markets and investor behavior. The first three essays focus on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, which constituted an exogenous shock to a firm’s future cash flows and thus led to market collapse. Given the dramatic downturn, the COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to examine how market participants evaluate the importance of certain firm characteristics for the firm’s ability to generate future cash flows and also how characteristics of countries and societies influence capital market outcomes. In Essay 1, we therefore provide evidence that societal trust and trust in the country’s government significantly reduced stock market volatility in reaction to COVID-19 case announcements during the crisis period. We relate this result to trust alleviating uncertainty among investors about the country’s ability to overcome the crisis. In Essay 2, we show firms which use their resources more efficiently to experience higher returns during the crisis. We argue that the outperformance of efficient firms relates to these firms having less risky expected cash flows and thus a lower risk of default, which is consistent with the view in Frijns et al. (2012). In Essay 3, we study whether having better-quality investor relations (IR) helps to alleviate information frictions among market participants and is thus valuable for firms. The results suggest that firms with better-quality IR experienced higher returns, retained more incumbent institutional investors, and also attracted more new institutional investors during the crisis period. Finally, Essay 5 moves away from the topic of the COVID-19 crisis, but it also contributes to a better understanding of financial markets and investor behavior. In this last essay, we examine whether institutional investors view operational leanness as a competitive advantage resulting in higher expected cash flows. The results provide evidence that institutional investors generally appear to prefer lean firms since the reduction in operational slack is associated with a cost advantage. However, the results also suggest that institution types differ substantially in how they evaluate operational leanness because of market and information frictions.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZEvaluation von sozialen Innovationsprojekten
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40582
Title: Evaluation von sozialen Innovationsprojekten
Authors: Dotterweich, Christoph
Abstract: Soziale Innovationen nehmen eine immer dominanter werdende Rolle in der akademischen, politischen und gesellschaftlichen Debatte ein. Trotz einer zunehmenden Subventionierung durch die Exekutive in Zeiten angespannter Staatshaushalte, bleibt die Frage unbeantwortet, ob es „erfolgsversprechende“ im Sinne von „förderwürdigere“ soziale Innovationsprojekte gibt. Zur Beantwortung dieser Forschungsfrage nach einem Evaluationsdesign zur Beurteilung von sozialen Innovationen wird auf das Repertoire der Evaluationsforschung zurückgegriffen, nach der der Forscher (Evaluator) ein aus empirischen Daten abgeleitetes Werturteil fällt. Das Evaluationsobjekt dieser Dissertation ist tu>startup, ein lokales Projekt in der Metropolregion Dortmund. Anhand einer theoretisch-konzeptionellen Aufarbeitung werden mit dem „Nutzen“, der „Diffusion“ und der „Wirkung“ drei Evaluationskriterien abgeleitet. Das multiperspektivische und -methodische Evaluationsdesign setzt sich aus vier Evaluationsstudien zusammen, die dem komplexen Projektkontext Rechnung tragen: eine Benchmarking-Evaluation, eine Teilnehmer-Evaluation, eine Stakeholder-Evaluation und eine qualitative Evaluation. Anschließend werden diese vier Primärstudien für die Durchführung einer Meta-Evaluation selbst zum Bewertungsobjekt.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZMaximale Kreispackungen durch gute 3-Splits in Halin-Graphen
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40576
Title: Maximale Kreispackungen durch gute 3-Splits in Halin-Graphen
Authors: Otto, Christin
Abstract: In dieser Arbeit wird das Problem der Bestimmung einer maximalen kantendisjunkten Kreispackung bzw. der Bestimmung der Kreispackungszahl von Graphen untersucht. Die Bedeutung dieser theoretischen Problemstellung wird durch die Vorstellung dreier Anwendungen verdeutlicht. Da die Bestimmung solcher maximalen kantendisjunkten Kreispackungen sowie die Bestimmung der Kreispackungszahl NP-schwer sind, besteht die grundlegende Idee dieser Arbeit darin, Graphzerlegungen bestimmter Graphklassen zu nutzen und einen Bezug zwischen einer Kreispackung der Zerlegung und einer Kreispackung des Ursprungsgraphen herzustellen. Für serienparallele Graphen wird ein Linearzeitalgorithmus basierend auf einer SPQR-Zerlegung vorgestellt und evaluiert. Weiterhin wird eine Zerlegung für minimal 3-zusammenhängende Graphen vorgestellt, mit der verschiedene Ergebnisse für Halin-Graphen entwickelt werden. Unter anderem wird für spezielle Halin-Graphen gezeigt, dass die Bestimmung der Kreispackungszahl auf die Bestimmung der Kreispackungszahlen der Komponenten in der Zerlegung zurückgeführt werden kann.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZDas Virus der Systemtheorie. Essays zur Lage der deutschen Soziologie
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40565
Title: Das Virus der Systemtheorie. Essays zur Lage der deutschen Soziologie
Authors: Weyer, Johannes
Abstract: In zwei Essays zieht der Autor eine kritische Bilanz der deutschen Soziologie, die bislang wenig Profundes zum Krisenmanagement in der Corona-Pandemie wie auch zur Analyse der digitalen Echtzeitgesellschaft beigetragen hat. Statt sich in blumigen Beschreibungen über die Infektion der Gesellschaft (Nassehi) zu verlieren oder den Rückzug aus der Bearbeitung sozialer Probleme zu propagieren (Maasen) sollten Soziolog:innen analytische Modelle sozialer Systeme entwickeln, die es erlauben, soziale Prozesse und soziale Dynamiken zu beschreiben und zu erklären. Nur dann wird die Soziologie in der Lage sein, auf Augenhöhe mit anderen Disziplinen wie der Soziophysik oder der Virologie zu argumentieren, die sich immer mehr anschicken, die Deutungshoheit in soziologischen Fragen zu übernehmen.2021-11-01T00:00:00ZInformation content of insider trading in Germany - three empirical essays
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40531
Title: Information content of insider trading in Germany - three empirical essays
Authors: Kapsocavadis, Konstantina Fotini
Abstract: This dissertation employs an empirical strategy to investigate the information content of insider trading. The analysis is based on the basic premise that insiders, while possessing private information, trade for many reasons and perform a variety of roles. By identifying information motivated trades (trades outside blackout periods) and examining their interest positive interaction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we show that legal insider trading contributes to market efficiency and fairness.
Further, we find substantial abnormal returns (most in cases of purchases) that indicates valuable content of information in insider trades. MAR regulation though mitigates the informativeness of insider trading, the impact appears mostly for trades of firms with high level of litigation risk. In addition, the MAR effect on trades in alternative trading venues is weak.
Last, in exploiting the predictability of aggregate insider trading, this work demonstrates that insider trades in aggregate deliver us a precise predictor for future market returns, at least three months before the market moves. The stock market price predictivity effect of aggregate insider trades is even higher when market transparency is stronger (in the period after MAR introduction). Following to the results of this work, insiders’ predictive ability becomes especially valuable during periods of significant market disruption such as during Covid-19 pandemic.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZDurationskonzepte für die Praxis der Lebensversicherung zur Quantifizierung von Änderungsrisiken in Zins und Biometrie
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40503
Title: Durationskonzepte für die Praxis der Lebensversicherung zur Quantifizierung von Änderungsrisiken in Zins und Biometrie
Authors: Radermacher, Marius
Abstract: Bei der Produktkalkulation von Lebensversicherungen werden Rechnungsgrundlagen verwendet, die u.a. aus Zinssätzen und biometrischen Daten bestehen. Aufgrund von typischerweise langen Laufzeiten bei Versicherungsverträgen, kommt es zu Änderungen dieser Daten, die die Bewertung künftiger Beiträge und Leistungen beeinflussen. Dadurch entstehen für Versicherungen Änderungsrisiken, da der kalkulierte Kapitalbedarf möglicherweise nicht ausreicht, um alle vertraglichen Leistungen erfüllen zu können. Diese Arbeit setzt sich zum Ziel geeignete Risikomaße zur Quantifizierung des Zinsänderungsrisikos und des biometrischen Änderungsrisikos zu finden, die auch in der Praxis der Lebensversicherungen angewendet werden können. Dazu wird zunächst ein Durationskonzept hergeleitet, das die Anwendung einer Forward Rate Zinsstrukturkurve ermöglicht. Zusätzlich wird herausgestellt, dass die Sterbewahrscheinlichkeiten strukturell als negative Forward Rates interpretiert werden können. Daraus wird deutlich, dass sich das Zinsänderungsrisiko und das biometrische Risiko strukturell nicht unterscheiden. Dies erlaubt analog zum Konzept der Forward Rate Duration ein Konzept zur Quantifizierung des biometrischen Risikos herzuleiten, das für Anwendungen in der Praxis geeignet ist. Darüber hinaus können beide Konzepte miteinander kombiniert werden, um im Rahmen praktischer Risikoanalysen Anwendung, z.B. der Bestimmung von Solvenzkapitalanforderungen im Rahmen von Solvency II, zu finden.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays on auditors' and financial reporting - The impact of non-financial disclosures on stakeholders' perceptions
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40485
Title: Essays on auditors' and financial reporting - The impact of non-financial disclosures on stakeholders' perceptions
Authors: Höfmann, Michelle
Abstract: This dissertation deals with the recent regulatory changes in audit reporting and non-financial reporting by management and the supervisory board. The first three papers of the dissertation focus on the implementation of key audit matters (KAMs) in the auditor’s report, while the fourth paper investigates the effects of a separate going concern emphasis of matter paragraph and responsibilities paragraphs in the auditor’s report. The last paper focuses on the communication of the management and the supervisory board with the financial statements’ addressees.
