Publication records

Since its inception, the luxury industry has been a growth story. Product extensions, store network expansion, entering growth markets – especially China and digital commerce – have been the drivers of the last years. Business cycles? There were some downturns during the SARS epidemic and the financial market crisis in 2009. Soon after, growth resumed at an even accelerated rate, driven by many more consumers craving luxury goods. Few thought that the diversification in terms of products, geographies, sectors, and consumers could be affected by economic downturns. All that is needed is a constant growth of the luxury clientele and their disposable incomes for marketers to turn them into customers of the brand.

Coronavirus has been diffused to nearly every country on Earth within a few months, and has unfortunately taken the lives of over 400,000 people globally. This article discusses its impact on global economy and globalization, including a pan-virus-free bubble, the future of European Union, the introduction of universal basic income, and how to prepare for the next crisis.

The article analyses the proposed hack back/active cyber defence legislation from the perspective of international law. It concludes that while such a policy would not be contrary to Germany's obligations under international law per se, it would be hard to justify in the majority of cases. This is because the remedies self-defence and countermeasures will likely be unavailable due to the persistent problem of timely attribution of cyber operations, and the requirements of the alternative plea of necessity will rarely be met in practice.

Prior research suggests that patents by mobile inventors are at higher risk of generating spillovers between departed and hiring firms. Despite extensive research on how inter-firm inventor mobility affects firms' learning and innovation, little is known about how firms protect their existing intellectual property in the face of inter-firm inventor mobility. We argue that one main way in which firms try to prevent others from appropriating the value of these inventions is by extending the validity of mobile inventors' patents. We derive a set of hypotheses consistent with this argument and test them using longitudinal data on four major American semiconductor firms. Our analyses show that, as hypothesized, both departed and hiring firms are more likely to extend the validity of mobile inventors' patents than is the case for the patents of other, non-mobile inventors. Furthermore, in line with the view that firms use patent renewal to deter other firms from appropriating mobile inventors' knowledge, we find this effect to be stronger where the risks of spillovers are most intense. Our findings extend prior literature by explicating the role of patent renewal as a strategic deterrent against intellectual property appropriation in the face of inter-firm inventor mobility.

With permission of Emerald

For more than a year, EU member states have been debating whether and how to restrict the participation of the Chinese technology group Huawei in the expansion of their 5G mobile networks. Caught between its two main trading partners, the US and China, the EU is facing a geopolitical test on several levels. Will Europe be able to ensure the security and reliability of digital infrastructures of key economic and social importance? Will it lead the way in 5G and the associated next wave of industrialisation, or will lose out on innovation? How should EU member states deal with their dependence on foreign technologies and strengthen its "digital sovereignty", a political priority of the EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen? The latter in particular could be the most important strategic challenge the EU has to face in the long term - especially in the context of the intensifying trade conflict between the US and China and the threat of a "decoupling" of technological supply chains.
[Über ein Jahr lang debattieren EU-Mitgliedsstaaten bereits darüber, ob und wie sie die Beteiligung des chinesischen Technologiekonzerns Huawei an dem Ausbau ihrer 5G-Mobilfunknetze einschränken sollen. Gefangen zwischen ihren beiden wichtigsten Handelspartnern, den USA und China, steht die EU vor einem geopolitischen Test auf mehreren Ebenen. Wird Europa langfristig in der Lage sein, die Sicherheit und Zuverlässigkeit digitaler Infrastrukturen von zentraler Bedeutung für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft zu gewährleisten? Wird es bei 5G und der damit verbundenen nächsten Welle der Industrialisierung tonangebend sein oder weiter an Innovationskraft verlieren? Wie sollen die EU-Mitgliedsstaaten mit der Abhängigkeit von ausländischen Technologien umgehen und jene „digitale Souveränität“ erreichen, deren Stärkung eine der politischen Prioritäten der EU-Kommission unter Ursula von der Leyen ist? Insbesondere letztere könnte die wichtigste strategische Herausforderung sein, der sich die EU langfristig stellen muss – vor allem im Kontext des sich intensivierenden Handelskonflikts zwischen den USA und China und einer drohenden „Entkopplung“ technologischer Lieferketten.]

Organizations were once linear and one dimensional. No more. The modern organization exists in a multi-dimensional ecosystem sustained by a potent combination of trust, technology and management. Think of Amazon, Alibaba, WeWork, Tencent and Uber. In Ecosystems Inc. some of the world’s leading management thinkers make sense of what it takes to understand, harness and develop organizational ecosystems.

The case “Wild Herbs Grow Tall – Mastering Structural Change in Lusatia” describes how entrepreneur Christina Grätz carves out a niche in the re-cultivation of landscapes in post-mining areas in her native region of Lusatia in Eastern Germany. After having established a thriving B2B business with wild herbs, she explores the possibility of entering the B2C market with a new business line. After several iterations and pivoting, she and her partners set up an online platform for direct web-based sales of organic herbal salts. However, the new company shows a lackluster performance – potentially due to the lack of experience in the online B2B marketing strategy.

Key teaching/learning objectives:

The case illustrates how it is possible for a new business to emerge against the backdrop of macroeconomic decline and structural changes in the economy. It provides insights on the complex endeavor by a fledgling company to transit from the B2B to the B2C market. The case details up-to-date methodologies for classroom discussions, including Saras Sarawathi's effectuation, Jake Knapp's Google Design Sprint, as well as the basic principles of Eric Ries’ Lean Startup.

The case “Wild Herbs Grow Tall – Mastering Structural Change in Lusatia” describes how entrepreneur Christina Grätz carves out a niche in the re-cultivation of landscapes in post-mining areas in her native region of Lusatia in Eastern Germany. After having established a thriving B2B business with wild herbs, she explores the possibility of entering the B2C market with a new business line. After several iterations and pivoting, she and her partners set up an online platform for direct web-based sales of organic herbal salts. However, the new company shows a lackluster performance – potentially due to the lack of experience in the online B2B marketing strategy.

Key teaching/learning objectives:

The case illustrates how it is possible for a new business to emerge against the backdrop of macroeconomic decline and structural changes in the economy. It provides insights on the complex endeavor by a fledgling company to transit from the B2B to the B2C market. The case details up-to-date methodologies for classroom discussions, including Saras Sarawathi's effectuation, Jake Knapp's Google Design Sprint, as well as the basic principles of Eric Ries’ Lean Startup.

Governmental hacking has come into the toolbox of the German security authorities - with legal powers for police forces and some intelligence services, with the development of corresponding technologies ("Government Trojan horses") and first deployment experiences. At the same time, government hacking is associated with considerable risks for the individuals concerned and for society at large. Governmental hacking is increasing and will persist. In the long term, it will constitute a major area of conflict between the promotion of information security on the one hand and the disruption of information security on the other.

[Staatliches Hacking ist im Instrumentarium der deutschen Sicherheitsbehörden angekommen – mit gesetzlichen Befugnissen für Polizeien und einige Nachrichtendienste, mit der Entwicklung entsprechender Technologien („Bundestrojaner“) und ersten Einsatzerfahrungen. Gleichzeitig ist staatliches Hacking mit erheblichen Risiken für die Betroffenen und die Gesellschaft insgesamt verbunden. Staatliches Hacking wird zunehmen und sich verstetigen. Es wird dauerhaft ein zentrales Spannungsfeld zwischen der Förderung von IT-Sicherheit auf der einen und der Durchbrechung von IT-Sicherheit auf der anderen Seite darstellen.]