Research Projects

Arive

Arive is a startup founded in 2021 that applies one of the major consumer trends spawned by the Corona pandemic to high-end household products. Arive delivers products from categories such as technology, cosmetics or jewelry to its user:s homes in a short time. The research project of the Chair of Innovation Management investigates collaborations between digital tech startups and retailers in the still young market of "connected retail".

BMBF: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Bioeconomy Understand. Connect. Support. - Accompanying research on the bioeconomy model region in the Rhenish mining area

In the course of structural change, the Rhenish Mining District is striving to transform itself from a region characterized by lignite mining to a "bioeconomy" region. The bioeconomy describes a modern and sustainable form of economy based on the use of biological resources instead of fossil raw materials. Due to the large agricultural sector and the spatial proximity to other industrial sectors, such as the chemical and food industry along the Rhine, the Rhenish mining area has a high potential for bioeconomic developments. The project "Bioökonomie-Verstehen.Verbinden.Unterstützen" (Bioeconomy VVU) is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2022 and accompanies funding projects for the establishment of the bioeconomy region Rheinisches Revier. The project is carried out in cooperation with chairs of the RWTH Aachen University, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Aachener Gesellschaft für Innovation und Technologietransfer (AGIT) as an associated partner. The TIE Institute, for example, is concerned with business start-ups for innovation-led regional structural change in the Rhenish mining area. An indicator of start-up behavior in the region is being developed, and the specific challenges faced by start-ups in the bioeconomy and their interaction with established players in the ecosystem are being empirically investigated. With the help of the results, recommendations for action will be derived to further promote bioeconomy start-ups in the region.

CoachHub

The digital coaching platform CoachHub already convinces many large companies to further develop their employees through experienced coaches. In doing so, CoachHub focuses on the broad promotion of talents. We conduct research primarily in two areas. On the one hand, we are dedicated to the measurability of coaching success, operationalized as a well-known return indicator. On the other hand, the effectiveness of coaching interventions is scientifically investigated.

EUROGROUP CONSULTING (EGC)

EUROGROUP CONSULTING (EGC) is a leading management consultancy in the financial sector. Our clients include national and international market leaders in the banking and insurance industries. Around 80 experienced experts deal with business and IT strategic issues, industrialization/digitization, sales and large-scale project management. As a member of the consulting network nextcontinent, EGC is part of an international consulting network with approximately 7,000 employees at 66 locations in 38 countries.

In the context of the research cooperation with EGC, the Chair of Technology Management deals with the concept of sales mobilization, which was developed by EGC and which uses a playful competition model ("league model") to encourage sales employees in teams (e.g. branch teams) to mobilize their own forces in order to perform better than other teams. In particular, the research project investigates the cause-effect relationships of the employees' gamified experience through the introduced systemic gamified approach.

FLEX Capital

FLEX Capital is a private equity fund founded by successful serial entrepreneurs that invests in profitable and growing companies from the German Internet and software midmarket. We conduct research in the area of management practices in technology companies. Among other things, this research project examines success factors for start-ups.

Foundation Innovation in University Teaching

"MentorInn" Interdisciplinary mentoring for innovation.

Changing skill requirements, digitalization and innovation pressure are challenges we are facing. Universities offer ideal conditions for preparing students for the job market as well as innovative student grassroots movements. To promote 21st Century Skills (e.g. creativity, innovation, collaboration) as well as in dealing with new technologies, design-oriented approaches such as Design Thinking have become established. As part of the "Freiraum 2022" program, the Innovation in University Teaching Foundation is funding the "MentorInn" project, which is being carried out in a network under the umbrella of the University Alliance Ruhr with partners from the Ruhr School of Design Thinking (University of Duisburg-Essen, Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund). The project aims to make resources available to students. Within a structured innovation process along the Design Thinking approach, the central concept of mentoring is used.

