Research

Research profile

Research at the Chair of International Management aims to create relevant and new knowledge in various areas of the discipline. Many projects are related to institutional and economic approaches and to classic theories of international management, such as the market entry, innovation and competitive strategies of new and established players.

The current research focus is on classic topics of international management, such as legitimacy, relocation and re-location or market selection and entry. In addition, innovation processes at different institutional levels, in different ecosystems and from a temporal perspective are another research focus. Diversity, inclusive organisations and sustainability also play an important role in current research projects at the chair.

In addition to these individual projects, research focuses have developed at the chair that are related to larger research programmes. These are primarily the B/Orders in Motion Initiative of the Viadrina, the "Entrepreneurship Research Lab" projects funded by the Dieter Schwarz Foundation and the M&M Research Training Group „Dynamic Capabilities and Relationships“ and the DFG Research Training Group „Pathways of Organisational Processes“.

In 2013, the IMA Chair took part in the Viadrina Board's call for proposals as part of the thematic research focus „B/Orders in Motion“ and, together with colleagues Anne Kraus, Lars Kirchhoff and Jürgen Neyer, successfully submitted an application on the topic of „Border Management in Triadically Structured International Negotiation Processes“. Yevgen Bogodistov joins the research group from the IMA chair. The project, which is funded for three years, is primarily concerned with conflict situations that cannot be resolved between the parties involved and the question of how third parties can contribute to improving the situation. In principle, this can involve conflict situations as diverse as armed disputes between states or distribution conflicts in the cost coverage of child daycare centres. It is always a question of how third parties can intervene constructively in the conflict and, if necessary, bring about a better solution by shifting boundaries in the respective spheres of difference between the parties involved. Potential vested interests of third parties as well as effects on other parties are explicitly taken into account.

The chair's first sub-projects, which are being researched as part of the programme, deal with the topics of inclusion and institutional distance. In the inclusion project, Lukas Wiafe and Albrecht Söllner are analysing the boundaries that define membership and acceptance in social units, for example in organisations. The debate to date has either emphasised ethical arguments or efficiency and performance aspects. In the projects by Lukas Wiafe and Albrecht Söllner, these lines of argument are expanded to include a perspective that allows the discourse on inclusion to become the linchpin of the institutionalisation of inclusion. The statements aimed for as a result should be relevant for the coexistence in heterogeneous social units, but also for the performance of these communities.

Moritz Botts and Albrecht Söllner explore the question of why Europe is currently not functioning as it should. By taking into account the 'institutional distance' between the member states, inner-European boundaries become clear, which explain why identical rules of the game in Brussels, Berlin and Athens will lead to very different interpretations and, as a result, to very different behaviour. A better understanding of the concept of institutional distance can therefore help to recognise initially invisible conflicts between EU members at an early stage and to defuse them through intelligent institutional entrepreneurship.

The discussion about further projects and the common theoretical basis of researchers from different disciplines has just begun and will produce initial results in the coming months.

The Research Training Group "Dynamic Capabilities and Relationships" and the "Entrepreneurship Research Lab" (ERLab) are two outstanding third-party funded projects at the European University Viadrina with the Dieter Schwarz Foundation in Heilbronn, which are characterised by innovative research approaches. The Research Training Group, which ran from 2013-2020 and was led by Prof Martin Eisend, Prof Jochen Koch and spokesperson Prof Albrecht Söllner, was dedicated to investigating dynamic competencies and business relationships with annual third-party funding of over 300,000 euros. It researched how intra- and inter-organisational skills and business relationships develop over time in order to adapt to changing circumstances or redesign economic processes.

On 1 January 2023, the ERLab was launched as a follow-up project, initiated by Prof. Dr Martin Eisend, Prof. Dr Albrecht Söllner and Prof. Dr Jochen Koch, with the aim of researching entrepreneurial ecosystems and expanding our understanding of success and failure in business start-ups. In co-operation with the Heilbronn-based "Campus Founders" and funded by the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, the ERLab strives to make a significant contribution to entrepreneurship research. By analysing community, creativity and communication in entrepreneurial ecosystems, the aim is to increase understanding of sustainable innovations and their social value.

Both projects emphasise Viadrina's efforts to bridge the gap between academic theory and entrepreneurial practice through practical and internationally relevant research, thereby making a valuable contribution to the economic discourse.

The DFG-funded Research Training Group „Pathways of Organisational Processes“ (www.pfadkolleg.de) is now home to its third cohort of doctoral students. The aim of the Research Training Group, whose trustees have included Albrecht Söllner since its foundation, is to research processes of path dependency in and between organisations. The starting point is the widely recognised theory of path dependency of technologies. This is applied to organisational processes, i.e. to development processes within and between organisations. The analysis of such development processes that have solidified in the end result allows an innovative approach to understanding the ability of companies and other institutions to change. The reform backlog and inertia of organisations are researched and explained as the result of initially invisible path dependencies and emerging lock-ins. However, the research group's work does not stop at the observation of organisational path dependencies; it also explores the possibilities and methods of breaking paths (»de-locking«). Path breaking is a new perspective for path research, which appears to be particularly significant from a business perspective. Furthermore, analysing the constitution and breaking of paths also paves the way for exploring the possibilities of targeted path creation.

The research group uses empirically oriented sub-projects to investigate the development of organisational paths on four levels: (1) individual/dyad/group, (2) organisation, (3) inter-organisational relationships and networks, and (4) society (including industry and region), with particular attention being paid to the interdependence between the levels.

The topic of the programme has had a major impact on the teaching and research activities of the Chair of International Management and has influenced and stimulated various research activities.