HHL news Spring 2013
Transcription
HHL news Spring 2013
26 Over 26 Different Scholarships Support our Students HHL Number 1 in Internationality* 1 115 115 Years of Experience in Management Education NEWS LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT spring 2013 WWW.HHL.D E HHL Offers Best M.Sc. and MBA Programs in Germany HHL offers the best Master in Management programs (MBA and M.Sc.) in Germany. Additionally, HHL’s Master Program in Management (M.Sc.) was ranked among the top 10 in Europe for the first time. These results were published in “European Business Schools 2012”, Europe’s leading ranking by the Financial Times (FT). HHL Dean Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart says: “With this result, I think HHL is on the way to move up into the league of the top ten graduate schools in Europe over the next few years.” “European Business Schools” by FT is considered to be the most comprehensive and important ranking for Master programs in Europe. It is based on the consolidation of five individual rankings of MBA, M.Sc., Executive MBA as well as open or companyspecific on-the-job programs for 2012. The main evaluation criteria are alumni income and career data as well as structure, internationality and research performance of the universities. http://rankings.ft.com/ SaVe the date November 20/21, 2013 2013 HHL Forum: Rethinking Leadership - The Role of Communication www.hhl.de/hhl-forum Mutual Exchange Currently, 21 exchange students from HHL’s partner universities from Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Italy, Peru, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand are in Leipzig. At the same time 18 students from HHL’s full and part-time Master programs are enjoying their study abroad term at universities in Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Diversity Management in Higher Education dents in full-time programs as well as in the global executive program, HHL is offering scholarships. Student Initiatives Promote Diversity on the Campus out under the auspices of the German Academic Exchange Service, German Rectors’ Conference and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. According to the study, HHL’s master programs in management MBA and M.Sc. rank number one among internationally oriented programs in Germany, which compose only 5 percent of all international programs nationwide. Furthermore, all master programs at the first business school established in Europe’s German-speaking regions are taught in English and students have the opportunity to receive a dual degree in cooperation with an international partner school (Germanywide: 2 percent). HHL is constantly looking for ways to promote diversity on its campus, especially through its student initiatives. These student-led groups provide opportunities throughout the semester for all students, professors and the non-academic staff to celebrate the many different cultures present at HHL, and many are also involved in the student-run sporting events and conferences (see: p. 6). Many more tasks await the diversity management of the school. According to Prof. Pinkwart, this also includes continuing to increase the number of international professors at HHL, which increased last year to over twenty-five percent. Reacting to Student and Corporate Diversity Conforms to the Needs with Part-Time Programs Trend for Globalization The HHL Dean summarizes, “Programmatically, the qualitative course for growth can be explained by the impact of diversity. It is basically about creating opportunities for as many people as possible and using each of their contributions which promise tremendous synergies when put together. Diversity, however, also conforms to the trend for globalization. More and more diverse skills are required to find one’s way in an increasingly fast and complex world. HHL would like to contribute to that.” The international profile of the Leipzig business school was emphasized in the study “Internationalization of Universities” in the past, for example. In 2012, HHL received number one rankings in several categories in a group of the 61 smaller universities once again. The study was carried HHL Dean Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart emphasized: “We would like to offer programs for lifelong learning and for people with novel types of employment histories with our study and scholarship programs. Our ever growing part-time MBA in General Management has been successfully established on the market since 2002. Our new structure within this part-time program accommodates the increased desire for a balance of studies, job and the family. HHL is also seen as an innovator for its part-time M.Sc. Program which we established in 2011. Its curriculum and its profile meet the requirements of changing competencies in today’s knowledge and information society.” In order to increase the number of international students in the part-time MBA programs and the number of female stu- Estonia, France, India, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, South Africa, Spain, and the U.S.A. From January until May, Marvin Wruck und Oliver Thiem (both MSc7) are studying at the University of Victoria (Canada). Thiem explains: “Everybody here is very open and helpful, which has made it a lot easier for me to settle in. Assigning each exchange student a buddy from the business school is an excellent idea. Therefore, Marvin and I were involved a lot with the Canadian students from the very beginning. We are both completing four courses in the fields of