Mission, Vision, History
Mission
The School’s mission is to combine Hamburg’s history as an international trade metropolis and its tradition of “honorable merchants” with modern management approaches. Research and study programs focus on quantitative and empirical work to contribute insights and prepare leaders for a data-driven world.
The School’s outstanding research is highly relevant to the economy and society. It has a particular focus on the areas of “health economics,” “marketing and communication,” and “logistics and digital services.”
Vision
The School strives to be one of the leading Schools in Europe for excellent quantitative and empirical research with high economic and societal impact and for a research-based education that prepares future leaders for a data-driven world.
Values
Our values are inspired by the “honorable merchants” who have shaped commerce in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg for centuries. Hanseatic honorable merchants are smart and successful business leaders with a global network and a pronounced sense of responsibility for their own companies, for society, and for the environment.
- Excellence: We strive for excellence in research and education.
- Impact: We contribute to society by generating innovative knowledge and educating future leaders.
- Openness: We engage with communities around the world and promote diversity.
- Responsibility: We encounter others with respect and encourage sustainable, socially responsible behavior.
- Integrity: We uphold the tradition of the honorable Hanseatic merchant (trustworthy, down-to-earth, unpretentious).
The Faculty in numbers
- Over 4000 bachelor and master students
- 7 applicants for every study place in Bachelor of Business Administration
- 29 professors, 10 assistant professors, 10 lecturers, and around 140 doctoral researchers
- 3 Key Research Areas, 8 Disciplinary Groups
- 2nd in Germany for research: Wirtschaftswoche Ranking 2022
Business Administration at Universität Hamburg: A history
In keeping with Hamburg’s reputation as a mercantile city, there has been a long tradition of business research at the University. With his appointment to the Faculty of Law and Political Science, Curt Eisfeld became the University’s first professor of business administration in 1927 and helped establish the degree program in business administration.
From 1954 onward, business administration was taught in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
In 2005, Hamburg’s University of Business, Economics and Politics (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Politik) was integrated into the Faculty. In 2008, the Department of Business Administration was formed as one of four departments of the Faculty.
In 2014, the Department of Business Administration was transformed into the Faculty of Business Administration. In 2016, the Faculty established a Management Transfer Lab to develop and coordinate connections with practice, and in 2018, the Faculty formed its own Graduate School to promote young researchers.
Founding father Prof. Dr. Curt Eisfeld
Specializing in accounting and auditing, banking management, insurance studies, and retail studies, Prof. Dr. Eisfeld (1886-1969) helped establish the degree program in business administration. He taught at Universität Hamburg 1928 to 1962. He received several prestigious awards in recognition of his contribution to business administration, and to auditing in particular, in Germany.
Elisabeth and Curt Eisfeld bequeathed their estate to the Sven Eisfeld Foundation. Administered by Universität Hamburg, the foundation was established in memory of the couple’s only child, Sven, who went missing in Russia during the Second World War. The revenue from the foundation is intended exclusively for the acquisition of business literature. Countless business students in Hamburg have benefited from the textbook collection which is held in the Curt Eisfeld Bequest Library.
The House of Business Administration
Located at Moorweidenstraße 18, the house was built in 1896 by Hamburg architect Semmy Engel. It was one of the first buildings built outside the former city gates "in front of the Dammtor." Once a residential building, it has been used by Universität Hamburg since 1948. With several distinctive design features, including an innovative floorplan with a five-story front house and a seven-story back house, it was declared a cultural monument in 2003. It was renovated between 2014 and 2016, and has been the House of Business Administration since. It is open to the public in Hamburg Preservation Foundation's annual Heritage day.
EFMD membership
The Faculty is a member of the EFMD global network of business schools and corporations dedicated to enhancing excellence in management education and development globally.