Our results reveal that KAMs impact audit committee members’ decision making by strengthening their financial statement accountability. But in case the directors are stock-compensated, KAMs can serve as disclaimer and legitimize a more self-serving decision. However, though KAMs impact the decision making, they are only rarely mentioned in the report of the supervisory board. Therefore, the disclosure of KAMs does not increase the reporting quality of this report. There exists also room for improvement of the KAM-reporting itself in order to enhance the communicative value of the auditor’s report.
Furthermore, we experimentally investigated whether a going concern emphasis of matter paragraph (GC-EOM) or a responsibilities paragraph in the auditor’s report and the strength of the audit committee influence bank directors’ decision making. Our findings show that a GC-EOM impacts bank directors’ decision making due to a source credibility effect, while we do not find significant effects of a responsibilities paragraph or the strength of the audit committee. The results of the last study reveal extensive room of improvement concerning the language of the reporting tools of management and the supervisory board.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZAre sustainable companies more likely to default? Evidence from the dynamics between credit and ESG ratings
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40478
Title: Are sustainable companies more likely to default? Evidence from the dynamics between credit and ESG ratings
Authors: Aslan, Aydin; Poppe, Lars; Posch, Peter
Abstract: We investigate the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and the probability of corporate credit default. By using a sample of 902 publicly-listed firms in the US from 2002 to 2017 and by converting Standard & Poor’s credit ratings into default probabilities from rating transition matrices, we find the probability of corporate credit default to be significantly lower for firms with high ESG performance. Furthermore, by expanding the time window in our regression analysis, we observe that the influence of ESG and its constituents strongly varies over time. We argue that these dynamics may be due to financial and regulatory shocks. In a sector decomposition, we additionally find that the energy sector is most influenced by ESG regarding the probability of corporate credit default. We expect an increasing availability of ESG data in the future to reduce possible survivorship bias and to enhance the comparison between ESG-rated and non-ESG-rated firms.2021-07-31T00:00:00ZIncentivizing efficient utilization without reducing access: The case against cost-sharing in insurance
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40347
Title: Incentivizing efficient utilization without reducing access: The case against cost-sharing in insurance
Authors: Fels, Markus
Abstract: Cost-sharing is regarded as an important tool to reduce moral hazard in health insurance. Contrary to standard prediction, however, such requirements are found to decrease utilization both of efficient and of inefficient care. I employ a simple model that incorporates two possible explanations—consumer mistakes and limited access—to assess the welfare implications of different insurance designs. I find cost-sharing never to be an optimal solution as it produces two novel inefficiencies by limiting access. An alternative design, relying on bonuses, has no such side effects and achieves the same incentivization. I show how the optimal design can be deduced empirically and discuss possible impediments to its implementation.2020-04-22T00:00:00ZESG ratings and stock performance during the COVID-19 crisis
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40337
Title: ESG ratings and stock performance during the COVID-19 crisis
Authors: Engelhardt, Nils; Ekkenga, Jens; Posch, Peter
Abstract: We investigate the association between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings and stock performance during the COVID-19 crisis. Although there is mixed evidence in the literature whether ESG is valuable in times of crisis, we find high ESG-rated European firms to be associated with higher abnormal returns and lower stock volatility. After decomposing ESG into its separate components, we find the social score to be the predominant driver of our results. Further, we argue that ESG is value-enhancing in low-trust countries, and in countries with poorer security regulations and where lower disclosure standards prevail.2021-06-25T00:00:00ZHow management teams foster the transactive memory system-entrepreneurial orientation link
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40330
Title: How management teams foster the transactive memory system-entrepreneurial orientation link
Authors: Kollmann, Tobias; Hensellek, Simon; Stöckmann, Christoph; Kensbock, Julia M.; Peschl, Anika
Abstract: Research Summary
Specialized knowledge can be a facilitator of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), but little is known about how management teams transform their knowledge resources into entrepreneurial activity. Complementing the knowledge-based view with social interdependence theory, we suggest that team processes mediate the impact of teams' transactive memory system (TMS) on EO. Our empirical analysis of data from interdisciplinary management teams shows that a strong TMS serves as a starting point to initiate a beneficial “domino effect” of positive team interaction patterns (enhanced team learning and participative decision-making) and positive team psychological processes (enhanced team identification), which, in turn, foster the development of EO. We thereby contribute new insights to the largely unresolved questions about the “where” and “why” of EO genesis within organizations.
Managerial Summary
Enhancing entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is of major importance for established firms to stay competitive in the market. This study sheds light on the question how EO emerges within management teams of a firm's decentralized units and specifically gives insights about how team design and team processes can foster the EO of these units. We find that teams with specialized experts who share a common meta-knowledge about who knows what in their team (i.e., teams with a strong transactive memory system) engage in more team learning and participative decision-making and identify themselves more strongly with their team, which consequently spurs unit EO. Our results highlight that well-designed and well-functioning management teams below the executive level can play an important role in fostering entrepreneurship in multiunit organizations.2020-08-14T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on financial markets
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40305
Title: Essays in finance: the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on financial markets
Authors: Engelhardt, Nils
Abstract: The unexpected and exogenous shock of the COVID-19 health crisis in the beginning of 2020 had
dramatic consequences for financial markets. The world’s leading stock markets were on an all-time
high until mid-February and collapsed by roughly 30% within a few days. This presents an
opportunity to investigate reasons, which might have reinforced the stock market crash, and also
those characteristics, which might have made specific firms more resilient to the crisis. The
underlying thesis covers these two aspects and contributes to the evolving strand of literature. While
the first two chapters investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial markets on
country-level, the remaining three chapters contribute to the growing body of research on
characteristics which make firms more immune to the COVID-19 crisis.2021-04-14T00:00:00ZManagerial behavior in fund tournaments—the impact of TrueSkill
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40273
Title: Managerial behavior in fund tournaments—the impact of TrueSkill
Authors: Swade, Alexander; Köchling, Gerrit; Posch, Peter N.
Abstract: Measuring mutual fund managers’ skills by Microsoft’s TrueSkill algorithm, we find highly skilled managers to behave self-confident resulting in higher risk-taking in the second half of the year compared to less skilled managers. Introducing the TrueSkill algorithm, which is widely used in the e-sports community, to this branch of literature, we can replicate previous findings and theories suggesting overconfidence for mid-years winners.2021-01-09T00:00:00ZMaximum Cycle Packing – Obere Schranken an Kreispackungszahlen in polyhedralen Graphen
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40182
Title: Maximum Cycle Packing – Obere Schranken an Kreispackungszahlen in polyhedralen Graphen
Authors: Stehling, Stefan
Abstract: In vielen Bereichen des Operations Research sind graphentheoretische Konzepte und Kennzahlen bei der Modellierung von Optimierungsproblemen von grundlegender Bedeutung. Zwei in dieser Arbeit speziell behandelte Kennzahlen sind durch die sog. knoten- bzw. kantendisjunkte Kreispackungszahlen eines Graphen gegeben. Anwendungsbeispiele, die die praktische Relevanz der Kreispackungszahlen bzw. der maximalen Kreispackungen zeigen, bilden u.a. das Genom Rearrangement in der Biologie, die Ausgestaltung optischer Netzwerke oder die Rundgangsplanung. Im Allgemeinen ist die Bestimmung einer maximalen Kreispackung sowie der zugehörigen Kreispackungszahl ein NP-schweres Problem. Demnach werden Heuristiken zur Annäherung der Kennzahlen herangezogen bzw. spezielle Struktureigenschaften der betrachteten Graphen gefordert, um exakte Resultate für bzw. gute Schranken an die Kreispackungszahlen anzugeben. Genau hier setzt diese Arbeit an und es werden für speziell gewählte polyhedrale Graphen sowie zwei Unterklassen polyhedraler Graphen mit der Klasse der Halin-Graphen und den Fulleren-Graphen bestmögliche obere Schranken an die betrachtete Unterklasse angegeben. Zudem wird jeweils eine Konstruktionssystematik von Graphen vorgestellt, derart, dass auch eine maximale Kreispackung innerhalb der gewählten Graphen angegeben werden kann. Es gelang für polyhedrale Graphen mit fester Ordnung und Größe, obere Schranken an Kreispackungszahlen anzugeben. Zudem wurde für Halin-Graphen und Fulleren-Graphen bewiesen, dass die kantendisjunkte Kreispackungszahl gleich der Unabhängigkeitszahl des zugehörigen Dualgraphen ist. Für Fulleren-Graphen konnte eine in der Ordnung nicht monoton wachsende bestmögliche obere Schranke an die kantendisjunkte Kreispackungszahl abgeleitet werden.; In many areas of operations research, graph-theoretical concepts and characteristics are of fundamental importance when modeling optimization problems. Two figures treated in this work are given by the so-called vertex- or edge-disjoint circle packing numbers of a graph. Application examples showing the practical relevance of the number of cycles packings or maximum cycle packings include genome rearrangement in biology, the design of optical networks or tour planning. In general, the determination of a maximum cycle packing as well as the associated number of cycle packing is a problem that is NP complete. Accordingly, heuristics are used to approximate these figures or special structural properties of the graphs under consideration are required in order to give exact results for or good bounds on the cycle packing numbers. This is exactly where this work focuses upon. For selected polyhedral graphs as well as two subclasses of polyhedral graphs, which are the class of Halin graphs and the fullerene graphs, a best possible upper bounds on the considered subclass are derived. In addition, a construction system for graphs is presented in such a way that a maximum cycle packing can also be specified within the selected graph. For polyhedral graphs with a fixed order and size, it was possible to specify upper bounds on cycle packing numbers. In addition, it was proven for Halin graphs and fullerene graphs that the edge-disjoint cycle packing number is equal to the independence number of the dual graph. For fullerene graphs, a best possible upper bound which does not increase monotonically in the order of the given graph, could be derived for the edge-disjoint cycle packing number.2021-01-01T00:00:00ZElectronic word of mouth in online social networks: strategies for coping with opportunities and challenges
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40181
Title: Electronic word of mouth in online social networks: strategies for coping with opportunities and challenges
Authors: Beser, Alper
Abstract: In today's world, the widespread success of the Internet, social media, and online social networks (OSN) provide the basis for electronic word of mouth (EWOM). EWOM can be seen as a digital enhancement of traditional word of mouth that makes communication more efficient and involves less effort by its users. The resulting speed of diffusion and information transparency have caused transformative changes in consumer behaviour in all types of markets, which requires the development of new business strategies for adequately dealing with the new circumstances. This doctoral dissertation is divided into three overall subject areas that concern the investigation of capable strategies for coping with the emerged opportunities and challenges of EWOM in OSN.