business and economics.” Oliver Thiem (left) considers a fishing trip out on the Pacific with Marvin Wruck and his buddy one of the highlights of his term in Canada so far. “We set off for the open sea in our little fishing boat directly from Victoria in the morning. There we cast a few crab traps and went out even further to fish. We caught one salmon and 10 crabs that day. After we got back, we all cooked a typical West Coast dinner.” It might look like a contradiction at first glance; a private, university-level school that selects its students according to performance and a statesocial precept fixed in the German Constitution. It standardizes participation, and therefore diversity as well, in higher education. The core idea here is to add programs and offers for all those social groups that were underrepresented up to now. Within its diversity management HHL aims for a profile inclusive of “continuing education students” - people who pursue another higher education degree or certificate parallel to their job, or who would at least like to refresh their knowledge. Additionally, the Leipzig business school seeks out students who have an immigrant background and foreign students. Bankers, musicians, biomedical specialists, engineers, legal practitioners, young entrepreneurs and students who represent almost all industries and professions can be found in a typical full- or part-time MBA program. HHL’s MBA students have especially diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, nationalities as well as life and professional experience. These future managers work together at HHL and learn from each other. Internationality is the Focus of HHL April 25, 2013 HHL celebrates its 115th anniversary * 2012 Study “Internationalization of Universities” 02 HHL NEWS spring 2013 CAMPUS We Support HHL’s innovate125 Future Concept Association of Friends of HHL Deepens Integration of HHL Entrepreneurs In their latest general assembly, the members of the AoF-Association of Friends of HHL (Gesellschaft der Freunde der Handelshochschule e.V.) elected a new management board incorporating a stronger focus on integrating HHL entrepreneurs into its activities. AoF is one of the three shareholders of HHL and focuses on providing services that add value, e.g. co-organizing the biannual Startup-Career Fair or co-founding various DAAD scholarships. All new board members are entrepreneurial HHL alumni, active in Start-ups or Family Firms. Dirk Graber (Center), 1st Chair of AoF and CEO of a growing start-up says, “One of the key initiatives of the new board will be to strengthen the network for entrepreneurs among HHLs’ stakeholders and to facilitate even Portrait of the New Academic Group Structure more entrepreneurial thinking among the students as we believe this is a strong driver of future growth for HHL”. AoF encourages every alumnus, student and friend of HHL to join the association as a member to benefit from this community and to support the development of HHL. www.hhl.de/gdf Portrait of Prof. Dr. Henning Zülch, Academic Director of the HHL M.Sc. Programs What is important to you with regard to the M.Sc. Programs? The already excellent quality of these programs should be continuously optimized. I am constantly discussing these matters with the Program Management and the Student Affairs department. Additionally, the General Management approach as a USP for HHL will be strengthened and established in the market. Regardless of that, topics such as innovation, entrepreneurship, strategy, accounting and finance will continue to be specific to HHL. With regards to the “Bridge to Practice” – How do you accommodate the students’ demands and those of companies for an M.Sc. Program? We accommodate both the interests of companies and those of the students with regard to the part-time M.Sc. Program. Companies are actively looking for a program to provide their bachelor graduates with further qualifications. They do not want to lose good young employees but at the same time want HHL Sets Course for Top 10 in Europe By 2023, when HHL will celebrate its 125th anniversary, it wants to have “I am an Ambassador of the M.Sc. Program” Young and innovative: That’s how Prof. Dr. Henning Zülch presented himself in the interview with HHL news. After his studies and the conferral of his doctorate at the University of Münster, the born Dortmunder and passionate fan of Borussia Dortmund led the department of accounting at the Technical University of Clausthal from 2002 to 2006. Prof. Dr. Zülch, now 39 years old, was one of the first junior professors in Germany. Together with others he had defended the construct of “junior professorship” very early in administration and politics and had therefore supported the breakthrough of an innovation in the German university landscape. The father of two children has been the Chair of Accounting and Auditing at HHL since Sept. 1, 2006, and the Academic Director of the M.Sc. Programs since September 1, 2011. Sustainable Competitive Strategies and General Framework More concretely, it is about the inA new milestone has been reached with rereached two goals. First, it is aiming toteaching. enter the league of the Top 10 fluence of trust on competitive and sustainspect to HHL’s innovate125 Future Concept: ability implications sustainIn order to enhance itsin strengths and to prograduate schools Europe with its fullandprocesses, part-time M.Sc. andofMBA ability for macroeconomic development, file new focus areas, HHL has organized its programs, its executive, well five as its doctoral