08TH APRIL 2026
Publication by Prof. Wuttke accepted in the journal Production and Operations Management
We are delighted to share that the paper “Blockchain-Enabled Supply Chain Financing (BCF)” by Sairam Sriraman and David Wuttke from our Center for Digital Transformation, together with Eve Rosenzweig (Goizueta Business School, Emory University, USA) who is also a TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor, and Volodymyr Babich (McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, USA) has been accepted for publication in the journal Production and Operations Management.
This paper analyzes how blockchain can reduce financing frictions in supply chains. Using AI to examine documents on 11 blockchain‑enabled SCF solutions, the study shows which financing problems these platforms target and which blockchain features they use. The results reveal clear patterns: transactional frictions are most relevant in practice, and successful solutions often rely on specific features such as tokenization. The findings highlight that the value of blockchain in SCF depends on aligning the right technology features with the right financing challenges.
The publication is available here.
13TH FEBRUARY 2026
Interview with Prof. Sebastian Müller published in Heilbronner Stimme
The Heilbronner Stimme has published an interview with Prof. Sebastian Müller, Professor of Finance at the Center for Digital Transformation. In the conversation, he discusses the impact of artificial intelligence on financial markets, the evolving role of modern AI tools in investment contexts, and the momentum emerging from initiatives such as the AI House in Davos. The full interview can be accessed here (paywall).
16TH JANUARYARY 2026
Publication by Prof. Müller accepted in Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control
We are pleased to announce that the paper “The ‘Digital’ Premium: Why Does Digitalization Drive Stock Returns?” by Sebastian Müller from our Center for Digital Transformation, Katharina Drechsler (University of Cologne), and Heinz‑Theo Wagner (Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences & TUM Campus Heilbronn) has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.
The study introduces a novel text-based metric capturing firms’ digital orientation derived from 10-K reports. The authors show that digitally leading firms exhibit systematic differences across industries and earn a distinctive “digital premium” in stock returns—reflecting compensation for systematic risk exposure in the digital economy.
The publication is available here.
04TH NOVEMBER 2025
Expert Insights on how Supply Chain Finance can stabilize trade in times of crisis: Prof. David Wuttke in Beschaffung aktuell
Supply Chain Finance (SCF) unlocks liquidity across supply chains, reinforcing the resilience of trade relationships. But can SCF also serve as a buffer in times of customs and trade disruptions? In the latest issue of Beschaffung aktuell, Prof. David Wuttke from the Center for Digital Transformation shares his insights—alongside Friedemann Kirchhof from Siemens.
Click here to read the full article (in German).
07TH OCTOBER 2025
5th Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing
Prof. David Wuttke and Prof. Martin Meißner from our Center hosted the 5th annual workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing (DTOM). 40 international experts and young scientists met at our Campus in Heilbronn, where they presented innovative approaches and insights.
Highlights included the use of exoskeletons, demonstrated in an interactive talk by Jannick Fiedler from ETH Zürich, and the role of authenticity in social media posts to increase attention towards humanitarian organizations, put forth by Lea Ruesch, IE Business School.
We were honored to hear from Enno Siemsen from University of Wisconsin-Madison and Andres Musalem, Professor at the University of Chile, who gave insightful keynote speeches.
A heartfelt thank you to all participants for their contributions to the DTOM workshop!
06TH OCTOBER 2025
Introducing Rocket Tutor: AI-powered math support for management students at TUM Campus Heilbronn
At TUM Campus Heilbronn, management students begin their studies with a comprehensive math precourse led by Prof. David Wuttke from our Center for Digital Transformation. To further support their learning, we are now introducing Rocket Tutor at TUM Campus Heilbronn, an AI-based mathematics tutor that complements this foundational course. From the moment of enrollment, students at the TUM School of Management can access Rocket Tutor alongside the precourse. The tool remains available even after the initial two-week course, allowing students to deepen their mathematical understanding at their own pace. Importantly, Rocket Tutor is a complement, not a replacement. The in-person precourse, taught by Prof. Wuttke and his team, continues to be the cornerstone of our academic preparation. The AI tutor serves as an additional, flexible resource to reinforce learning and provide personalized support. With Rocket Tutor, we take another step toward digitally enhanced education.
This project also highlights the outstanding cross-campus collaboration that defines our work at TUM. Special thanks go to Patricia Popp, Jürgen Ernstberger, and Martin Grunow from TUM Campus Munich, who have supported and co-initiated this initiative with great commitment.
24TH SEPTEMBER 2025
Zhiyuan Lou's Successful Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Zhiyuan Lou has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at TUM Campus Heilbronn. As a researcher in the Professorship for Business Analytics under the supervision of Prof. Jingui Xie, Zhiyuan Lou presented his research on analytics for healthcare and decision models under uncertainty.
We would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Rainer Kolisch und Prof. Xiaolei Xie for serving as examiners, and to Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller for chairing the examination committee. We extend our congratulations to Zhiyuan Lou on this significant accomplishment and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.
