Academic Year 2020/21

Author: Dr. Josef Fink, MSc (WU) BSc (WU)

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

The post-earnings-announcement drift, or PEAD, is one of the most-solidly document accounting anomalies in financial markets. It describes the phenomenon that stock prices continue to drift in the direction of their earnings surprise for an extended period of time after the earnings announcement. There are numerous competing and overlapping explanations. The studies presented in my thesis are the first to investigate the PEAD in an experimental asset market. The advantage of asset markets in the laboratory is that many confounding factors that complicate studies of markets outside the lab can be ruled out. I provide a methodological contribution by showing that PEAD can be observed in a lab and that my research design lends itself to studying PEAD. I also investigate some of the key drivers of PEAD, as suggested in the literature. In my first experimental study, I investigate earnings autocorrelation. Prior research suggests that investors are partly unable to fully factor-in the implications of earnings autocorrelation in their earnings forecasts and consequently underreact to earnings surprises. My findings provide support for this hypothesis. Earnings processes that are serially correlated result in a significantly stronger PEAD than those that are uncorrelated. My second experimental study sheds light on the impact of trading frictions on PEAD. I observe that prices show a significantly weaker reaction to earnings announcements in the presence of trading frictions. This, however, does not translate into a significantly stronger PEAD. My findings thus are in line with prior research. The role of trading frictions in the PEAD phenomenon is mixed and they are not the primary driver of PEAD returns. Finally, my thesis also includes a literature review on the PEAD phenomenon.

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Author: Dr. Ines Wöckl, BSc MSc

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

Valuation is an important topic in financial research. This thesis contributes to two areas within this field. First, it addresses rational asset price bubbles, which are persistent and substantial deviations between an asset’s price and its fundamental value consistent with rational investor behavior. It presents an overview of theoretical and empirical literature on rational bubbles, focusing on recently developed econometric bubble detection tests. The thesis provides the reader with a reference resource when first approaching this complex area of research. Second, the thesis adds to the literature on the valuation and analysis of debt. It presents two risk-neutral models for the valuation of risky debt instruments. The first model is a multivariate extension of the structural model proposed by Merton (1974). Unlike the Merton model, this model can be used to price debt instruments with any interest and principal payment structure. Since it enables pricing multiple debt instruments owed simultaneously by a single creditor, cross-default risk can be taken into account in the valuation. Finally, the model allows for continuous dividend payments to equity holders. The second model is a reduced-form model based on Jarrow et al. (1997). Unlike previous models, this model can be applied to debt instruments with arbitrary interest and principal payments. It is based on the assumption that the zero-coupon bonds used to derive the risk-neutral default probabilities can default before maturity. Previous models allow default merely at maturity. Based on the two models, the thesis illustrates the calculation of risk-neutral and risk-adjusted risk and performance figures for debt analysis. Within the topic of debt analysis, the thesis also provides decision criteria for evaluating the advantageousness of debt restructuring. It enables determining critical limits on the new debt’s nominal interest rate up to which restructuring is profitable.

Author: Dr. Daniel Reiter, BA MA

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

This cumulative dissertation tackles different perspectives of the integration of migrants in the labour market from a socioeconomic point of view. It is in three parts. In the first one, I study the mechanism that underlies the relationship between an individual’s socio-cultural identity and his/her labour market participation. Building upon insights concerning the connection between institutions and culture, and recent economic approaches to cultural transmission, I introduce a new theoretical perspective in order to reveal this underlying mechanism. Based on this, I demonstrate empirically that while, on the one hand, a strong socio-cultural affiliation increases the probability of being in paid work for a native male in the European Union, on the other hand, it decreases the probability of active labour market participation for first-generation male and female migrants, especially for non-EU immigrants. In part two, I explore the role of language for a sustainable socioeconomic integration of migrants. I discuss the function of language within social learning processes and demonstrate empirically that for first-generation male and female migrants within the EU, language problems significantly reduce the probability of being in paid work. Additionally, I show that they increase the probability of being overqualified. In part three, we analyse the intergenerational transmission of economic success in Austria with a special focus on migration and gender. We endogenize the direct effect of the income situation of the parental generation on attainable wages of the child generation and demonstrate that this effect is significantly underestimated when applying ordinary least squares regression only, where the socioeconomic status is taken exogenous. Beyond that, we apply instrumental variable quantile regressions and show that the intergenerational economic association between parents and their descendants is strongest for top earners.