The first subject area concerns negative electronic word of mouth in OSN and investigates capable countermeasure strategies for firms to adequately address claims of unsatisfied customers. For this, three simulation studies are conducted in which the propagation of a negative message and its countering by a positive message published by the firm are numerically analysed. The results reveal that, in general, the persuasiveness of a firm's response is more important than a quick response with a less persuasive counter-message. To some extent, this also holds if the number of OSN members who initially disseminate the counter-message on behalf of the firm is increased.
In the second subject area, an optimisation model for individualised pricing is developed for an online store whose customers are interconnected in an OSN and can share price information via EWOM. The model is solved numerically by artificial intelligence solution methods. The results indicate that personalised prices can be financially worthwhile even under price transparency.
The third subject area investigates market entry strategies for social media apps and services that are advertised in an OSN for acquiring new users and examines the role of EWOM in this context. A diffusion model is developed and analysed numerically by simulation. Three different targeting approaches are compared to each other regarding their ability to reach a high share of active users in the OSN: (1) a random marketing strategy, where randomly chosen members in the OSN are presented the advertisement, (2) cluster marketing, where whole clusters of members who are densely connected to each other are simultaneously shown the advertisement, and (3) influencer marketing, where the most influential users in the OSN are selected to share sponsored posts about the app in the OSN. The results suggest that EWOM can have detrimental effects if OSN members are too early informed about the app or service. If the information about the app reaches clusters in the OSN prematurely where a sufficient level of activity is not present yet, it can deplete the excitement of the users. The lack of excitement, in turn, can significantly reduce the effect of subsequent marketing campaigns. However, if applied appropriately, a higher level of EWOM about the app or service can increase the performance of the random marketing strategy to the extent that it outperforms cluster and influencer marketing.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: corporate hedging, mutual fund managers’ behavior, and cryptocurrency markets
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40151
Title: Essays in finance: corporate hedging, mutual fund managers’ behavior, and cryptocurrency markets
Authors: Köchling, Gerrit2021-01-01T00:00:00ZSynergies, cooperation and syndication in venture capital game, portfolio optimization with genetic algorithms and asset auctions: essays in finance
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40108
Title: Synergies, cooperation and syndication in venture capital game, portfolio optimization with genetic algorithms and asset auctions: essays in finance
Authors: Radak, Vladislav
Abstract: This thesis looks at all scientific phenomenon of financial decision-making from both the empirical and theoretical side, with empirical trying to strengthen theoretical assumptions or even to expand it. In chapter 2, we propose a two-stage financing model with three players that consider the output elasticities of all parties using the Cobb-Douglas utility function. Theoretical findings in chapter 2 suggest that a higher complementary coefficient between players on both stages can lead to a higher level of effort from all three players, taking game dynamics away from the moral hazard problem and causing higher exit stage payoffs. Previous track record of the angel and VC and output elasticity of the entrepreneur, combined with the company’s shares offered the angel and VC, impact the three-player game dynamic, causing some players to reduce their efforts after specific funding rounds. Our empirical results show that VC syndication increases the average amount of funding offered to entrepreneurs as well as that syndicated ventures have a higher number of funding rounds, resulting in a higher number of possible entry-points provided by those start-ups.
Our results in chapter 4 suggested that a two-point GA that minimized the risk for a given level of expected return slightly outperformed the results of the SPEA2. Compared with the previous industry standard for risk measure—Value-at-Risk, we show that both frontiers differed, especially at the low return side. The converted Value-at-Risk solutions were not evenly distributed along the efficient frontier and even inadequate for some ES values.
In chapter 5, we use the game theory approach to examine the first-price package auction design for illiquid asset auctions. Our theoretical work suggests that every case that can be presented as a two or three asset game, as well as longer games that can be presented as two and three asset subgames, has a strong equilibrium if the bidders’ budgets and utilities for every asset are common knowledge.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZImproving communication in auditing and financial reporting
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40094
Title: Improving communication in auditing and financial reporting
Authors: Heilmann, Melina
Abstract: Considering the interest of standard setters, researchers and practitioners in improving the effectiveness of disclosures in financial reporting, this dissertation is aimed at examining the communication of auditors, managers and members of the supervisory board with stakeholders. While the first three papers of the dissertation investigate the effects of the recent changes of the auditor’s report, the fourth and the fifth paper examine the report of the supervisory board and the CEO letter regarding their communicative value. The first paper provides a literature overview of studies investigating the impact of the new requirement to disclose Key Audit Matters (KAMs) in the auditor’s report. As it reveals the need for further research regarding KAMs, the dissertation includes two experimental studies examining the effect of KAM disclosure on managers’ reporting behavior and on the audit expectation gap. Our findings indicate a limited impact of KAM disclosures on investors’ perceptions but a positive influence on management behavior, as managers are less likely to make an aggressive financial reporting decision when the auditor’s report includes a KAM. Moreover, we investigate whether the supervisory board refers to KAMs in its annual report. As an effective communication also depends on the language used in financial disclosures, we also provide a textual analysis of reports of the supervisory board and CEO letters that reveals potential for improvement. Overall, the dissertation highlights the importance of an effective communication by auditors and board directors with stakeholders.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: initial public offerings and risk backtesting
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40079
Title: Essays in finance: initial public offerings and risk backtesting
Authors: Schmidtke, Philipp
Abstract: Asset prices are a central research object in financial economics. In this thesis, Chapters 2 and 3 are concerned with studying the initial public offering (IPO), the process by which previously private firms offer their shares to the general public for the first time, eventually resulting in a first stock exchange valuation. Chapter 2 proposes a new measure of investor sophistication using the internet log file data set of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system and investigates the role of sophisticated and unsophisticated investor attention for IPO pricing. Chapter 3 defines a daily SEC workload measure at the SEC industry office level and performs an analysis of the SEC filing review process for IPOs, including textual analysis of SEC comments. The dissertation uses this to examine the interaction among high SEC workload, filing review outcomes, and IPO pricing.
The second main focus of this dissertation, set out in Chapters 4 and 5, is backtesting of market risk forecasts for financial returns, which is a central concern of risk managers as soon as an asset is traded publicly. Chapter 4 proposes novel Value-at-Risk (VaR) backtests for the independence property of VaR forecasts using the extremal index, which is a concept from extreme value theory. The tests are analyzed and compared to existing alternatives using Monte Carlo simulations. Chapter 5 conducts a critical analysis of volatility forecasting capabilities of a large set of Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH)-type models for returns on the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, known for its extreme price changes. Model confidence sets are calculated for different loss functions, volatility proxies, and significance levels to obtain models with equal predictive ability.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZA duration approach for the measurement of biometric risks in life insurance
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40071
Title: A duration approach for the measurement of biometric risks in life insurance
Authors: Radermacher, Marius; Recht, Peter
Abstract: Duration concepts are standard methods for measuring interest rate risks of portfolios, liabilities or other cash flows. Macaulay duration, effective duration and key-rate duration are widely used in practice according to different types of yield curves. In this paper, we will present a formulation for a forward rate duration measure by using multi-dimensional Taylor series approximation. It allows to measure the interest rate risk based on arbitrary forward rates. This approach can easily be adopted for biometric risk management, allowing the definition of a biometric duration. The biometric duration will be applied to actuarial present values of premiums and benefits as well as the actuarial reserve to quantify the corresponding biometric risk. It proves to be an easy-to-use tool in the actuarial practise.; Durationskonzepte zählen zu den Standardmethoden bei der Messung von Zinsänderungsrisiken von Zahlungsreihen. In der Praxis werden häufig die Macaulay-Duration, die effektive Duration und die Key-Rate-Duration, entsprechend ihrer zugrundeliegenden Zinskurven, angewendet. In diesem Beitrag stellen wir eine Formulierung für eine Forward-Rate-Duration unter Verwendung einer mehrdimensionalen Taylor- Reihenentwicklung vor. Sie ermöglicht die Messung des Zinsänderungsrisikos auf der Grundlage beliebiger Terminzinsen. Dieser Ansatz lässt sich leicht auf die Messung biometrischer Risiken anwenden und ermöglicht die Definition einer biometrischen Duration. Die biometrische Duration wird auf die versicherungsmathematischen Barwerte der Prämien und Leistungen sowie auf die Deckungsrückstellung zur Quantifizierung des entsprechenden biometrischen Risikos angewendet. Es erweist sich als ein Instrument, das auf einfache Art und Weise in der aktuariellen Praxis angewendet werden kann.2020-01-29T00:00:00ZCan innovation be bought?