07TH JULY 2025
Supply Chain Finance Week 2025
From July 1 to July 4, 2025, Prof. David Wuttke hosted the Supply Chain Finance Week at TUM Campus Heilbronn, bringing together leading academics and industry experts for a dynamic exchange.
A highlight of the week was the Ninth Supply Chain and Finance Symposium, featuring a distinguished lineup of international professors and several senior corporate representatives. Around 40 participants engaged in discussions on current trends and challenges in the field.
The week was framed by two special event: A Master Class brought together 20 selected TUM students with external lecturers for an intensive learning experience. The Doctoral Day offered early-career researchers the opportunity to learn from and connect with experienced professors in the field.
Another key event was the 7th Supply Chain Finance Hub, held as a hybrid format. Under the theme “Of Tariffs and Tensions: SCF for Resilient Supply Chains”, the event featured an on-site panel discussion with 6 experts and a live-stream to participants worldwide.
01ST JUNE 2025
2nd Workshop on the Latest Advances in NLP and GenerativeAI in Finance and Management
Prof. Sebastian Müller and doctoral researcher Christian Breitung hosted a high-impact workshop focused on the transformative potential of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Generative AI in finance and management.
Key insights included:
- Guard against look-ahead bias: LLMs can predict returns, generate trading signals, and even place trades, but flawed data timing can distort results. Further research is needed here
- Ethics must evolve with AI: New data formats introduce new risks. Transparency, audits, and ethics reviews are essential
- AI is changing the research game: Faster workflows lead to more submissions - and more pressure on peer review. Transparency in AI use is crucial
Thank you to all participants and speakers for your contribution!
14TH FEBRUARY 2025
New publication in the journal “Production and Operations Management” by Prof. David Wuttke
The publication entitled "Empirical Evidence about Payment Term Extensions in the Reverse Factoring Context" was conducted by Prof. David Wuttke. Reverse factoring (RF) is a highly relevant form of supply chain finance. Whereas extant analytical studies indicate how RF should enable buyers to extend payment terms, sufficient empirical evidence is lacking. To hypothesize on payment term extensions, Prof. Wuttke studies three motives: financing costs, fairness, and standardization. His empirical evidence indicates the presence of all three. It extends former analytical work on RF adoption revolving around the financing cost motive only.
The publication can be accessed here (open access).
14TH FEBRUARY 2025
New publication in the journal “Journal of Financial Economics” by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Christian Breitung
The publication entitled "Global Business Networks" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Christian Breitung. They leverage the capabilities of GPT-3 to generate historical business descriptions for over 63,000 global firms. Utilizing these descriptions and advanced embedding models from OpenAI, the researchers construct time-varying business networks that represent business links across the globe. They showcase the performance of these networks by studying the lead-lag effect for global stocks and predicting target firms in M&A deals. Sebastian Müller and Christian Breitung further demonstrate how masking firm-specific details can mitigate look-ahead bias concerns that may arise from the use of embedding models with a recent knowledge cutoff, and how to differentiate between competitor, supplier, and customer links by fine-tuning an open-source language model.
The publication can be accessed here.
27TH NOVEMBER 2024
Jasper David Brüns’ Successful Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Jasper David Brüns has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at TUM Campus Heilbronn. As a researcher in the Professorship for Digital Marketing under the supervision of Prof. Martin Meißner, Brüns presented his research on consumer engagement strategies within the creator economy. His dissertation explores content design strategies to enhance consumer engagement on social media.
We would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Harmen Oppewal from the Monash Business School for serving as an examiner, and to Prof. Sebastian Müller for chairing the examination committee. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Jasper David Brüns on this significant accomplishment and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.
11TH SEPTEMBER 2024
Michaela Lindenmayr's Successful Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Michaela Lindenmayr has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at TUM Campus Heilbronn. Lindenmayr, a researcher at the Professorship for Innovation and Digitalization under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer, presented her work on countermeasures against misinformation on online platforms. Her dissertation addresses a highly relevant topic in today's digital age, contributing significant insights into combating the spread of misinformation online. We extend our gratitude to Prof. Dr. Hanna Hottenrott for her role as examiner and to Prof. Dr. Martin Meißner for chairing the examination committee. Their contributions were invaluable to the successful defense. We congratulate Michaela Lindenmayr on this remarkable achievement and wish her continued success in her future endeavors.
27TH AUGUST 2024
New publication in the journal “Journal of Banking and Finance” by Prof. Sebastian Müller
The publication entitled "Analyst Recommendations and Mispricing Across the Globe" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller in cooperation with Prof. Vitor Azevedo from the Department of Financial Management - RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau. This study analyzes analysts' recommendations across 45 countries from 1994 to 2019. It finds that, unlike in the U.S., these recommendations result in significant abnormal returns in international markets. Analysts tend to favor underpriced stocks, and their recommendations are particularly valuable in less developed markets. The findings suggest that analysts' recommendations are more beneficial to investors than previously believed.
