Master Courses

Qualitative Methods for Business and Management 

The unit introduces and discusses knowledge related to qualitative research design and processes. It will introduce different qualitative methods such as document analysis, participant observation, interviewing, focus groups, case study method, ethnography; modes and means of qualitative data analysis, and qualitative research publication and evaluation. Students will be given the opportunity to develop practical skills in designing and carrying out qualitative research projects and to pursue topics of their own choosing in exercise activities. Examples of qualitative research from a range of management, economics, social sciences disciplines including marketing, sociology, strategy, entrepreneurship, information systems and others, will be provided throughout the course in order to demonstrate unit content from a variety of perspectives. The unit will also cover the history, current status, and future advances of qualitative field research.

Further Information: Syllabus

Technology and Innovation Management 

Firms find themselves at the crossroads between digital innovation and transformation. New and emergent digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, IoT, blockchain, or microprocessors, offer new opportunities for the creation of new infrastructures, products, processes, business models and organizational forms, and reshape traditional ways of organizing and working. At the same time, digital technologies are also increasingly more affordable and accessible to everyone, embedding themselves into society and altering the ecosystems in which firms operate. This fusion of digital technology within firms’ environments produces ongoing changes in customer expectations, the competitive landscapes, and regulation. Windows of opportunities are created for new ventures and new ways of working. At the same time, the lowering of entry barriers and proliferation of new digital ventures, in some cases involving new platform business logics that have the potential to disrupt existing industries, puts large established firms under significant competitive pressure to transform their legacy systems and reshape their business strategies and processes. It is no longer only startups who innovate digitally and are leveraging the new opportunities provided by digital technologies, new ways of working, and the associated market changes. Large and small incumbents across a great diversity of different industries and geographies are embracing digital innovation activities, and as they scale them, they transform their entire organization. Within and across organizations, digital technologies give rise to new ways of collaboration, leveraging resources, development, and deployment over open standards and shared technologies. Firms are moving from stand-alone organizations to open, collaborative eco-systems in which multi-firms’ networks collaboratively innovate with partners, suppliers, customers, and even competitors.

The unit introduces and discusses knowledge relevant to organizational leaders, directors, and other roles about managing technology-enabled organizing phenomena such as IT-enabled innovation, transformation, strategy, or other change processes.

It will introduce key characteristics of technology in our current so-called digital age.  It will discuss which technology-related resources and capabilities organizations require to maintain or improve their business models. It will explain how digital innovation, transformation, infrastructure, and ecosystem management must be managed.

Further Information: OpenOlat

Advanced Topics in Technology and Innovation Management 

This unit explores advanced topics and emerging scientific knowledge about digital innovation, digital transformation, and digital entrepreneurship as modern forms of technology and innovation management. This knowledge is relevant to organizational leaders, directors, and other roles about managing technology-enabled organizing. The unit pursues three aims:

1. To offer students who completed the basic module “Technology and Innovation Management” an opportunity to explore selected topics in much more detail.
2. To offer students an opportunity to meet, identify, explore, and critically discuss latest world-class faculty research on digital innovation, digital transformation, and digital entrepreneurship.
3. To provide students with additional scientific method competencies and content competencies about digital innovation, digital transformation, and digital entrepreneurship, which they can utilize for their master theses or future scientific or professional careers.

 Further Information: Syllabus

Problems in Digital Innovation Management for Selected Industries

In this module, the opportunities and challenges that digital innovation bring to businesses in different industries will be discussed and analysed. Furthermore, the course challenges students to face an unusual and challenging managerial context. Every Semester is dedicated to a specific industry that is facing challenges due to digitalization. Throughout the semester the course explores how digitalization impacts and changes the various functional areas of an organization in the selected industry, for instance, areas such as data analytics, customer engagement/marketing, data analysis and predictive decision-making, event and facility management, or the emergence of new business models. Technologies that will be covered in the discussion include but are not limited to: analytic technologies, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality, among others.

Currently, the course focuses on the professional Sports Industry. Specifically, the course charters an in-depth examination of sports digitalization and how digitalization transforms the conditions for professional sports.  This discussion will aid students in gaining functional and managerial knowledge with regard to sports as a business. We will also discuss e-sports and its characteristics, the (potential) synergy between e-sports and traditional sports, as well as the future of digital sports.

Throughout the semester students work in groups to identify, collect, and analyse data from a real-world case. The final exam is an individual term paper based on the group work.

Further Information: Syllabus

Master Seminar - Digital Innovation, Transformation, and Entrepreneurship

2025 Seminar Topic: Digital Entrepreneurship: Building new Technology Startups 

 As digital technologies continue to transform industries, digital entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical driver of innovation, value creation, and societal change. Entrepreneurs are building ventures that are not only digitally enabled but also fundamentally shaped by the possibilities of digital platforms, ecosystems, and technologies. These advancements have expanded the scope of entrepreneurship, allowing ventures to scale rapidly, innovate dynamically, and address complex societal challenges. 

The concept of digital entrepreneurship reflects the dynamic interplay between digital technologies on the one hand, and entrepreneurial processes and outcomes on the other. But this relationship is not always or unequivocally beneficial. While some ventures successfully harness digital technologies to create entirely new, digital business models, others face challenges through digital technologies, such as platform dependencies, role conflicts, and a pressure to scale exponentially. Digital entrepreneurship thus requires us to develop a deep understanding of both the transformative potential of technology and the systemic issues it introduces. 

This seminar will explore the potentials and challenges of digital entrepreneurship. Together, we will examine a variety of foundational and technology-specific topics related to the digital transformation of entrepreneurship, such as how digital technologies enable and constrain entrepreneurial opportunities and processes, what advantages digital technologies offer for creating, scaling, and innovating ventures, and which roles, processes, and structures are critical to mastering the challenges of digital platform ecosystems. Furthermore, we will investigate how digital entrepreneurship addresses specific societal issues, including inclusion, sustainability, and education. Through this exploration, we aim to develop a balanced understanding of the transformative power of digital entrepreneurship and its implications for organizations and society. 

Further information: Syllabus

Digital Innovation Lab 

In this course, we simulate a project-based digital innovation lab. The objective is to develop a functioning novel digital innovation prototype (containing both hardware and software component) that addresses a chosen sustainable development challenge. With this objective, we have two specific foci.

1. Address a Sustainable Development Challenge
2. Develop a Digital Artifact as a Solution to the Sustainable Development Challenge

Over the course of the semester, student teams will continuously work on developing their digital innovation solution. The course will include a range of accompanying help and assistance formats including lectures, tutorials, and interactive workshops.

 Further Information: Syllabus

Digital Innovation Summer School

The Digital Innovation Summer School allows students to learn about and experience digital innovation in the context of fast moving consumer good retail. The summer school focuses on practice relevant teaching and will be held together with EDEKA IT GmbH over the course of three days in September 9/9 -9/11/2024. Every day will be split into theory and practice –combining academic and practical insights through lectures and experiencing digital retail innovation by visiting selected stores, warehouses and other places of digital retail innovation (such as marketplaces, pilot stores, and distribution centers).

The summer school will cover topics such as

Digital innovation and fast moving consumer goods
Digital technologies in logistics, warehousing, and distribution
Digital transformation of large-scale pre-digital firms
Digital innovation for back-and front-office operations
Digital technologies and ethical, responsible, and sustainable decision-making in retail
Artificial intelligence in the context of fast moving consumer good retail

Link to our partner: https://verbund.edeka/noindex/summer-school-edeka-it-2024.html

For questions contact: Christine Quentin