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Author: Laura Koch, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Subscription services have developed from traditional newspaper subscriptions to digital subscriptions of various streaming services and subscriptions in the consumer goods sector. From a customer's perspective they satisfy the demand for convenience and inspiration, whereas companies benefit from regular income and fixed order cycles. A transformation is also being witnessed in the food industry with the growth of online food ordering. Existing subscription services in this industry either cover the delivery of raw food or concentrate on specific target groups. Until now, there is no subscription though that includes the delivery of hot meals to everyday consumers. Therefore, this master thesis covers the concept of a subscription to online food delivery services. To empirically address the topic, a focus group discussion was conducted. In this discussion, the usage behavior considering new subscription services and the online ordering behavior at food delivery services were examined while assessing respondent’s innovativeness. The results showed that, apart from four persons, all participants had already ordered food online, and the most frequently used new subscriptions were Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Spotify. With regard to the research question considering features a subscription to online food delivery services should cover, flexibility, variety, quality/regionality, price, personalization, sustainability and the supportive character of the company could be identified, with the most importance given to flexibility. In addition, a relationship between innovativeness and the use of subscriptions to online food delivery services was found, indicating that innovative people are more likely to use the subscription concept.

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Author: Ines Fachbach, BSc MSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

One way to counteract the waste stream, which is continuously growing, is by repairing products. Repair Networks (like the Repair Network “Graz repariert”) should encourage repairing by simplifying the search for a reliable repair shop. In that context, several questions arise concerning the demand of such Repair Networks and the individual decision-making process of repairing in general. Hence, this Thesis focuses on those aspects by making a quantitative online survey with Styrian citizens as respondents. A quota-sample regarding age, gender and education was taken into consideration (n=1043), which can be interpreted as representative for Styria. Because of the fact that the Repair Network “Graz repariert” is located in Graz, specifically also citizens of Graz were interviewed (n=369). Several outcomes could be derived from this research: The existence of an intention-behaviour gap and as well an attitude-behaviour-gap, relevant repair reasons, maximum accepted repair times and repair costs depending on different product categories and product purposes, the relevant information sources for repair recommendations, the repair satisfaction of Styrian citizens depending on quality, repair cost and repair time and influencing factors of the repair decision in general. Concerning the Repair Network “Graz repariert” it can be concluded that the trust in the mechanic is very important for the repair decision. Moreover, the success of the Repair Network might be extremely determined by word-of-mouth-communication. All in all, the decision-making process of whether to repair a product or not is complex and is determined by many factors. Raising awareness of the existing repair-opportunities is essential for encouraging repair-behaviour.

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Author: Alexandra Schilling, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Efficient planning of resources is a central success factor for every company to persist in the local and global competition. The main part of the resources in most companies consists of human resources. For this reason, the optimization of personnel scheduling gains more attention in business practices and has become a research topic in its own right in the past years.
In this master thesis different methods for solving personal scheduling problems will be discussed. Problems with different demand time-windows and complex working time regimes are often considered under the term nurse-scheduling, even if the area of application comes from a different field. After this general part, a newly developed model for the personnel planning of a pharmacy will be presented. Using an integer linear program (ILP), staff will be assigned to working hours in consideration of social, economic and legal aspects. The model also takes different qualification profiles into account and creates rosters for four weeks in advance. The focus in the planning process is set on a fair distribution of the working hours between the employees. Moreover, holidays and limited availabilities (e.g. half a day off) of each individual employee are respected in the planning process. Especially, as it is common for pharmacies, the regular working hours of each employee can be set individually in four-hour steps. The developed ILP-model is implemented in Python using the optimization module PuLP. The results give interesting insights regarding the fair distribution of working hours for the pharmacy and yield a convenient practical basis for future personnel scheduling. The model can be adapted easily to other pharmacies with differing working time specifications.

Author: Anna Katharina Polzer, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

This thesis addresses challenges in the validation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The rising complexity of state-of-the-art AI systems has led to a more non-transparent and incomprehensible nature of such systems that is often regarded as the black-box of AI. This lack of understanding of the inner workings of AI systems often constitutes an entry barrier for the implementation of AI systems in sensitive areas like the pharmaceutical industry. To mitigate some of the issues, literature suggests explainable AI (XAI) approaches that try to make AI systems understandable for humans. However, empirical research on the question, whether XAI can help in the validation of AI systems is still missing. Thus, the central research question of this thesis is: Can XAI support the validation of AI systems in the pharmaceutical industry?
To answer this question, an XAI-based validation approach was developed in a joint research and development project with a pharmaceutical as well as an IT company. The developed XAI-based validation approach was tested on the grounds of the pharmaceutical company on an AI system that was developed to help in their manufacturing process. To gather deeper insights into the applicability of the developed validation approach, employees who participated in the prototypical validation of the AI system were interviewed on their experience during the validation. The results showed that the proposed validation approach can gather enough evidence for a successful validation of AI systems in the pharmaceutical context. However, clear standards or guidelines from regulatory bodies might be helpful to facilitate and focus the validation efforts of AI system implementers.