The publication can be accessed here
18TH JULY 2024
Tobias Kircher's Successful Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Congratulations! Tobias Kircher, a doctoral researcher at the Professorship for Innovation and Digitalization of Prof. Dr Jens Foerderer, has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation.
Tobias presented his critical examination of recent data protection and privacy interventions in digital content. His dissertation explores the potential downsides of these interventions, particularly their effects on innovation and pricing, offering timely and important insights into this issue.
Gratitude is extended to Prof. Dr. Joachim Henkel for his review and Prof. Dr. Jochen Hartmann for chairing the committee. Their expertise and support were crucial to this successful defense.
30TH JUNE 2024
Highlights from the KI Festival Heilbronn 2024
At the KI Festival 2024 in Heilbronn, the CDT showcased several initiatives:
Johannes Gölz, a doctoral researcher under Prof. Förderer, delivered a talk on successful prompt engineering. In his presentation, "Successfully Using ChatGPT – The Superpower of Clever Prompts," Gölz explained the critical factors for effective prompt generation.
Jasper Brüns, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Meißner, discussed user reactions to AI-driven content creation on social media. Additionally, Yun Fu, another doctoral researcher under Prof. Meißner, provided insights into how artificial intelligence and machine learning enable voice cloning, opening new possibilities for communication and technological interaction. Attendees had the opportunity to experience the magic of voice cloning firsthand at the interactive TUM booth, where they could clone their own voice or experiment with others.
10TH JUNE 2024
4th Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing
Hosted by David Wuttke and Martin, the 4th Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing attracted around 35 international experts and young scientists to TUM Campus Heilbronn. Emphasizing the human element, the participants presented and discussed research. Karen Donohue and Carl-Philip Ahlbom delivered keynote lectures. Moderated by metaverse expert Philipp A. Rauschnabel, the panel featuring Michela Carraro, Dominik Mahr, Christoph Schmidt, and Teck Ming (Terence) Tan explored "A slightly technical perspective on technologies".
27TH AUGUST 2024
New publication in the journal “Journal of Banking and Finance” by Prof. Sebastian Müller
The publication entitled "Analyst Recommendations and Mispricing Across the Globe" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller in cooperation with Prof. Vitor Azevedo from the Department of Financial Management - RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau. This study analyzes analysts' recommendations across 45 countries from 1994 to 2019. It finds that, unlike in the U.S., these recommendations result in significant abnormal returns in international markets. Analysts tend to favor underpriced stocks, and their recommendations are particularly valuable in less developed markets. The findings suggest that analysts' recommendations are more beneficial to investors than previously believed.
The publication can be accessed here
30TH JUNE 2024
Highlights from the KI Festival Heilbronn
At the KI Festival 2024 in Heilbronn, the CDT showcased several initiatives:
Johannes Gölz, a doctoral researcher under Prof. Förderer, delivered a talk on successful prompt engineering. In his presentation, "Successfully Using ChatGPT – The Superpower of Clever Prompts," Gölz explained the critical factors for effective prompt generation.
Jasper Brüns, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Meißner, discussed user reactions to AI-driven content creation on social media. Additionally, Yun Fu, another doctoral researcher under Prof. Meißner, provided insights into how artificial intelligence and machine learning enable voice cloning, opening new possibilities for communication and technological interaction. Attendees had the opportunity to experience the magic of voice cloning firsthand at the interactive TUM booth, where they could clone their own voice or experiment with others.
10TH JUNE 2024
Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing
Hosted by David Wuttke and Martin, the 4th Workshop on Digital Technologies in Operations and Marketing attracted around 35 international experts and young scientists to TUM Campus Heilbronn. Emphasizing the human element, the participants presented and discussed research. Karen Donohue and Carl-Philip Ahlbom delivered keynote lectures. Moderated by metaverse expert Philipp A. Rauschnabel, the panel featuring Michela Carraro, Dominik Mahr, Christoph Schmidt, and Teck Ming (Terence) Tan explored "A slightly technical perspective on technologies".
15TH MAY 2024
Christian Breitung discusses AI's role in economic data analysis on 'Breaking Data' Podcast
Christian Breitung was recently featured as a guest on the podcast 'Breaking Data,' a podcast focusing on data analysis and artificial intelligence. In the episode, Christian, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Sebastian Müller, discussed the use of AI in analyzing economic data. He is also a co-founder of Qannual, a company specializing in economic data analysis.
You can listen to the podcast here (in German).
15TH MAY 2024
Unraveling Google's Choice Architecture: Insights from Alexander Stolte's Research
In this article, Alexander Stolte, a doctoral researcher with Prof. Jens Foerderer, delves into the dynamics of digital platforms, particularly focusing on Google's choice architecture. He highlights the platform's influence in shaping user experience and market dynamics. Despite Google's dominance, Alexander Stolte identifies potential competition from players like Microsoft and emerging innovations such as Large Language Models (LLMs). Concerns arise regarding transparency and the potential misuse of choice architecture, prompting calls for regulatory intervention. Alexander Stolte emphasizes the need for transparency and regulation to ensure fair competition and protect user interests in the digital realm.