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40057
Title: Can innovation be bought?
Authors: Haas, Daniel2020-01-01T00:00:00ZDie Bemessung von Entschädigungsleistungen im Zuge des Kohleausstiegs
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/40039
Title: Die Bemessung von Entschädigungsleistungen im Zuge des Kohleausstiegs
Authors: Kreße, Bernhard; Posch, Peter N.
Abstract: Wir untersuchen den rechtlichen Rahmen des geplanten Kohleausstiegs sowie dessen Wirkung auf Aktienanalysten anhand von Analysereports und Markteinschätzungen.2020-12-19T00:00:00ZEssays on local labor markets, firm taxation and worker mobility
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/39969
Title: Essays on local labor markets, firm taxation and worker mobility
Authors: Korfmann, Philipp
Abstract: This thesis investigates the causes and consequences of regional disparities in Germany and consists of three self-contained essays. Each essay utilizes spatially fine-grained microdata for Germany. They differ in focus and methodology but are all inseparably related through the spatial level of analysis. Chapter one provides introductory remarks. The second chapter studies the relative impact of two distinct local business tax instruments on workers' wages. While the primary contribution is the estimation of the effect of a revenue-neutral substitution between two tax instruments, the chapter provides evidence of the amplification of cross-regional wage disparities through local taxation. The third chapter relates regional unemployment differentials to worker flows, recovers underlying structural variations across regions, and investigates the impact of optimal local labor market policies that attenuate within market inefficiencies and balance the adverse effect of unemployment insurance benefits. The fourth chapter studies the characteristics of individual inter-regional migration decisions of employed workers and examines the relationship between individual earnings gains and location characteristics. Chapter five concludes.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZGesamturteil des Abschlussprüfers (Wirtschaftsprüfers) nach der Prüfung eines Jahres- oder Konzernabschlusses
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/39804
Title: Gesamturteil des Abschlussprüfers (Wirtschaftsprüfers) nach der Prüfung eines Jahres- oder Konzernabschlusses
Authors: Sträter, Leonard
Abstract: Unter öffentlichen Stakeholdern besteht eine durchaus verbreitete Fehlvorstellung, der Bestätigungsvermerk garantiere eine wirtschaftliche Gesundheit des geprüften Unternehmens, was - jedenfalls de lege lata - mitnichten zutreffend ist. De lege lata ist der Bestätigungsvermerk als zentrales Instrument der externen Unternehmensberichterstattung eher im Sinne eines Formaltestats ausgestaltet, dessen Bedeutungsgehalt sich darin erschöpft, die rechts- und gesetzeskonforme Rechnungslegung im Berichtszeitraum mit der Rechtswirkung einer öffentlichen Urkunde zu bekräftigen. Die Inkongruenz zwischen dem normativen Imperativ und der Erwartungshaltung der öffentlichen Stakeholder wird als Erwartungslücke bezeichnet. Die Erwartungslücke begründet eine Analyse, die der Frage nachgeht, welche grundlegenden Anforderungen der Bestätigungsvermerk angesichts eines weltweit zirkulierenden Kapitals idealiter erfüllen sollte. Wie sollte der Bestätigungsvermerk, de lege ferenda, ausgestaltet sein, um die Erwartungshaltung der öffentlichen Stakeholder und den tatsächlichen Mehrwert des Bestätigungsvermerks in Einklang zu bringen? Was vermag der Bestätigungsvermerk unter dem Gesichtspunkt einer verbesserten Kapitalmarkteffizienz überhaupt zu leisten? Wo liegen die Grenzen der Regulierung? Im Rahmen der Darstellung wird zunächst der grundlegende Wirkungsmechanismus des Bestätigungsvermerks de lege lata erläutert. Auf dieser Basis zieht sie Schlussfolgerungen in Bezug auf die künftige gesetzliche Ausgestaltung des Bestätigungsvermerks und analysiert die öffentliche Erwartungslücke im Hinblick auf die Zielsetzung, abschließend einen im Sinne der Reduzierung der Erwartungslücke weiterentwickelten Bestätigungsvermerk für die wirtschaftliche Praxis zu formulieren. Um ein solches Testat zu erhalten, wurden Expertenbefragungen durchgeführt und ausgewertet, um der Frage nachzugehen, wie der Bestätigungsvermerk unter den Bedingungen von wirtschaftlicher Globalisierung und technologischer Digitalisierung sinnvoll weiterentwickelt werden kann.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZRechtliche Charakteristika des strategischen und innovationsbasierten Corporate Developments
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/39284
Title: Rechtliche Charakteristika des strategischen und innovationsbasierten Corporate Developments
Authors: Bieder, Daniel
Abstract: Ausgangspunkt der Arbeit ist die Notwendigkeit der Entwicklung etablierter Unternehmen, die insbesondere durch externe Veränderungen forciert werden kann. In diesem Kontext werden als potentielle Basis des zukünftigen Wachstums Innovationen als zentral angesehen. Dafür wird zunächst die betriebswirtschaftliche Grundlage, orientiert an den einzelnen Bestandteilen des Titels der Arbeit, dargestellt. Zwecks Innovationserlangung werden sodann die Möglichkeiten der internen (Corporate Entrepreneurship) als auch der externen (Mergers & Acquisitions) Entwicklung betrachtet. Als unbedingt notwendig für die Auswahl neuen Geschäfts wird die strategische Analyse der Mikro- und Makroumwelt zugrunde gelegt.
Thema der Arbeit ist sodann, die juristischen Einwirkungsmöglichkeiten der unterschiedlichen Einflussgruppen aus dieser Analyse in Bezug auf die jeweilige Handlungsoption zu untersuchen. Als Wesentlich werden dabei Mitarbeiter, der Staat, Wettbewerber und Kunden erkannt. Im Bereich des Corporate Entrepreneurships wird vor allem der Fokus auf die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Rechts des geistigen Eigentums sowie auf sein Verhältnis zum Arbeitsrecht und diesbezügliche Probleme (Innovationsschaffung), aber auch auf das Recht des unlauteren Wettbewerbs sowie auf Fragen der Fehler- und Mangelhaftung in Bezug auf innovative Produkte gelegt.
Für Mergers & Acquisitions sind insbesondere Risiken und Hürden des Wettbewerbs- und Ge-sellschaftsrechts, jedoch auch des Arbeitsrechts und der allgemeinen Haftung nach bürgerlichem und Handelsrecht im Rahmen der Singular- und Universalsukzession relevant.
Sodann lassen sich aus dieser rechtlichen Analyse drei in Bezug auf ihre Struktur, nicht aber auf ihren Inhalt, optionsindifferente Faktoren identifizieren, die sich durch die Begriffe Innovation, Finanzen und Zeit ausdrücken. Diese Faktoren weisen ferner Relevanz im strategischen Kontext auf, sodass sich hier eine bedeutende Schnittstelle offenbart, die es zu systematisieren gilt. Zwecks weiterer Konkretisierung lassen sich, ebenso unabhängig von der internen oder externen Entwicklungsoption, diese Faktoren in jeweils drei weitere Subfaktoren unterteilen.