Author: Gernot Klimascek, BA BSc MSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to analyze if leadership and masculinity can help firms to identify the right CEO. In a first step we described the important role of the CEO within the organization and discussed the principal-agent theory and corporate governance – two concepts that help to align goals of the principal and the agent in an effective way. Followed by this brief overview, we discussed the three main parts of the thesis: leadership, masculinity, and CEO-firm matching. In the leadership chapter we discussed the evolvement of the main leadership theories and the development of classic and modern leadership styles. The literature review showed that modern leadership styles like authentic-, servant-, and ethical leadership can be seen as effective in any organizational situation. In the masculinity chapter we first described the concept behind masculinity and its connection with nature and nurture. The literature review showed that the impact of the CEOs facial masculinity on firm performance is not fully clear. However, there is evidence that facial masculinity can be positively associated with risk taking and unethical behavior, and negatively associated with trust, integrity, and trustworthiness. The literature review about CEO-firm matching showed that CEO successions are often seen as single events rather than continuous processes. A succession process can be divided into three phases: pre-succession phase, change phase, and post-succession phase. While the first two phases are used to identify potential CEO candidates, develop necessary skills, evaluate their performance, and finally appoint a candidate as the new CEO, the post-succession phase helps to evaluate the performance of the new CEO and the succession process as a whole. Given the literature research, it can be argued that using the concepts of leadership and masculinity can provide organizations with useful tools to improve the succession process.

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Author: Lisa-Marie Epple, MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Postdocs rarely attend human resource development measures to further their academic career. Based on the evaluation of relevant literature, the low willingness to participate can be attributed to the postdocs' professional identity, although previous publications have not systematically considered this relationship. Given this, the present thesis investigates what influence the professional identity of postdocs in STEM fields has on their participation in human resource development measures and what expectations the target group has concerning human resource development measures. For this purpose, two focus groups were conducted with a total of twelve postdocs from different staff categories and STEM fields at a technical university. The people's statements confirm the starting point of the thesis, according to which postdocs want to fulfil the image of "proper" academics, who are particularly active in research. Furthermore, the results show that the professional identity, characterised among other things by the focus on research and teaching, give rise to reasons for non-participation. Additionally, the target group's expectations can be derived from their professional identity. As well as the postdocs' professional identity influencing their participation in human resource development measures, the attendance influences their professional identity. The results suggest that the interaction can be traced back to the still ongoing consolidation process of postdocs' professional identity. This aspect represents a starting point for future research. Based on the findings, the thesis recommends that universities take the target group's professional identity into account when designing human resource development measures for postdocs.

Author: Wolfgang Mayer, BA MA

Study Program: Sociology

Abstract:

Fifty years after the early environmental protests of the 1970s and 1980s around the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant and the Hainburg hydropower plant, the environmental conflict in Austria is entering a new historical phase. In this thesis, the political field at the time of the anti-power plant movement and today's climate political field are analyzed comparatively. Part I reviews the state of sociological research on the tension between labor and the environment and addresses the relationships between the labor movement, corporations, and the green movement. After a sketch of Austrian environmental history since 1945, the field theoretical framework is presented following Pierre Bourdieu's work on the "political field" as well as Neil Fligstein and Doug McAdams' "Theory of Strategic Action Fields". In Part II, the socio-ecological positions of trade unions, employers’ associations, and the green movement are empirically reconstructed using archival materials. The analysis primarily involved television discussions from the media archive of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), supplemented by newspaper articles and radio reports. The central result of the qualitative content analysis is the shifting of field alliances in the course of the two conflict phases. Productivist socialism, i.e., the social partnership alliance between union leadership and employers’ associations against the growth-critical green movement, shifted during this period toward a new alliance between the green party and employers’ associations, whose position can be reconstructed as ecological modernization. Trade unions, on the other hand, have fallen behind in the field of environmental policy.