22ND MARCH 2024
Johannes Gölz discusses prompt engineering during “AI Monday” event series
At the Heilbronn Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI), Johannes Gölz, a doctoral researcher under Prof. Jens Förderer, shared insights on prompt engineering at a panel discussion during the "AI Monday" event series. Led by Dennis Kline, the panel featured experts such as Prof. Claudia Finkbeiner (University of Kassel), Dorothée Töreki (entrepreneur “Denkräume im Digitalen”), and Rebecca Rutschmann (AI expert), who explored the intersection of AI with language and creativity. They underscored the importance of effective prompts for AI and highlighted its potential for skill enhancement. The takeaway? Good prompts yield good results, emphasizing AI as a tool for learning, not just task completion.
10TH MARCH 2024
Prof. Foerderer receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
Prof. Jens Foerderer and Alexander Stolte receive third-party funding of 229.970€ from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) for the project “Decision architectures on search engine platforms: An analysis of the impact of infinite scrolling on companies and competition”.
The project will start in 2024.
25TH DECEMBER 2023
Article in Heilbronner Stimme about Prof. Jens Förderer's research being funded with an ERC Starting Grant
Article in Heilbronner Stimme about Prof. Jens Foerderer's research being funded by the European Research Council with 1.5 million euros and what the project is about. Click here for the article (in German) with the headline "TUM-Forscher am Campus Heilbronn schauen App-Stores auf die Finger".
20TH DECEMBER 2023
New study by Sebastian Müller and Gunther Friedl unveiling a climate risk assessment method to analyze European banking resilience
A new study by Gunther Friedl, Sebastian Müller, Alexander Schult and Alberto Spagnoli entitled "The Impact of Transitory Climate Risk on Firm Valuation and Financial Institutions: A Stress Test Approach" addresses urgent calls by European regulatory bodies. The team has developed an innovative bottom-up climate risk assessment method to analyze the resilience of the European banking sector against transitory climate risks.
Key Insights:
- An estimated impact of a 50–100 EUR carbon tax per tCO2 on the valuation and default risk of STOXX Europe 600 firms.
- A startling revelation: Asset devaluation shocks larger than 30% for about 5% of the sample firms!
- Investment-grade probabilities of default (PDs) dropping below 3% for about 16% of the firms.
- At the sector level, asset devaluations shocks of 15–36% and new PDs of 5–34% for the six most affected sectors.
- A stress test on credit risk shows a decrease in capital ratios between 1.2 and 1.6 percentage points in the most adverse scenario.
This study illuminates the substantial transitory climate risk for asset portfolios of banks and contributes significantly to integrating climate risk into risk management and regulation of financial institutions.
Read the full paper here
13RD DECEMBER 2023
Discovery Dialogue: Networking and Exchange between KODIS and CDT
During the recent Discovery Dialogue event, around 30 members from the Center for Digital Transformation (CDT) and the Research and Innovation Center for Cognitive Service Systems (KODIS) from Fraunhofer IAO converged for an evening of invaluable networking and exchange.
The event, hosted by Dr. Bernd Bienzeisler (KODIS) and Prof. Sebastian Müller (CDT), kicked off with warm welcomes and insightful introductions. Afterwards, attendees engaged in 5 brisk networking rounds, fostering meaningful connections among CDT and KODIS members, delving into shared research interests and collaborative possibilities.The event ended with open networking, after which some participants enjoyed the festive atmosphere at the Heilbronn Christmas market.
The evening was truly inspiring and we look forward to more transformative engagements between KODIS and CDT!
17TH NOVEMBER 2023
Prof. Jens Foerderer receives ERC Starting Grant
Excellent news and a great honor for Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer, Professor for Innovation and Digitalization at the CDT, who will be funded by the European Research Council (ERC) with a Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros over the next five years. His research project "Fair Competition in App Markets" convinced the ERC committee. His pioneering research aims to understand how Apple's and Google's obligations under the European Union's Digital Markets Directive affect competition and innovation in their app stores. With this prestigious funding, Prof. Foerderer will advance his research goals in a targeted and focused manner.
09TH NOVEMBER 2023
Prof. Meißner receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG
Prof. Martin Meißner receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) for a project that investigates shopping behavior in online and virtual environments using eye tracking.
31ST OCTOBER 2023
TUM Talk 2023: Johannes Gölz's speech unveiled the potential of AI at work
Johannes Gölz, research associate at the Center for Digital Transformation at TUM Campus Heilbronn, recently illuminated the potential of AI at this year's TUM Talk.
Gölz captivated the audience with a demonstration of ChatGPT's latest advancements, showcasing its ability to not just recognize and process business process imagery but to delve deeper, analyzing and enhancing these processes.
Further exploring the capabilities, he explained how ChatGPT could be instrumental in tailoring communication to specific organizational domains.
Overall, the implications for firms are significant. They suggest a paradigm shift towards AI-driven frameworks to redefine and enhance their processes.