Ergebnis der Arbeit ist schlussendlich die strukturierte Darstellung der einzelnen Faktoren sowie ihres Zusammenspiels, indem ein generisches Framework hergeleitet wird, das bei der Beurteilung der geplanten Unternehmensentwicklung einbezogen werden kann. Ebenso werden Lösungsmöglichkeiten de lege ferenda (insbesondere das Gesetz über Arbeitnehmerschöpfungen) in Bezug auf die identifizierten Problemstellungen entwickelt und vorgestellt.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZWhat drives stocks during the Corona-crash? News attention vs. rational expectation
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/39192
Title: What drives stocks during the Corona-crash? News attention vs. rational expectation
Authors: Engelhardt, Nils; Krause, Miguel; Neukirchen, Daniel; Posch, Peter
Abstract: We explore if the corona-crash 2020 was driven by news attention or rational expectations about the pandemic’s economic impact. Using a sample of 64 national stock markets covering 94% of the world’s GDP, we find the stock markets’ decline to be mainly associated with higher news attention and less with rational expectation. We estimate the economic cost from the news hype to amount to USD 3.5 trillion for the US and USD 200 billion on average for the rest of the G8 countries.2020-06-19T00:00:00ZEinsatz von Datenanalyse-Tools in der Wirtschaftsprüfung: eine qualitative Analyse
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/39108
Title: Einsatz von Datenanalyse-Tools in der Wirtschaftsprüfung: eine qualitative Analyse
Authors: Islami, Blerina
Abstract: Das Ziel der Jahresabschlussprüfung liegt in der Abgabe eines hinreichend sicheren Urteils über die Verlässlichkeit und damit die Ordnungsmäßigkeit des Jahresabschlusses unter Beachtung des Grundsatzes der Wirtschaftlichkeit. Infolge des aus der Digitalisierung resultierenden Anstiegs der jährlichen Geschäftsvorfälle sowie der wachsenden Komplexität der IT-Systemlandschaften auf der Mandantenseite sehen sich Abschlussprüfer zunehmend einer enormen Datenflut ausgesetzt und die Erreichung dieses Ziels wird entsprechend schwieriger. Die vorliegende Untersuchung zielt auf die Identifikation von für die Abschlussprüfung relevanten Datenanalyse-Tools sowie des derzeitigen Anwendungsausmaßes dieser ab. Weiterhin werden die wesentlichen Ursachen für eben dieses Anwendungsausmaß aufgezeigt und Handlungsempfehlungen für eine erfolgreiche Integration in den Abschlussprüfungsprozess abgeleitet.2020-01-01T00:00:00ZEchtzeitsteuerung komplexer Systeme - Eine Simulationsstudie
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/39082
Title: Echtzeitsteuerung komplexer Systeme - Eine Simulationsstudie
Authors: Konrad, Julius; Weyer, Johannes; Cepera, Kay; Adelt, Fabian
Abstract: Für diese Studie wurde eine Verkehrssimulation, basierend auf dem Simulator SimCo, entwickelt. In dieser Simulation wurden verschiedene Szenarien getestet, um die Effekte von Echtzeitsteuerung im Verkehrsnetz zu untersuchen. Die Szenarien basieren auf Experteninterviews mit Vertretern eines Navigationsdienstleisters, der Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt) und Betreibern des öffentlichen Verkehrs. Alle Beteiligten befürworteten eine koordinierte Form der Steuerung des Straßenverkehrs. Diesen koordinierten Modus haben wir in der Simulation implementiert. Zunächst bekamen die Agenten Echtzeitinformationen über die Verkehrssituation und später auch Emissionsinformationen. Wir konnten zeigen, dass Echtzeitinformationen zu einer deutlichen Senkung von Staus, also einer höheren Netzeffizienz, führten. Damit einher ging allerdings eine leichte Steigerung der Emissionen. Entgegen den Erwartungen konnte der koordinierte Modus keine deutlichen Emissionssenkungen hervorrufen. Eine Senkung von Emissionsspitzen konnte jedoch erreicht werden.; For this study we developed a traffic simulation based on the simulator SimCo and ran different governance scenarios regarding the effects of the distribution of real-time traffic data among drivers. The scenarios were based on interviews with experts from different fields, including a navigation service provider, the German federal highway research institute, and public transport providers. We found that a coordi-nated form of governance between private firms and local authorities is in their mu-tual interest. To analyse the impact of such a coordinated mode of governance, two scenarios were implemented. At first drivers would get real-time traffic information and secondly, they would also get emission information and change their route ac-cordingly. We found that the use of real-time data does decrease traffic jams, and thus increases network efficiency, but also slightly increases emissions. Against the expectations of the interviewees, a coordinated form of governance could not reduce emissions, but helped distribute them more evenly.2020-04-02T00:00:00ZThe impact of financial markets on innovation
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38428
Title: The impact of financial markets on innovation
Authors: Giebel, Marek
Abstract: This thesis focuses on the impact of financial markets on innovation. On the one hand, this includes the analysis of the sensitivity of innovative firms to restrictions in external financing. On the other hand, the reaction of innovation activities to changes in the supply of external financing is investigated. In that respect, in particular the lack of access to and supply of bank financing in the recent financial crisis is being used as source of underinvestment in innovation. The second chapter of this thesis questions how firms with different combinations of innovator status and usage of external financing adjusted their investment in the financial crisis. The results in Chapter 2 indicate that innovative firms clearly suffered from the financial crisis and invested less in capital goods as a result. The third chapter of the thesis investigates the impact of external financing constraints on the innovation expenditures of firms. Thus, the degree of reliance of a firm's main bank on the interbank market for loan refinancing purposes is used to identify a firm's restrictions for obtaining external means of funding. First, the results in Chapter 3 show that innovation expenses and its components are affected negatively by external financing constraints of firms. Additionally, the results in Chapter 3 show that R&D and marketing expenditures are negatively affected by the external financing constraints of firms. This hints at a reaction of marketing expenditures to external financing constraints. Chapter four of the thesis exploits the bank credit supply channel to use it as a determinant of a firm’s innovation behavior in the financial crisis. The empirical results of Chapter 4 show that the negative credit supply shock of the financial crisis largely affected the innovation behavior of firms. In that respect the chapter shows that firms adjusted their innovation activities in 2009 dependent on the credit supply during the financial crisis. On the opposite side, the results in Chapter 4 imply that firms tended not to adjust their innovation strategy to cope with the crisis. The empirical analysis in Chapter five determines the impact of firm financing constraints (measured by a credit rating index) on R&D by accounting for the stress on financial markets and resulting constraints from the firm’s main bank. The results of Chapter 5 indicate that firms were indeed reacting more sensitively to financing constraints during the financial crisis. However, the effect is not persistent in the period right after. Furthermore, Chapter 5 determines that firm financing constraints are indeed more prevalent when the firm is associated with a bank which has larger problems in maintaining its credit supply in such a crisis (i.e. with a low capitalized bank). Moreover, the results of Chapter 5 show that receiving a subsidy does not strongly affect the impact of constraints when controlling for the receipt of subsidies. However the subsidy itself affected the R&D expenditures of firms positively in the crisis period. A second set of tests imply that subsidies mitigate the financing constraints of firms and banks. Thus, firms which received a subsidy show no enhanced sensitivity to financing constraints of firms and banks in the financial crisis period.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: wrong-way risk, jumps and stochastic volatility
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38384
Title: Essays in finance: wrong-way risk, jumps and stochastic volatility
Authors: Müller, Janis
Abstract: The main focus of this thesis is about understanding the behavior of asset prices and asset returns regarding tail events, in the light of time-varying stochastic volatility and with respect to market efficiency. Thus, the contribution of this thesis is twofold: The first part deals with topics related to risk management whereas the second part deals with topics related to asset pricing. With new regulations like the credit valuation adjustment (CVA) the assessment of wrong-way risk (WWR) is of utter importance. Wrong-way risk means a negative dependence of the exposure to a counterparty on the counterparty’s credit quality. Thus, the first paper studies the co-movement of counterparty credit risk and returns of different asset classes (equity, currency, commodity and interest rate). Extreme movements in asset prices are often characterized by jumps and drying up liquidity. The second paper aims to improve the understanding of the (unconditioned) link between jumps and liquidity in chapter 3. In the third paper the dynamics of asset prices are time-changed to study the influence of stochastic volatility on asset prices in a parameter-free approach. Applying the time-changing technique avoids to use a specific process for volatility to study the impact of stochastic volatility on asset prices. Firstly, formulas for the expected return of assets and the risk-free rate are derived. It is noteworthy that the risk-free rate becomes stochastic under the time-change. Based on the theoretical findings, stochastic consumption volatility is explored considering prevailing puzzles. Secondly, a factor is constructed mimicking the effect of stochastic volatility of the market portfolio on asset prices extending the five-factor model of Fama and French (2015). Considering anomalies targeted by existing factor models, the constructed factor especially helps to describe cross-sectional excess returns of portfolios formed on size and momentum. This finding indicates that the momentum effect is partly explicable by stochastic volatility. The fourth paper deals with ambiguous volatility as an explanation for time-variation in the market’s risk premium. Finally, the fifth paper is about the currently discussed topic of market efficiency regarding cryptocurrencies. Using three delay measures as given in Hou and Moskowitz (2005) it is shown that news, affecting the cryptocurrency market, are much faster incorporated in prices during the last three years indicating that the cryptocurrency market becomes more efficient over time. Furthermore, the price delay is mainly driven by liquidity which is studied in the cross-section of 75 cryptocurrencies.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays zum Mittelstand – Auswirkungen von Finanzierungsbeschränkungen, IFRS und CSR-RLUG
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38241
Title: Essays zum Mittelstand – Auswirkungen von Finanzierungsbeschränkungen, IFRS und CSR-RLUG
Authors: Lenger, Stephanie2019-01-01T00:00:00ZThe adoption of smart systems
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38111
Title: The adoption of smart systems
Authors: Vetter, Georg
Abstract: Unser Alltag wird immer mehr von Technologien durchdrungen, welche uns bei der Ausführung von Tätigkeiten unterstützen oder gleich die gesamte Aufgabe eigenständig übernehmen. Smartphones erkennen Termine aus eingehenden E-Mails und tragen diese automatisch in einen Kalender ein, Autos halten automatisch ihre Fahrspuren oder das Navigationsgerät schlägt je nach Verkehrssituation eine alternative Route vor. Bei allen diesen Beispielen handelt es sich um smarte Systeme. Die Liste der verfügbaren smarten Systeme ist lang und der Marktanteil smarter Produkte wächst stetig.
Die Nutzung von smarten Systemen kann Komfortgewinn und eine gesteigerte Sicherheit bringen. Der Preis für Komfort und Sicherheit ist aber die Weitergabe von Informationen und die Kontrollabgabe. Somit ist nicht eindeutig, ob Anwender ein smartes System nutzen würden. Von besonderem Interesse in dieser Arbeit ist, in wie weit der Automationsgrad, das wirkungsbezogene Risiko und das ursachenbezogene Risiko die Intention zur Nutzung und die tatsächliche Nutzung von smarten Systemen beeinflusst.