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Author: Andrea Schütz, Bakk. Bakk. MA

Study Program: Sociology

Abstract:

It is the aim of the general theoretical part of this master thesis to offer the readers insight into the field of sociological welfare state research. In doing so, the cultural sociological und knowledge-sociological points of view will be considered and emphasized as an important addition to the traditional descriptions of the forms of the welfare state. With the umbrella term “welfare culture“ (Pfau-Effinger 2009; Ullrich 2003) several constructions of meaning take the centre stage, which help shape the policies of the welfare state in Austria in the form of values, guidelines and knowledge bases. In the empirical section of this master thesis the public discourse on the envisaged reform concerning the needs-based minimum income, the emergency unemployment assistance and unemployment benefits in the chosen discourse time frame 2018 is analysed, using the knowledge-sociological discourse analyse (cf. Keller 2011) and the cultural sociological and knowledge-sociological terminology of Pierre Bourdieu as well as the analysis software MAXQDA. The public discourse will be thereafter analysed and interpreted concerning its problem structure and welfare cultural bases of legitimization. In doing so the six value dimensions of welfare culture defined by Pfau-Effinger are being considered: (1) redistributive politics, (2) poverty, (3) the relationship between state and market, (4) the relationship between gainful employment and the job market, (5) the mix between social services organized by the state and families and (6) the social citizenship. Concluding, the results of the knowledge-sociological discourse analysis will be interpreted and put into context with the results of the German sociological welfare state research.

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Author: Clara Gögele, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

An association is a legal entity that pursues an idealistic purpose through an organized association of at least two persons. The purpose of the association is the core of the association and have to be fulfilled by the association's bodies. Coping with the goals of the association poses several organizational and professional challenges for. At this point, an organization would probably consider using agile management. This thesis therefore deals with the question whether associations have and apply an awareness of agile management. The first chapters display a literature review of the topics associations, leadership a as well as leadership in associations. The empirical survey was divided into a survey of club board members and club members of social and cultural clubs and sports clubs. This enabled a profound comparison between the management of the association and the entrepreneurial actions of the members of the board of directors and the members of the association. The survey collects data for the analysis of the variables of goal-oriented leadership, entrepreneurial action and non-profit. The results of the survey show that club members prefer a management-oriented club management. The research questions as to whether entrepreneurial action is necessary for target-oriented club management and whether the concept of leadership is appropriate can be answered positively on the basis of the empirical survey. It can be further concluded that the associations are aware of the existence of leadership quality. The results show that the degree of coverage between presumptive and perceived club management is relatively high.

Author: Harisa Duranovic, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Agency theory takes as its starting point the delegation of decision-making authority from the board of directors to its managers However, the manager's activities are seldom directly observable, so performance measurement systems (PMS), which are used to evaluate the manager's performance and at the same time serve to ensure goal congruence between the board and management, have been developed. One of these PMS is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), introduced by Kaplan and Norton, which serves as an important multidimensional PMS in many companies today, since it considers in comparison to traditional approaches such as the Du Pont scheme non-financial measures in addition to financial ones and furthermore incorporates not only past but also present-related data and future forecasts in the performance measurement of managers. The aim of this master thesis is to present the BSC as an incentive system for managers and to evaluate its suitability by considering different empirical results and analytical models, as well as to critically examine the resulting incentive and behavior setting for the manager. At first it will be considered how the BSC is constructed and subsequently applied as a management incentive system. Since in BSC-linked management compensation schemes not only the selection but also the weighting of performance measures is an important decision, this weighting problem will also be addressed in the following. Finally, the concrete effects of the BSC on management incentives are discussed. Here, empirical studies come to both positive and negative findings regarding the adequacy of BSC-based management compensation systems. Positive effects can be identified in the form of increasing innovation orientation and manager satisfaction, while negative effects can be identified as biases.

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Author: Thomas Müllner, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