10TH OCTOBER 2023
New publication in the journal “Finance Research Letters” by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Dr. Karoline Bax
The publication entitled "Sustainability Transmission through Focal Nodes in Supply Chain Networks" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller and Dr. Karoline Bax from the CDT in cooperation with Prof. Sandra Paterlini from the University of Trento. Supply chain networks can be instrumental in transmitting sustainability levels among connected nodes, particularly from customers to suppliers. In this context, they introduce a third type of node, the focal node which is a constituent of a large index and functions dually as both customer and supplier. Further, it is characterized by its centrality, large size, and high visibility within the network. By regression analysis, they show that the ESG scores of these focal nodes exert a positive influence on both their suppliers and customers, highlighting their role in promoting sustainability across the entire network.
The publication can be accessed here
21ST SEPTEMBER 2023
Apple's App Store Strategy Explained: Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer Contributes to Dev-Insider.de
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer has written an article for Dev-Insider.de, addressing the intricacies of balancing quality and quantity in Apple's App Store. This work outlines Apple's governance mechanisms and offers actionable advice for platform operators. Förderer's analysis emphasizes the critical role of transparent guidelines, rigorous enforcement, and adaptability in managing the quality of digital platforms. For an in-depth look at the insights, the article is accessible in German here.
20TH JULY 2023
New publication in the Journal of Asset Management by Prof. Sebastian Müller
The publication entitled "Stock market anomalies and machine learning across the globe" was conducted by Prof. Sebastian Müller in cooperation with Prof. Vitor Azevedo from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Department of Financial Management, and with Georg Sebastian Kaiser from Roland Berger. The study analyzed nearly 1.9 billion stock-month observations from 1980 to 2019, highlighting the outstanding performance of machine learning models in predicting future stock returns. These significantly outperformed conventional forecasting methods, achieving monthly excess returns of 1.8-2.2%. The most successful models were feed-forward neural networks. Overall, the study shows that machine learning approaches can uncover market inefficiencies that challenge standard asset pricing theories. The publication can be accessed here.
15TH JUNE 2023
Fortschrittsbarometer Digitale Transformation Mittelstand 2023
The majority of SME´s in the region of Heilbronn-Franken do not strategically investigate digital transformation and stay below the potential provided by new technologies, a study shows and suggests an action plan for firms, educational and public institutions.
The study conducted by Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer and Michaela Lindenmayr from the CDT and Dr. Christoph Geier shows that the majority of companies see digitization as a one-off project and prefers to pragmatically react to the challenges at hand. Almost two thirds (62 percent) of medium-sized companies do not yet have a strategy for digital transformation. More than half of them also have no plans to address the issue strategically in the future. Thus, so far, many companies lack a long-term vision for the digital transformation. In parts this is because companies lack ideas on how digital transformation can create value for the business. Moreover, they face a lack of skilled workers, poor digital infrastructure, and a complex legal environment. Based on these findings, the research team provides recommendations for action for companies, policy-makers, and universities.
To access the full study and learn more about digital transformation of the German Mittelstand, you can access www.mgt.tum.de/fortschrittsbarometer (in German).
19TH MAY 2023
New publication in the Journal of Empirical Finance by Christian Breitung
In his single-authored article Automated Stock Picking using Random Forests, Christian Breitung, doctoral candidate of the TUM School of Management, derives a stock ranking by applying a technical features based random forest model on an international dataset of liquid stocks. He finds that predicting outperformance probabilities rather than returns may lead to superior out-of-sample portfolio performance. Moreover, he shows that outperformance probabilities serve as a superior measure of future returns in the context of portfolio optimization. Mean-variance portfolios using this measure are less volatile and more profitable than equally- or value-weighted portfolios. These findings are robust to firm size, regional restrictions, non-crisis periods, and cannot be explained by limits to arbitrage. The article can be found here: “https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0927-5398(23)00045-2”
17TH MAY 2023
Prof. Sebastian Müller receives third-party funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Prof. Sebastian Müller receives third-party funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, BMWK) for his project “Subscription Business Case Calculator - Wirtschaftlichkeitsberechnung von Subscription-Geschäftsmodellen für Einstieg und Erfolg im KMU-Subscriptiongeschäft“ (Subscription Business Case Calculator - Subscription business model profitability calculation for entry and success in SME subscription business). This project will be conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Industrial Management FIR at RWTH Aachen.
18TH APRIL 2023
New publication in the Journal of Banking and Finance (JBF) by Dr. Daniel Huber, Prof. Heiko Jacobs, Prof. Sebastian Müller and Fabian Preissler
In the article International Factor Models, Prof. Sebastian Müller and his doctoral researcher Fabian Preissler investigate the performance of competing factor-based asset pricing models in international regions and globally. The tests show that recently proposed models tend to perform better than classical model, which points to the need for new powerful asset pricing models for global stock markets.
The holistic analysis controls for model transaction costs and incorporates both, right-hand-side tests (based on maximum squared Sharpe ratios) and left-hand-side tests (based on individual return predictors or composite mispricing proxies). The research work was done in cooperation with Prof. Heiko Jacobs from the University of Duisburg-Essen and Dr. Daniel Huber from the University of Hamburg. The article can be found here.