In der Arbeit zeigte sich unter anderem, dass die wahrgenommenen Nachteile eines smarten Systems mit zunehmendem Automatisierungsgrad immer größere negative Auswirkungen auf die Intention haben dieses smarte System zu nutzen. Grund dafür ist die Angst vor einem Kontrollverlust, welcher mit dem zunehmenden Automatisierungsgrad einhergeht. Die Automatisierung führt auch dazu, dass sich die Befragten teilweise dem smarten System ausgeliefert fühlen. Ein weiterer Effekt ist, dass mit zunehmender Automatisierung das Vertrauen in das smarte System immer wichtiger wird. Während bei Systemen mit geringem wirkungsbezogenem Risiko die Vorteile noch eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Bildung der Intention spielen, treten bei smarten Systemen mit hohem wirkungsbezogenem Risiko stattdessen die Nachteile in den Vordergrund. Außerdem verlangt ein zunehmendes wirkungsbezogenes Risiko ein gesteigertes Vertrauen in das smarte System ab. In Situationen mit hohem ursachenbezogenen Risiko stieg die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass die Nutzer das smarte System nutzen, wenn das Ergebnis des smarten Systems von dem zu erwartenden Ergebnis abweicht. Nutzer hinterfragen ihre eigenen Fähigkeiten in unsicheren Situationen und nutzen gerne die vermeintliche Kompetenz des smarten Systems.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZVertrauen in mobile Applikationen
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38082
Title: Vertrauen in mobile Applikationen
Authors: Cepera, Kay; Weyer, Johannes; Konrad, Julius
Abstract: Die Nutzung von Apps setzt auf Seiten der Nutzer*innen Vertrauen in die Datensicherheit und Nützlichkeit der App voraus. Da Apps einer zunehmenden Nutzung unterliegen und darüber hinaus ein mögliches Instrument zur Echtzeitsteuerung komplexer Systeme darstellen können, besteht sowohl aus Sicht der Soziologie als auch aus einer Governance-Perspektive ein Interesse an Erkenntnisgewinn hinsichtlich der Mensch-App-Interaktion.
In diesem Arbeitspapier wird besagte Interaktion daher modelliert und mithilfe einer großzahligen Befragung empirisch auf zentrale Einflussfaktoren untersucht. Dabei finden wir Evidenz dafür, dass Vertrauen einen zentralen Einfluss auf die Bereitschaft von Nutzer*innen hat, ihr Verhalten auf Basis App-generierter Handlungsempfehlungen zu ändern.; The use of apps requires user’s trust concerning the security of their data and the usefulness of the app. While apps can be used as a means for real-time governance, there is both sociological and governmental interest in gathering insights about the characteristics of human-app-interaction.
We model this interaction and find empirical evidence, using a large-scale survey, that trust is a key factor in this interaction concerning user’s willingness to change behavior following app-induced recommendations.2019-05-28T00:00:00ZEssays on corporate social and resource responsibility
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38050
Title: Essays on corporate social and resource responsibility
Authors: Bergmann, Alexander
Abstract: This thesis "Essays on Corporate Social and Resource Responsibility" is based on three research papers, organized in three chapters (chapters 2, 3 and 4). Chapter 1 introduces the topic and overall research questions. The final chapter 5 concludes on the overall project. The thesis discusses CSR and sustainable development on a global and regional scale by using different methodological approaches. lt emphasizes the holistic engagement needed by firms irrespective of their size to ensure sustainable development. To that end, chapter 2 provides a conceptual framework for firms to organize their CSR activities with regards to stakeholder requirements. lt outlines the necessity for firms to actively take on a CSR agenda if they want to benefit their stakeholders, and thereby, themselves. By clustering companies' CSR agendas within this framework, chapter 2 underlines the necessity to develop a knowledgeable and possibly strategic approach towards CSR and thus contributes to the introduction of social responsibility in organizations. Especially SMEs are increasingly facing stakeholder pressure, notably from their often large-firm customers, to operate sustainably. Due to SMEs' idiosyncrasies and the considerable differences among SMEs and large firms in organizing CSR, chapter 3 takes a closer look on the direct and indirect effects of mandatory CSR reporting on firms of different size in Germany. lt finds firm size plays a role in the evaluation of mandatory reporting, however, only for firms directly affected by reporting requirements. Chapter 3 thus contributes to the understanding of when firm size matters in the case of mandatory SR and underlines the role of organizational resources and capabilities as well as the special position of SMEs. SMEs are not generally worse endowed to handle demands for formalized CSR. Research on SMEs and their access to (formal) CSR yields mixed results, however. As SMEs contribute the major share to the triple bottom line of environmental, social and economic aspects, chapter 4 therefore discusses formal CSR in SMEs and the associated relevance of selected sustainability reporting frameworks in depth. lt explains firms' current and future reporting activities and outlines the relevance of reporting frameworks for SMEs and large firms. Chapter 4 concludes firms can and should proactively engage in formalized CSR, irrespective of firm size and background, to contribute to the sustainability agenda. The detailed analysis and discussion of developments across selected reporting frameworks sheds light on their relevance for current and future reporting of SMEs and large firms. Finally, chapter 4 argues for regulatory support especially for SMEs to be socially and environmentally responsible. The thesis concludes greater engagement in sustainability matters is needed by companies regardless of their size. Organizations, governmental as well as nongovernmental, should support firms in formalizing their engagement.2018-01-01T00:00:00ZSimulation of the governance of complex systems (SimCo)
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38029
Title: Simulation of the governance of complex systems (SimCo)
Authors: Adelt, Fabian; Weyer, Johannes; Hoffmann, Sebastian; Ihrig, Andreas
Abstract: The current paper is positioned at the intersection of computer simulation, governance research, and research on infrastructure systems, such as transportation or energy. It proposes a simulation framework, “Simulation of the governance of complex systems” (SimCo), to study the governability of complex socio-technical systems experimentally by means of agent-based modelling (ABM). SimCo is rooted in a sociological macro-micro-macro model of a socio-technical system, taking into account the interplay of agents’ choices (micro) and situational constraints (macro). The paper presents the conceptualization of SimCo, its elements and subsystems as well as their interactions. SimCo depicts the daily routines of users performing their tasks (e.g. going to work) by choosing among different technologies (e.g. modes of transportation), occasionally deciding to replace a worn-out technology. All components entail different dimensions that can be adjusted, thus allowing operators to purposefully intervene, for instance in the case of risk management (e.g. preventing congestion) or system transformation (e.g. towards sustainable mobility). Experiments with a basic scenario of an urban road transport system demonstrate the effects of different modes of governance (soft control, strong control and a combination of both), revealing that soft control may be the best strategy to govern a complex socio-technical system.2018-03-31T00:00:00ZEssays on fiscal policy: trade balance deficits, private debt deleveraging, and heterogeneous agents
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38024
Title: Essays on fiscal policy: trade balance deficits, private debt deleveraging, and heterogeneous agents
Authors: Ivens, Annika
Abstract: This thesis addresses three issues of (optimal) fiscal policy related to recent economic developments. The first essay refers to specific economic problems arising in a monetary union by building on a two-country DSGE model where the two countries belong to a monetary union featuring intra-union trade balance imbalances. It is explored if and how a unilaterally implemented budget-neutral tax shift from direct to indirect taxation (fiscal devaluation) may decrease these imbalances. The fiscal devaluation is simulated as a decrease in the social security contributions and an increase in the value added tax. In the first part of the essay, the determinants of the effectiveness of a fiscal devaluation in raising the trade balance are explored. In the second part, these insights are used to simulate a fiscal devaluation applied in the Euro area countries featuring large trade balance deficits. It is found that a fiscal devaluation may be quite effective in reducing trade balance imbalances.
In the second essay, the event of a financial shock is regarded. A closed-economy DSGE model is used to simulate a private debt deleveraging shock in a situation where the monetary policy is constrained by the zero lower bound. It is shown that huge welfare losses may arise in such a situation where nominal interest rates are at the zero lower bound. Building on this insight, fiscal policy measures aiming at economic stabilization are investigated. It is found that applying a constrained-optimal fiscal policy in this situation of monetary policy being constrained by the zero lower bound may be highly effective where following the optimal fiscal policy implies a prolonged period of zero interest rates.
Finally, the third essay addresses the issue of national distributive effects of these fiscal policy measures by regarding heterogeneous agents within a single country and raising the question of an appropriate social welfare measure. A closed-economy DSGE model populated by two types of households is used to simulate an interest spread shock. While in the main part of the paper the Ramsey planner is modeled in a utilitarian fashion, the results are compared to the case of a Ramsey planner maximizing a social welfare function in the spirit of Rawls. The results indicate that welfare losses of an interest spread shock can be reduced to a larger extent by taxing interest income than by using wage taxes. Moreover, as a central point, it is found that maximizing economy-wide welfare may involve enlarging the disparity between agents if using a utilitarian definition of a social welfare function. Using a social welfare function in the spirit of Rawls can completely offset the disparity between groups but implies a significant decrease in the savers' welfare as well as large output fluctuations.
In sum, this thesis shows that fiscal policy may be quite effective in mitigating welfare losses of economic adjustment processes or financial shocks but that distributive issues of these policies seem to be of importance and should be considered in the context of optimal fiscal policy.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZMandatory sustainability reporting in Germany: does size matter?
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/38009
Title: Mandatory sustainability reporting in Germany: does size matter?