Hubert Burda

Hubert Burda Media is a tech and media company. Journalistic content is the foundation and the beginning of value creation. The claim is to penetrate the products down to their technological basis. We research the perception of company founders by investors, as well as the end customers. Furthermore, success factors of entrepreneurial behavior, marketing and branding activities are investigated.

IDnow

IDnow is Europe's market leader for document-based identity verification with its Identity Verification-as-a-Service (IVaaS) platform and covers a wide range of regulated industries. We are conducting research on the topic of "Success Factors in B2B Partnerships". The focus of the research project is particularly on partnerships with established companies facing high regulatory and security requirements.

ITS

The ITS Group, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, consists of leading software and service companies for customers in the energy and water sectors, industry, public administration, and network companies with supply and disposal as well as telecommunications networks. In the field of geographic information systems (GIS) and business information systems (BIS), the ITS Group is one of the market leaders. In the research project, challenges and levers for successful internationalization in highly differentiated markets are being investigated in particular.

Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)

The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) is Germany's national development bank that provides financial support to, for example, start-ups or medium-sized companies. We use the data of the annually collected start-up monitor and SME panel for empirical research. The focus is on CEO characteristics and their influence on business success.

Lanes & Planes

Lanes & Planes enables organizations with its software to solve all processes around business travel and any kind of expenses & disbursements end-to-end.

The professorship for innovation management at the TIE Institute conducts research in the area of digital platform growth. For example, success factors in the area of digital marketing & sales enablement are investigated and tested for their effectiveness.

Right for Education (R:Ed)

Right for Education (R:Ed) is Africa's largest independent platform for timeless and relevant content that informs, inspires and empowers. Published articles are written by experts from leading academic institutions in English and French on topics such as human rights, governance and health, African culture, business and technology, and the environment, and are made available free of charge.

The TIE Institute is conducting joint research with R:Ed on "Start-up Behavior in Developing Countries." This research project will examine the environmental condition that leads to a general interest in entrepreneurial education, and based on this, identify and assess the characteristics of a successful founder in the African context.

Ruhr School of Design Thinking

The Ruhr School of Design Thinking connects design thinking enthusiasts from the Ruhr University Alliance and brings together students, people interested in start-ups and companies.

The Ruhr School of Design Thinking is an interdisciplinary team of researchers, teachers, companies and institutions from the Ruhr region who are engaged in design thinking and use it in courses, innovation projects and to solve social issues. Started with actors from the University Alliance Ruhr, we are constantly expanding our network in the Ruhr region. We offer design thinking enthusiasm expertise, coaching and space for various projects.

Thinksurance

THINKSURANCE rethinks commercial insurance, linking insurers with brokers for the first time with a platform. We explore marketing activities. This involves analyzing marketing tools as well as effects over time. Furthermore, the role of key decision makers (CEO, CMO and investors) in shaping marketing is investigated.

tonies

Tonies is a leading German children's toy manufacturer of interactive and screen-free audio systems. Since its founding in 2013, the globally expanding company has brought more than 5 million Tonieboxes into children's rooms around the world.

Our research focuses on the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in edutainment. In doing so, we investigate factors that influence the purchase and actual use of these.

Valantic CX

Valantic is one of the fastest growing digital solutions, consulting and software companies. In the field of CX, 800 CX experts at 40 locations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria support customers with vendor-independent technology know-how. Valantic combines strategy, design, technology and marketing into an overall concept and develops customer experience strategies together with customers.

Within the scope of the research project with Valantic, the TIE Institute deals with the conceptual elaboration and iterative optimization of transactionally oriented digital platforms and innovative business models. The research project focuses in particular on the challenges of dynamically developing multi-technology settings, taking the German e-commerce system landscape as an example.

YDEON

YDEON is Europe's leading online retailer for projects in home & garden with > 30,000 products for garden houses, saunas, terraces, carports. We are conducting research on the topic of "Success factors of a purely digital customer journey for consulting-intensive projects and services". In the context of this research project, the focus is on the digitalization of stationary trade and its influence on the customer experience.