In recent years Goodwill accounting according to IFRS was often analysed in respect to management incentives and the concept of the Impairment-only approach as well as the corresponding Impairment Test was frequently criticised. In the Post Implementation Review of IFRS 3 the IASB gives attention to the topic and founds the “Goodwill and Impairment” research project in response to the surrounding critics. The research process peaks in a discussion paper that is planned to be published at the end of 2019. This thesis deals with Goodwill accounting on two different levels. The first level addresses the incentives issue of Goodwill according to IFRS and examines the information content of the position. For this purpose, Goodwill Impairments in relation to earnings management motives and the Value Relevance of Goodwill will be revised with a retrospective problem analysis. Several research papers document an instrumentalization of Goodwill for earnings management purposes, but others provide contrary results. Similarly, no definite conclusion can be made for an increase of Value Relevance within the IFRS. The second level incorporates a systematic examination and description of the developments of the “Goodwill and Impairment” research project. To get an understanding of the developments within the project, the research process is covered sequentially in three chronologically ordered phases and the current situation is assessed at the end. The state of research indicates an adjustment of the calculation model for the Value in Use and an extension of the disclosure requirements. The Impairment-only approach and Impairment Test are both controversially discussed inside the IASB. This results in a consideration of all approaches in the discussion paper from the perspectives of both the Impairment-only approach and the amortisation model.

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Author: Christiane Sommer, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Digitalization has shaped the 21st century more than any other phenomenon and is considered as one of the most important drivers of growth and innovation. At the same time, digitalization raises major challenges for the existing international tax law. The rapid spread of information and communication technologies has enabled multinational enterprises to conduct their businesses online all over the world without having a physical presence in the source state. However, under the current international tax law a physical presence of the company is still required to declare any taxing rights to the source state. This opened new ways of profit shifting for multinational enterprises. The OECD and the EU are both working on possible solutions to ensure an adequate taxation of digitalized corporations. So far, no common consensus could be reached in this regard. In this master thesis, the proposals of the OECD and the EU were analysed. With the help of a critical literature review it was further assessed whether the implementation of these proposed concepts could help the current efforts to combat tax avoidance and international profit shifting. The main focus lay on the most recent reform proposal of the OECD. The results show that no proposed concept is elaborated enough to improve the status quo, which made a recommendation of the introduction of any of these concepts impossible. Especially the analysis of the two-pillar approach revealed that there are still too many unsolved implementation issues to justify such a fundamental change in international tax law. Furthermore, it could be shown that any unilateral measures for taxing the digital economy should be avoided in order to prevent the fragmentation of international tax law.

Author: Kathrin Wagner, BSc MSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

The concept of materiality is an important principle of the risk-oriented audit approach. However, there are insufficient guidelines for calculating materiality based on a suitable benchmark. Considering this issue, the first aim of the Master’s thesis was to summarize and analyse existing standards and previous research findings. These show a lack of consistency, while profit figures tend to prevail. In addition, there has recently been a trend towards the use of adjusted figures. The second aim was to conduct explorative research to examine the current implementation of materiality in audit practice. As there are increased requirements for the disclosure of materiality limits and considerations in the United Kingdom, audit reports from FTSE 350 listed companies formed a suitable sample. This sample was used to collect and analyse data from annual financial statements and all published information on materiality. The findings of the study indicate an increasing uniformity in the choice of a materiality benchmark, with adjusted pre-tax profit being used primarily. Analyses by company size, sector and audit company also showed similar results. The auditors of the sample’s companies justified the choice of benchmark mainly by its importance of for investors, but also for management and internal performance measurement. Overall, the analyses indicate a company-specific, rather than a sector-specific approach. The findings of this Master's thesis speak in favour of a general disclosure obligation of materiality considerations and provide a basis for future research, the results of which can contribute to increased transparency and conformity and thus to strengthening confidence in auditing and its concepts.

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Author: Peter Josef Obinger, BA MSc

Study Program: Political and Empirical Economics

Abstract:

Structural models are widespread in the empirical analysis of the labour supply, and the estimated labour supply elasticities have major implications for the evaluation of various socio-economic reforms. However, there is no clear consensus on the actual size of elasticities in the literature. Discrete labour supply models have turned out as the best and most flexible approach available to model labour supply decisions. They are particularly popular for the easy implementation of a wide range of modelling assumptions. Following an exogenous 10 percent increase of the gross wage rates, it is possible to show how elastic the labour supply of the various types of households is. Meanwhile, little is known about the impact the different modelling specifications have on the estimated elasticities. This work aims to isolate the effect of individual modelling decisions. For this purpose, we estimate a total of 278 unique model specifications. Econometrically, these are random utility models that are estimated using maximum likelihood methods and simulation procedures in STATA. Special attention is paid to the effects of observed and unobserved heterogeneity, the number of available jobs, the applied wage-imputation method and the specification of the utility function. The estimated uncompensated labour supply elasticities for single households range from -0.001 to 0.05 with the labour supply effects tending to be higher for women than for men. Accounting for unobserved heterogeneity proves to be the biggest influencing factor but only if fixed costs for work are ignored. Therefore, it can be assumed that the influence of unobserved heterogeneity correlates with the quality of the model specification. Overall, decisions on model specification should only be made after careful theoretical and empirical considerations, especially if the model is intended for policy analysis.