Authors: Bergmann, Alexander; Posch, Peter
Abstract: This article studies how German firms evaluate a recent national corporate social responsibility (CSR) law based on a European Union directive and the burden they expect regarding their organizational responsibilities due to mandatory sustainability reporting. One hundred and fifty-one firms of different sizes directly or indirectly affected by the law are included in the survey and their responses empirically analyzed using two-tailed t-tests and simple linear regression. Anchoring the discussion in stakeholder theory and the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) literature while considering large-firm idiosyncrasies, the results show differing effects on SMEs and large firms as well as firms which are directly and indirectly affected. Findings show that firm size only matters for the evaluation of the law by directly affected firms, while size does not matter in the case of indirectly affected firms. Possible moderators of this evaluation are grounded in the resource-based theory and formalization of CSR. This article contributes to the understanding of when firm size matters in the case of mandatory sustainability reporting and underlines the role of organizational resources and capabilities as well as the special position of SMEs.2018-10-26T00:00:00ZVertriebspartnerwahl im Auslandsgeschäft
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37966
Title: Vertriebspartnerwahl im Auslandsgeschäft
Authors: Rebsch, Svenja
Abstract: Viele Unternehmen sind sich der enormen Bedeutung der internationalen Märkte bewusst. Neue Kommunikations-, Transport- und Handelswege bieten vielfältige Chancen wie poten-zielle Umsatz- und Gewinnsteigerungen, Kosten- und Effizienzvorteile sowie Zugang zu mehr und neuen Ressourcen. Allerdings existieren, insbesondere für kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU), die in vielen globalen Volkswirtschaften den Motor der Wirtschaft darstellen, große Herausforderungen auf dem Weg zu erfolgreichen, internationalen Ge-schäftsbeziehungen.
Der Export in Zusammenarbeit mit Vertriebspartnern stellt grundsätzlich eine risikoarme Variante dar und wird daher häufig verwendet. Eines der Hauptprobleme stellt hierbei die Suche und letztendlich die Auswahl eines verlässlichen und geeigneten Partners im Zielmarkt dar. Da die Kundenwahrnehmung eines Unternehmens maßgeblich durch den Marktauftritt der Vertriebspartner bestimmt wird und das Scheitern einer Kooperation unwiederbringbare Kosten verursacht, kommt der Auswahl des passenden Vertriebspartners eine hohe Bedeutung zu.
In dieser Arbeit wird der Forschungsfrage nachgegangen, wie KMU aus dem B2B-Bereich ihre Vertriebspartnerwahl für das Auslandsgeschäft gestalten. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf der Identifikation von Erfolgsfaktoren im Rahmen der Vertriebspartnerwahl, um einen systematischen Auswahlprozess zu ermöglichen. Aus einer konzeptionellen und zwei empirischen Studien werden praxisnahe Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet, um KMU zukünftig durch die gewonnen Forschungsergebnisse zu unterstützen.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZThree essays on In-store information search in a digital world: effects of different Information sources on customers’ path to purchase
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37964
Title: Three essays on In-store information search in a digital world: effects of different Information sources on customers’ path to purchase
Authors: Keßenbrock, Andreas
Abstract: The main focus of this doctoral dissertation is to compare the interaction between customers and frontline employees with the use of online product reviews as the two most frequently consulted information sources at brick-and-mortar stores. Against this contextual background, the presented essays intend to answer relevant questions about the influence of communication channels and information sources in different stages of customers’ decision-making processes. Using a mixed-methods approach, Essay I addresses the question whether personal interaction with a frontline employee affects customers’ purchase channel choice compared to mobile online search at the point of sale. The results show that the used communication channel steers consumers to purchase in the same channel. Consumers who interact with a frontline employee, therefore, prefer to purchase offline, and mobile Internet search has a positive effect on switching to a competitor’s online channel. Furthermore, the identified channel lock-in effect demonstrates robustness when controlling for several channel characteristics such as price
differences, delivery time, and travel time to the brick-and-mortar store.
Essay II provides insights into the second research question of this thesis; how customer- employee interaction and mobile online reviews influence consumers’ purchase decision- making. First, rich qualitative data from 350 participants, captured directly after an in-store shopping experience, reveal differences between the two information sources regarding their potential to create choice confidence. In particular, frontline employee interaction was linked to collaborative decision-making, whereas purchase decisions based on reading online product reviews in-store were perceived to be less collaborative. Second, based on these exploratory findings, a field experiment with 585 participants supports the assumption that frontline employee interaction leads to more collaborative decision-making, less choice overload, and, in consequence, more choice confidence. Thus, the investigation suggests that customers process information differently, depending on the used information source.
Focusing on the last research question of this doctoral dissertation, Essay III offers an initial attempt to understand how mobile devices, as a new communication channel, affect customers’ perceptions of persuasiveness, and the central role of customers’ perception of control over the communication process, while searching for information at the point of sale. In this light, potential effects of information sources and communication channels have been considered separately. The results suggest that customers who use their mobile devices to search for product advice instead of personal interaction are more likely to adopt recommendations from frontline employees, even though this information source is presumed to act opportunistically. In this respect, perceived control over the communication process, which is triggered by digital communication channels, was found to explain the diminishing effect between perceived opportunism and persuasiveness of the information source.
While answering these central research questions, this thesis also provides a variety of managerial implications and raises questions for future research. Consistently, Essay I and Essay II contribute to the future role of frontline employee management and demonstrate the importance of frontline employees for both, retailers and customers. Since the investigations have shown that mobile online search steers customers to purchase at competitive online shops, brick-and-mortar retailers are encouraged to provide proactive consumer advice by their frontline employees. In this context, retailers should compare prices with online competitors and avoid substantial price differences. In addition, brick-and-mortar retailers should strongly communicate advantages such as customer service, and online disadvantages such as longer delivery times. However, it is necessary to rely on well-trained frontline employees with a focus
on personal characteristics such as credibility, expertise, and persuasiveness. Furthermore, frontline employees should rely on personal skills to give customers the feeling of unselfish support with the intention to simplify customers’ product choice.
Although some customers prefer to avoid a personal interaction with a frontline employee, retailers have the opportunity to provide specially created digital content by means of frontline employees’ expertise. Considered together with the findings obtained in Essay III, digital- mediated communication leads to higher source persuasiveness and recommendation adoption. In this manner, retailers can decrease customers’ unfavorable perceptions of frontline employees by providing another communication channel.
As retailers think about reducing or even replacing frontline employees as an information source, future research is supposed to extend the findings of this thesis with the intention to examine further consequences of this radical change. However, customers’ intention to use several information sources while searching in-store, future research should also examine the effects of multichannel usage in the context of information search. While the focus of this dissertation is to compare different communication channels and examine their effects separately, the knowledge about the effect of multiple communication channel searches on customers’ decision-making processes is limited. In sum, this dissertation provides detailed insights into several aspects of customers’ information search processing and purchase decisions against the background of comparing traditional offline and arising online information sources. Finally, the findings in this dissertation yield further interesting questions that need to be considered in future research.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays on rogue traders and collusive rogue trading: Implications of control balance, organizational misbehaviour, and behavioural patterns of group dynamics
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37930
Title: Essays on rogue traders and collusive rogue trading: Implications of control balance, organizational misbehaviour, and behavioural patterns of group dynamics
Authors: Rafeld, Hagen
Abstract: When analysing great financial disasters of our time, rogue trading and related protagonists come into play immediately. Recent history reveals a series of rogue traders, jeopardizing their employers’ assets and reputation. Rogue trading is a reoccurring phenomenon, gaining immense public attention due to the perceived mismatch between large-scale organizations on the one hand and individual employees bringing these organizations into enormous trouble on the other. It furthermore links to the understanding of fraudsters like rogue traders, embedded in (un)ethical organizational corporate corpuses.
Throughout this doctoral dissertation, I use three sources of information for the rogue trading case examination: publicly available investigation reports – prepared and issued by regulatory authorities/supervisors as well as authorized delegates like accounting or law firms engaged by the involved banks – published academic research, and news/media information about fines/regulatory sanctions imposed on affected banks and the prosecution status of individuals involved in the events. I apply a case analysis methodology to all rogue traders, extracting and comparing modus operandi, risk management failures and control weaknesses, as well as early warning signals, before I examine the events from a criminological, organizational, and psy-chological/behavioural sciences perspective.
Chapter 1 focusses on Kweku Adoboli at UBS and how he cloned the biggest trading fraud in the history of banking: Jérôme Kerviel’s USD 6.9bn unauthorized trading loss at Société Générale. I conduct a read across, comparing Adoboli and Kerviel with the ‘godfather’ of all rogue traders, Nicholas (‘Nick’) Leeson and his ruin of Barings Bank.
Chapter 2 and 3 employ Charles Tittle’s control balance theory (CBT) to explain rogue trading as a special form/subset of white-collar and corporate crime from a criminological per-spective. I use CBT to analyse the anatomy of the Leeson, Kerviel, and Adoboli case, totalling in an accumulated trading loss of USD 10.5bn. I draw conclusions regarding the explanatory power of CBT for rogue trading activities.
Chapter 4 analyses instances of unauthorized acting in concert between traders, their su-pervisors, and/or firm’s decision makers and executives, resulting in collusive rogue trading (CRT). I explore organizational misbehaviour (OMB) theory and explain three major CRT events at National Australia Bank (NAB), JPMorgan with its London Whale, and the interest reference rate manipulation/LIBOR scandal through a descriptive model of organiza-tional/structural, individual, and group forces. The model draws conclusions on how banks can set up behavioural risk management and internal control frameworks to mitigate potential CRT.