05TH APRIL 2023
Workshop on data-driven dynamic and robust resource management (Prof. Xie)
To discuss the latest developments in data-driven dynamic and robust resource management, about 20 international professors and researchers met for a 2-day workshop at TUM Campus Heilbronn. The workshop was organized by Prof. Jingui Xie from our Center, and Prof. Thierry Garaix and Prof. Xiaolan Xie from the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne.
03RD MARCH 2023
Are data breach announcements and stock market reactions a matter of timing?
In recent articles by Harvard Business Manager, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and other newspapers, a study by Prof. Jens Foerderer from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Prof. Sebastian Schuetz from the Florida International University (FIU) was reported on.
The study analyzed over 8,000 data breaches of US-listed companies between 2008 and 2018. It revealed that many companies intentionally plan to disclose data breaches on busy news days to avoid negative impacts on their stock prices. The researchers suggest that shorter time frames for reporting data breaches could prevent companies from strategically planning their disclosures.
You can discover the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4264.
21ST FEBRUARY 2023
Wissenschaftliche Kommission Operations Research at TUM Campus Heilbronn
After not meeting in person for three years due to the pandemic, 21 professors and researchers discussed the latest developments in operations research in a two-day meeting of the Wissenschaftliche Kommission Operations Research of the Verband der Hochschullehrerinnen und Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. (VHB, engl. Association of University Teachers of Business Administration). The meeting, organized by Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller, included lectures and interactive sessions. Prof. Guido Voigt, the head of the commission, reported on important topics concerning the commission.
Key learnings from the various presentations include:
- Combining traditional OR methods with machine learning helps to solve complex problems
- OR methods can be used to analyse the capacity of the electricity market and to reduce energy consumption of manufacturing companies
- OR researchers can solve complex problems of retailers, manufacturers, and many other companies
Thanks to everyone who participated!
01ST DECEMBER 2022
Congratulations Florian Sachs! The first doctoral researcher successfully completed his doctoral thesis at the CDT
We congratulate Florian Sachs on receiving his Ph.D., making him also the first doctor of our Center and at the TUM Campus Heilbronn!
In his dissertation, Florian Sachs analyzed unreliable production systems. Prof. Gudrun Kiesmüller supervised his thesis. Prof. Geert-Jan van Houtum, Professor at Technical University Eindhoven, was acting as a second reviewer and was also part of the committee.
Florian Sachs will continue his scientific career and become an assistant professor for Supply Chain Analytics at the University of Cologne in spring 2023. Congratulations on this as well!
Johannes Gölz, research associate at the Center for Digital Transformation at TUM Campus Heilbronn, recently illuminated the potential of AI at this year's TUM Talk.
Gölz captivated the audience with a demonstration of ChatGPT's latest advancements, showcasing its ability to not just recognize and process business process imagery but to delve deeper, analyzing and enhancing these processes.
Further exploring the capabilities, he explained how ChatGPT could be instrumental in tailoring communication to specific organizational domains.
Overall, the implications for firms are significant. They suggest a paradigm shift towards AI-driven frameworks to redefine and enhance their processes.
30TH NOVEMBER 2022
Prof. Wuttke receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
Prof. Wuttke receives third-party funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
21ST NOVEMBER 2022
Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization contributes to the Springer book “Digitalization Across Organizational Levels”
Firms and researchers are concerned about the opportunities and challenges of digitalization. The book Digitalization Across Organizational Levels was published on the occasion of Prof. Dr. Armin Heinzl’s 60th birthday with the help of his former Ph.D. students and other academics with whom he has worked during his career. It covers various topics along digitalization, namely outsourcing, multi-party projects, culture, and gender, as well as digital platforms and ecosystems. Prof. Jens Förderer and his doctoral students Michaela Lindenmayr, Tobias Kircher and Alexander Stolte contribute to the book by evaluating digital platforms’ economic and social consequences, including privacy, hate speech, and innovation in a competitive environment. A systematic literature review is conducted, which allows for capturing the state-of-the-art research papers and for outlining trade-offs faced by platform firms when considering these consequences. The article is available here.
02ND OCTOBER 2022
Prof. Kiesmüller and Prof. Wuttke conduct the "Supply Chain Monitor Heilbronn-Franken" survey until November 30, 2022
Supply chains and digital transformation are omnipresent. But what specifically affects companies in the Heilbronn-Franken region? Which trends can be observed in this area? What solutions are required? What makes this particular region of "hidden champions" unique in terms of its supply chains?
Prof. Kiesmüller and Prof. Wuttke are conducting a survey on global topics such as supply chain management, spare parts logistics and digital transformation. They are particularly interested in investigating these topics in the Heilbronn-Franken region. Companies in the Heilbronn-Franken region with > 50 employees can participate in the survey here.