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Author: Eva Preinfalk, BSc BA MSc

Study Program: Political and Empirical Economics

Abstract:

Increasing losses from extreme events and scientific consensus on the inevitable impacts of climate change raise the need for coping strategies through adaptation. Consequently, climate change adaptation has emerged into an important topic in EU policies and funding mechanisms. This thesis combines qualitative and quantitative methods to (i) investigate the status quo of public adaptation in the EU and in Member States, (ii) synthesise adaptation cost pathways based on public documents and stakeholder and expert input, (iii) refine a multi-regional, multi-sectoral CGE model to account for different types of adaptation (structural, informational, ecosystem-based), and (iv) analyse the economy-wide and budgetary implications thereof. We find that the EU is an important enabler of adaptation action in Member States, especially where adaptive capacities are low. The practical implementation of adaptation in Member States does not follow a one-size-fits-all approach, with distinct differences in the institutionalisation, funding and planning among countries. Despite differences in the exposure to climate risks and national adaptation strategies, results show that adaptation generates net-benefits on an economy-wide scale for the countries investigated. Although the implementation of adaptation requires public funding, affecting the expenditure side of public budgets, overall government revenues increase as adaptation reduces the economy-wide and budgetary effects of climate change, enabling a higher level of economic activity, compared to a scenario without adaptation. Thus, by mitigating the negative effect of climate change on the tax base, we find that adaptation allows for higher levels of government consumption and transfers to households. However, high implementation costs and a mismatch between the timing of costs and benefits of adaptation to low-probability, high-impact events can increase the budgetary burden when considering only mean climate change effects.

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Author: Dr. Susanne Kamsker, BSc MSc

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

The digital transformation is deeply changing private and professional life. Digital thinking as well as thinking out of the box seems to be necessary in order to break up traditional ways of thinking and working and to enable individuals to actively shape the digital transformation. Thus, different competence and qualification frameworks are required to meet the challenges and to use the chances of the digital transformation. This represents the interface to the work of educational institutions. The development of contemporary educational programmes between career orientation and a holistic combination of research and studies means also new challenges in the design of study programmes for Austrian universities. Therefore, the research question is: What curricular modifications in the content of study programmes at Austrian universities (with focus on business administration and business education and development) are required, to prepare students for the digital transformation? To answer this question, a Hybrid Delphi study was conducted. Building on the findings of two preliminary studies – a document analysis of curricula in economics and business education and development on the topic of digital transformation and 13 interviews with experts on the changed qualification and competence requirements – a broad Delphi survey was developed. In two survey waves, the 62 participating experts assessed online theses on the future design of the study programmes. For example, the experts forecast a modernisation of the Humboldtian model of higher education concept for 2025 as well as the anchoring of digital content, such as data management, digital business models or cyber policy. Based on the results of the Hybrid Delphi study, recommendations for action are derived, such as the curricular anchoring of the topic of digital transformation as a cross-cutting topic or specialisation.

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Author: Nina Peischl, BSc

Study Program: Business Ecuation and Development

Abstract:

Textbooks still play a central role in teaching. However, the design of textbooks has changed considerably in the past. Social and technological achievements lead to an increased number of pictures in textbooks. This also applies to textbooks designed for teaching business administration. The decision for specific pictures is not necessarily based on didactic reasons but often based on aesthetic motives. Therefore, this master thesis researches how pictures in business administration textbooks have changed in quantity and quality over the last 40 years. The first part of this master thesis deals with textbooks in general. The first part addresses the issue of finding an understanding for the term picture and the historical development of pictures. Furthermore, the categorization of pictures by Ballstaedt is presented. Chapter three deals with pictures in textbooks and the peculiarities of learning with them. As different authors have defined various functions of pictures for learning, they are compared and merged. In addition, recommendations for the design of pictures are presented. The last part of this master thesis is devoted to an empirical study of pictures in business administration textbooks. The quantitative analysis shows that from the 1980s to the present the number of pictures in business administration textbooks has increased considerably. An evaluation scheme for the qualitative assessment of the pictures is created. It is based on the presented recommendations for the design of pictures in textbooks. The conducted study leads to the conclusion that aesthetic motives have a major influence on the use of images in business administration textbooks and that the potential of images to convey knowledge is only used to a limited extent.

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