In the concluding chapter 5, I explain one additional major CRT event, the foreign exchange rate manipulation/forex scandal, through an extended descriptive OMB model, in which organizational/structural, individual, and group forces are influenced by behavioural patterns of conscious and unconscious group dynamics: groupthink and defence mechanisms minimizing moral dissonance, i.e. wilful blindness and ethical/moral blindness, morale silence/muteness, and moral neutralization. The model draws conclusions on adverse settings of organizational culture and how banks can prevent collective unethical behaviour.2018-01-01T00:00:00ZSample size and error containment judgments in non-statistical audit sampling - the sensivity of auditors to a revision of professional standards
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37928
Title: Sample size and error containment judgments in non-statistical audit sampling - the sensivity of auditors to a revision of professional standards
Authors: Baumeister, Daniel
Abstract: This cumulative dissertation deals with audit sampling theory, the revision of corresponding professional audit sampling standards, and the behavioral impact of the latter on auditors’ decisions over sample size and error containment, as well as the cognitive challenges that auditors are faced with when applying non-statistical sampling procedures. Three conceptual papers review the development of audit sampling techniques and technological demands throughout the profession over the last four decades. The dissertation identifies the audit sampling fundamentals that drive the most disruptive problems in the field and evaluates changes planned in the first revision of audit sampling standards in Germany in the past thirty years. Conceptual analyses show that audit sampling must be considered in any financial statement audit and that the presence of multiple methodological opportunities facilitates its broad-ranging application. However, the actual implementation of these procedures leads to potential flaws. In particular, a uniform utilization of audit sampling, suited to a variety of audit situations, is a goal that cannot be achieved by any of the currently available procedures provided through professional standards, whether national or international. Based on the outcome of a first empirical study, two experiments focus on the possible impact of a revision in professional auditing standards on auditor behavior regarding the desired audit scope and a reasonable treatment of disclosed error causes. Regarding the intended revision, our analysis assumes a positive association between the new guidance and the future performance of sampling procedures. Combined with the empirical results from the latter paper, the expectations involved point to a potential prevention of ongoing flawed auditor behavior by the acquisition of larger sample sizes and the offering of a better sensitization towards arbitrary error containment.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZThe distributional implications of business cycles and fiscal policy
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37923
Title: The distributional implications of business cycles and fiscal policy
Authors: Krause, Christopher
Abstract: This thesis presents three self-contained essays that emphasize the relevance of household heterogeneity and distributional implications in the analysis of business cycle dynamics and fiscal policy. In Chapter 2, I investigate the impact of redistributive taxation on private borrowing constraints and the cross-sectional distributions of consumption and income. I show that tax policy can have a substantial effect on households’ access to private credit markets in the sense that borrowing constraints become tighter when redistribution is increased. Chapter 3 studies the role of household heterogeneity in the transmission of government expenditure shocks and provides a mechanism that naturally generates state-dependent fiscal multipliers. In Chapter 4, I demonstrate that interpersonal comparison is an important driver of short-run credit movements.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in finance: time-frequency decompositions and the impact of surprise
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37909
Title: Essays in finance: time-frequency decompositions and the impact of surprise
Authors: Paraskevopoulos, Timotheos
Abstract: In the first part of this thesis, we study the informative value of time-frequency decompositions based on wavelets. In chapter 2 we address the challenge of forecasting major stock indices. For the binary classification task, we identify three wavelet filters out of fifteen, namely $D4$, $D6$ and $CF6$, which outperform the naive approach. We exemplify the performance of the forecasting algorithm by simulating a trading application in which the wavelet-based approach outperforms the naive strategy by a factor of about two in terms of Sharpe ratio.
In chapter 3 we study the transmission processes between the European stock markets and the nominal European exchange rate. To effectively distinguish between contagion and interdependence we estimate the spectral characteristics of the time series as a function of time and frequency using a continuous wavelet transform. This approach allows to reveal linkages and co-movement patterns, including lead-lag relationships, between periodic components. The empirical results support both cyclical and anti-cyclical relationships between the time-series while existing casual and reverse casual relation vary across scale and time. We strongly emphasize the limitations of a bivariate approach and encourage the conduction of a multivariate analysis to revisit our findings.
In the second part of the thesis, namely chapter 4, we aim to quantify the level of surprise in events published on Twitter. The proposed methodology maps the informational content of every Twitter account belonging to at least one S\&P500 constituent into a network. This approach allows to observe the formation of events and to quantify its propagation on an aggregate level. In a regression analysis, we investigate whether the proposed surprise metric has any explanatory power for the SP500 logarithmic returns and volatility. We find that an increase in the surprise index has an inverse effect on daily returns and a positive impact on the daily volatility. Moreover, the results support the hypothesis of a pre-report effect for both the return and volatility models.
Future work might also explore the limits of a multivariate approach to analyze directional interdependence and contagion patterns at different time scales. Considering deep neural network embeddings to reduce the dimensionality of frequency decompositions is one of the next steps in this research.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZIndustry 4.0 - A Path-Dependent Innovation
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37884
Title: Industry 4.0 - A Path-Dependent Innovation
Authors: Hirsch-Kreinsen, Hartmut
Abstract: Starting point of this paper is the prevailing view in the digitization discourse that there is currently a pronounced technology push with disruptive consequences for work. The article argues, however, that disruptive and structural change is by no means to be found or expected in all economic sectors and working segments. The thesis of this paper is that the digitization of work in the sector of industrial production is tied to a markedly path-dependent process of technological innovation and transformation of work. It is shown empirically that path dependency can be identified by incremental digitization measures in most companies and a related structurally conservative change in work. To explain these findings, conceptual considerations of organizational path dependence are invoked which emphasize particularly the mechanism of self-reinforcing increasing returns. However, technological and organizational path-dependency does not exclude the possibility of disruptive change. Therefore, the empirical and theoretical preconditions for longer-term disruptive change in work processes are discussed in conclusion.2019-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays on the effectiveness of KAM disclosure in auditor's reports
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37865
Title: Essays on the effectiveness of KAM disclosure in auditor's reports
Authors: Rematzki, Johanna
Abstract: This cumulative dissertation examines the effectiveness of key audit matters (KAMs) in the auditor’s report. The first paper investigates whether KAMs contribute to the audit expectation gap. While standard setters and regulators suggest that the expanded auditor's report will be a lot clearer when KAM disclosure is included, researchers believe that the audit expectation gap is rather an educational gap which exists because financial statement users are not aware of auditor’s responsibilities, even in the presence of KAMs. Our results reveal that KAM disclosure may not serve as a beneficial tool to narrow the audit expectation gap. The second paper examines the effect of linguistic characteristics in KAM disclosure on investors’ behavior in two ways: investors’ tendency to scrutinize managerial decision-making and investors' willingness to invest. While our findings show no significant differences for investors’ tendency to scrutinize managerial judgment making, we find that investors receiving an auditor's report with firm-specific information are less willing to invest in the company than investors who received an auditor’s report with standardized language. The third paper examines whether KAM disclosure influences managerial decision-making. We provide evidence that managers engage less in earnings management activities when the level of transparency in the auditor’s report increases. The fourth paper analyzes expanded auditor’s reports of CDAX listed companies in Germany. Our results show that the auditor identifies a wide variety of accounting matters in KAM disclosure which increases the informational value of the “new” auditor’s report. However, we also find that boilerplate and standardized language still exists. Taken together, the dissertation sheds light on the potential costs and benefits of KAM disclosure in the auditor’s report.2018-01-01T00:00:00ZDemographic change, migration and public pensions - a macroeconomic analysis
http://hdl.handle.net/2003/37855
Title: Demographic change, migration and public pensions - a macroeconomic analysis
Authors: Bickmann, Marius
Abstract: This thesis contains three self-contained papers contributing to the literature on demographic change, migration and public pensions. Chapter 2 introduces the basic framework for analyzing endogenous migration flows in an open economy model where countries exhibit differences in the generosity of public pension systems. Chapter 3 expands the model setting along several dimensions. First of all, I extend the model from chapter 2 to a three-country set-up, in which Germany as the host region receives immigration from Poland and Southern Europe. Furthermore, I introduce a complex demographic structure enabling an explicit analysis of the demographic transition. In contrast to related quantitative macroeconomic studies of population aging, the endogeneity of migration flows introduces a feedback mechanism between demographic and economic variables. In particular, migration responds to changes in relative wages and relative returns to the public pension systems caused by population aging. The migration flows arising in general equilibrium alter country-specific population dynamics as well as macroeconomic aggregates, factor prices and social security variables. Finally, chapter 4 shifts the focus from the interconnection between migration and population aging to the distributional implications of current labor movements. In the context of a two-country model I study the case of Polish-German migration. I highlight two main channels through which migration entails distributional effects. Firstly, labor movements change relative wages as long as they amend a country’s skill composition. Secondly, due to return migration, the savings behavior of migrants differs from that of non-migrants. Specifically, if income differences between sending and host region are significantly large and migrants expect to return to their home country with a positive probability, they accumulate high per capita savings to insure against a possible drop in income after returning. These higher assets of return migrants unambiguously increase the capital intensity in Poland (sending country). Whether Germany (host country) also benefits from the migrants’ savings behavior depends on the degree of cross-border investments.2018-01-01T00:00:00Z