29TH SEPTEMBER 2022
Prof. Sebastian Müller and Christian Breitung present at the 28th Annual Meeting of the German Finance Association (DGF)
Prof. Sebastian Müller and his doctoral student Christian Breitung attended the 28th Annual Meeting of the German Finance Association (DGF) at the University of Marburg (September 29 - October 1, 2022), where they presented two papers entitled: “When Firms Open Up: Identifying Value Relevant Textual Disclosure Using simBERT” and “Digital innovation…and the cross-section of stock returns" (together with Katharina Drechsler und Heinz-Theo Wagner). In their research, they analyze how content changes in firm's annual reports are incorporated into stock prices over time, how the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of annual reports can be used to identify digital leaders and digital laggards, and how digital innovation is priced in the stock market.
10TH AUGUST 2022
Interview of Prof. David Wuttke on Deutschlandfunk about his study on the use of Augmented Reality in production
Radio station “Deutschlandfunk” recently interviewed Prof. David Wuttke about his study on Augmented Reality in production. Listen to the interview here.
28TH JULY 2022
New publication in OR Spectrum by J. Ralfs and G.P Kiesmüller
In the article, Inventory management with advance demand information and flexible shipment consolidation, Prof. Kiesmüller and her PhD student Jana Ralfs investigate how truck utilization in a time based shipment consolidation program can be increased by using advance demand information. To fully exploit the benefit of advance demand information, safety stocks have to be increased to enable flexible deliveries and reduce costs. The publication can be found here.
29TH MARCH 2022
Annual report on research, innovation and technological gerformance in Germany considers the platform economy highly relevant
Recently, the Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI - Expert Commission for Research and Innovation) published its Annual Report on Research, Innovation and Technological Performance in Germany for 2022. The Commission considers the platform economy to be one of the four key areas for future research and innovation strategy in Germany.
The Commission notes that Germany has significant weaknesses in the area of digital technologies, which applies in particular to innovations in the platform economy. Germany has a high value creation potential for B2B and data-driven platforms in the industrial sector, so further research and innovation is needed to expand this area. Prof. Förderer exchanged with the EFI on the topics of the platform economy.
01ST MARCH 2022
Study by Prof. Kiesmüller on “Evaluation of unreliable flow lines with limited buffer capacities and spare part provisioning”
As manufacturing systems are highly technical with many connected robots and machines, there is unfortunately always a risk that one of the machines will fail, resulting in a production stop of the machine, the subsystem, or even the entire system. Prof. Kiesmüller and her doctoral researcher Florian Sachs, together with Prof. Stefan Helber (Leibniz University Hannover), have developed a new evaluation procedure to compute the throughput of a failure-prone flow line in which both buffers and spares cushion the impact of failures. This approach also helps identify machines where high spare parts availabilities are beneficial. The study was published in the European Journal of Operational Research.
18TH FEBRUARY 2022
SOCIAL BOTS ON TWITTER – MICHAELA LINDENMAYR PRESENTS AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK
Social Bots are increasingly used on social media imitating human behavior and influencing social media users. To understand their impact, Michaela Lindenmayr, research assistant of Prof. Jens Förderer, studies how social bots manipulate social media users and how this affects business metrics. This project was presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (WI22) as part of the highly competitive doctoral consortium.
14TH FEBRUARY 2022
INSIGHTS FROM VIRTUAL REALITY-ENHANCED TEACHING AT TUM CAMPUS HEILBRONN
In a white paper, Prof. Wuttke explains experiences, findings and recommendations when using Virtual Reality (VR) in teaching: “We want to share a modern way of online teaching. We want to publish our lessons learned and hope that the insights on technical effort, didactic approaches, and organizational aspects are valuable for others.” The report is targeted to all those who are excited about VR — be it faculty, students, or teaching support staff. The white paper is available for download here.
27TH JANUARY 2022
STUDY BY PROF. WUTTKE “SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE? RAMPING UP PRODUCTION WITH THE USE OF AUGMENTED REALITY”
A study by Prof. Wuttke, Ankit Upadhyay (TUM), Enno Siemsen (University of Wisconsin) and Alexandra Wuttke-Linnemann (Landeskrankenhaus Mainz) was published in “Manufacturing and Service Operations Management” under the title “Seeing the Bigger Picture? Ramping Up Production with the Use of Augmented Reality”.
15TH DECEMBER 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER PRESENTS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN TEXAS
A recent research project of Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer and his doctoral student Tobias Kircher was presented at the 42nd International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Austin, Texas, in December 2021. The project, titled “Does EU-Consumer Privacy Harm Financing of US-App-Startups? Within-US Evidence of Cross-EU-Effects” investigates an important question faced by policymakers: should they tighten up privacy?
06TH DECEMBER 2021
INTERVIEW OF PROF. MÜLLER IN HEILBRONN MAGAZINE “HANIX”
The Heilbronn magazine Hanix interviewed Prof. Müller about the importance of the financial market, the relation to the real economy and about the predictability of developments on the financial market. Read the full interview here (in German) and the summary in English here.
