Research Programs

Research Approach

Our research examines entrepreneurship, innovation, and the societal, technological, and institutional changes that shape entrepreneurial action. We are interested both in established research questions and in emerging phenomena and developments whose relevance for entrepreneurship research is only beginning to become visible.

We conduct conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative empirical research and choose research questions and methods according to the insights they can generate. Our aim is not simply to produce publishable findings, but to contribute to a better understanding of entrepreneurship and its role in the economy and society.

Research Program "Defense Tech Entrepreneurship and Innovation" (ongoing)

Geopolitical change is reshaping how defense and dual-use technologies are developed, financed, and brought to market. Our research examines how entrepreneurs navigate this changing environment, how the legitimacy of defense tech entrepreneurship is shifting, and how entrepreneurial ecosystems respond when public policy, capital, and societal expectations change simultaneously.

Research Program "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems" (ongoing)

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are regional agglomerations of entrepreneurial activity. The most prominent example is certainly Silicon Valley, but we find such agglomerations worldwide in a variety of contexts. Entrepreneurial ecosystems make it easier for entrepreneurs to realize their ideas, and they are thus also of interest for economic policy. Our research group strives to shed light on such complex systems' mechanisms and determine their success conditions.

Key Publications

Research Program "Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Transformation" (ongoing)

Sustainable economic activity requires entrepreneurs who establish corresponding business models. Conversely, the trend towards sustainability offers corresponding opportunities for entrepreneurial action. With this research program, the Entrepreneurship Research Group addresses the design of framework conditions for more sustainable entrepreneurship and the mechanics of innovative, sustainable business models. We also address the questions that follow from an entrepreneurial perspective on the bioeconomy transformation.

Key Publications

Research Program "Entrepreneurship Education and Transfer" (ongoing)

Entrepreneurship education is an emerging field and is subject to constant, rapid change. Likewise, with the so-called third mission of universities and colleges, transfer - primarily via academic spin-offs - is continuously increasing in importance. Our group's research aims, for example, to provide evidence for didactic interventions in entrepreneurship education. We also investigate the conditions of successful university transfer in various projects.

Key Publications

Research Program "Research Practice" (ongoing)

Scientific progress depends not only on the questions researchers investigate, but also on how research is conducted, evaluated, and communicated. Our research therefore examines research practice and research integrity, ranging from replication and systematic literature reviews to the implications of artificial intelligence for scientific work and publishing.

Key Publications

Research Program "Crisis Entrepreneurship" (completed)

Crises abruptly change the conditions under which entrepreneurial activity takes place and create distinctive forms of uncertainty and pressure to adapt. In this research program, we examined how start-ups and other organizations responded to the COVID-19 crisis, which factors enabled rapid entrepreneurial and innovative responses, and what these developments reveal about entrepreneurship under crisis conditions.

Key Publications

Research Program "Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance" (completed)

Venture capital markets are characterized by substantial uncertainty, information asymmetries, and heterogeneous investor motives. In this research program, we examined how information and judgment shape decisions throughout the venture capital process – from the evaluation of investment opportunities and venture capital firms’ fundraising from limited partners to the identification of corporate venture capital investors and biases in investment decisions.

Key Publications