17TH NOVEMBER 2021
PROF. WUTTKE AND HIS TEAM AT THE DECISION SCIENCES (DSI) CONFERENCE
At the Decision Sciences (DSI) conference, Prof. Wuttke participates in an invited panel on Teaching Industry 4.0. His doctoral student Begimai Marlenova presents a study on “Supply Chain Finance and Supply Chain Resilience” together with Prof. Wuttke and Prof. Eve Rosenzweig (Emory). Additionally, doctoral student Sairam Sriraman presents on “Supply Chain Resilience through Supply Chain Finance”.
30TH OCTOBER 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER SHEDS LIGHT ON THE OPPORTUNITIES AND DANGERS OF A “METAVERSE”
Following the renaming of Facebook to “Meta”, Prof. Förderer sheds light on the opportunities and dangers of a “Metaverse”. The metaverse allows people to interact as avatars and work, shop, learn and play in virtual reality without being physically together. Read the full article here (in German).
30TH OCTOBER 2021
STATEMENTS OF PROF. MÜLLER IN ARTICLE OF STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG
In its article “Depot-Eröffnung – Die ersten Schritte zu mehr Rendite”, the Stuttgarter Zeitung interviewed Prof. Müller, e.g. about actively managed investment funds. Read the full article here (in German).
27ST OCTOBER 2021
PROF. WUTTKE PRESENTS STUDY ON “SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE DURING CORONA: INCREASED TOGETHERNESS OR COMMERCIAL TRUTH?”
At the INFORMS conference Prof. Wuttke, together with Begimai Marlenova and Eve Rosenzweig (Emory) presents a study by “Supply Chain Finance during Corona: Increased Togetherness or Commercial Truth?”
29TH SEPTEMBER 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER DEFINES 5 TIPS ON HOW CIOS AVOID DEPENDENCIES
In his article in the CIO Magazine, Prof. Jens Förderer summarizes 5 tips for CIOs on how not to become dependent on cloud providers, as well as the benefits of a thorough analysis and exit strategy. Read the full article here (in German).
21ST JULY 2021
RESEARCH ON ESG RISKS AND BANKING REGULATION
A research project by Prof. Sebastian Müller (CDT) and Prof. Gunther Friedl (Dean of the TUM School of Management, Munich) on ESG risks and banking regulation was funded by the Frankfurt Institute for Risk Management and Regulation (FIRM e.V.). The results were presented at the FIRM research conference in June 2021 and recently discussed in this article in the Börsenzeitung.
21ST JUNE 2021
PROF. FÖRDERER COMMENTS IN HANDELSBLATT ON THE ANTITRUST INVESTIGATIONS OF APPLE BY THE BUNDESKARTELLAMT (GERMAN FEDERAL CARTEL OFFICE)
Prof. Jens Förderer comments on the investigations of the Bundeskartellamt (German Federal Cartel Office) on Apple’s market power, particularly the AppStore. Read the full article in the newspaper HANDELSBLATT here.
09TH APRIL 2021
PROF. KIESMÜLLER HAS JOINED LUND UNIVERSITY AS A GUEST PROFESSOR
Prof. Kiesmüller has joined Lund University (Sweden) as a guest professor where she collaborates with Prof. Marklund from the Division of Production Management. Their common research interests have resulted in joint research projects about the coordination of inventory and transportation management.
04TH FEBRUARY 2021
REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE ON PLATFORMS
A recent literature review on platform management tactics has appeared as part of the Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Systems. The research project has been co-authored by Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer.
The review brings together work that has so far been dispersed over different academic disciplines and distills different types of management tactics that platform companies can use to manage their partners and ecosystems. Find more Information here.
27TH JANUARY 2021
RESEARCH GRANT ON COMPETITION IN PLATFORM MARKETS
The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) has recently announced to fund a research project on the platform economy headed by Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer.
The project, titled “Competition with the Platform Owner: An Empirical-quantitative Investigation of Mobile App Platforms”, seeks to study the competition between platform companies and their partners. Platform firms such as Amazon and Apple have been criticized for being too powerful, and part of this criticism has been related to the observation that platform companies enter the markets of their partners with own rival products. Such entries can represent an existential threat for many firms that currently build their business on platforms. However, so far, it remains little understood when complementors face competition with platform companies. The research project will, amongst other questions, investigate the causes of competition between platform companies and their complementors.
20TH JANUARY 2021
RESEARCH PROJECT ON PLATFORMS AND PRIVACY PRESENTED AT WISE 2020
A recent research project of Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer and Tobias Kircher was presented at the 31st Workshop on Information Systems and Economics, held from December 16-19 2020.
The project, titled “Does Consumer Privacy Harm Innovation? Evidence from Google’s Enforcement of COPPA in Android’s Market for Kids-Games” investigates an important question faced by platform companies: should they encourage privacy on their platforms? While privacy fosters user adoption, it potentially harms complementary innovation. So far, little is known about the actual consequences of privacy on innovation. The paper is currently being finalized and will shortly appear as a working paper on this website.
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