programs. sustainability and value added chains, marresearch and teaching activitiesas around ket behavior and as wellwith as ecologthematic groups (see illustration below): HHL also wants to position itself amongst the Top 10fairness, worldwide ical discontinuity and sustainability. The Strategic and International Management; professors derive suggestions sustainFinance, andwhich Corporate Govern- listed its M.Sc.Accounting program, is already amongst the Top 10 infor Europe. able competitive strategies and a general ance; Economics and Regulation; SustainaTherefore substantial efforts be undertaken in thetheir nextresearch. few years framework from Current bility and Competitiveness, as well aswill Innoprojects include the analysis the “Code vation Entrepreneurship. the related for theand structural as wellRecently, as content reorientation of theofschool. of Responsible Conduct for Business”; the faculty has appointed the groups’ speakers. cooperation amongst Chairs in the leading We will introduce the groups to you in the edge cluster BioEconomy; the cluster moncoming editions of HHL news, starting with itoring of the City of Leipzig as well as the the group “Sustainability and Competitiveprojects “Twenty20 – Partnership for Innoness” with Prof. Dr. Iris Hausladen (Chair vations” and “Climate Police and the Growth of Heinz-Nixdorf Chair of IT-based LogisPatterns of Nations” funded by the Federal tics), Prof. Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg (Chair of Ministry of Education and Research. Prof. Marketing Management), Prof. Dr. Andreas Dr. Althammer stated, “Existing cooperaSuchanek (Dr. Werner Jackstädt Chair of In order to enhance its strengths and protions and connections with external instituEconomics and file new focus areas, HHLBusiness is organizing Ethics) as well as its’ research and future teaching tions such as the Harvard Business School their speaker Prof. Dr.activities Wilhelm Althammer around thematic areas. The faculty is subor the Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe divided into the following fields: Strategic Chair of Macroand International Management; Finance, will be further developed to strengthen our economics). The group “Sustainability and Accounting and Corporate Governance; profile. Additionally, we would like to proCompetitiveness” deals with the organizaEconomics and Regulation; Sustainability mote the transfer of research results into tion and ambivalence of competitive proand Competitiveness, as well as Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Each department practice and practical dialogue through cesses in the context of sustainable develwill put key future issues of business adcenters that are related to the group such as opment in companies, company networks ministration in their focus. the CITLOG.” (clusters) and regions for research and New Group Structure of the School HHL aims to distinguish itself as one of the leading entrepreneurial graduate schools in Europe in the coming years. (CASiM) 58 Stu in 2 Qualit Strate To reach its stra a qualitative gro few years. The fo internationally r cellent research students and the global networks HHL aims at dou full-time, junior sorships. This d further the inter of women in the and the HHL boa the number of in bers increased f By introducing n providing additi number of class the number of st 585 by 2016. Add the science and zig, as well as wi national partner developed. Stable and In struct Stable finances a for a private uni ensure excellenc a great challeng the new federal For example, the Foundation, wh 1898, were destr “Opt for HHL. Here you will receive a package that offers unequaled opportunities in Europe.” to offer them an opportunity to develop. We also closely cooperate with companies within the full-time M.Sc. Program. For example, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants: The diverse involvement of the consultancy company at HHL builds a bridge between teaching and corporate practice for the fulltime M.Sc.Program and its students. According to the innovate125 HHL Future Concept, HHL’s M.Sc. which is already positioned amongst the Top 10 in Europe shall be positioned amongst the Top 10 worldwide as well by 2023. A noble ambition? In my view this is clearly an ambitious objective, which does not appear impossible. However, as a German business school we see our market to be in Europe first of all. We need to satisfy the needs on this market first. In this context I see myself not only as the Academic Director of the Program but also as its active ambassador. I will continue to go out as an advocate of the M.Sc. Program and convince interested students: “Opt for HHL.” reform in 1923, a occupation in 19 Foundation, alo ber of Commerc been the main su tematic expansio fore a central po Research Center CASiM and CEIM Outstanding Service for Students For improving research, teaching and the transfer of knowledge, HHL is establishing mental questions of business management for the 21st century. For example, it explores ment (CEIM), which is planned for 2013, will bundle existing knowledge of innova- part-time MBAtiveand M.Sc. students, Ph.D. entrepreneurship from the respective well as CEIM students theonGlobal groups. will focusin its work existing, HHL. In close cooperation with the five companies Afand the economy. The CASiMMBA merged but also new In this of Executive Program. Incompanies. the course Director of the Department of in Student research groups, as well as HHL's doctoral Graduate School in cooperation with HHL's way HHL is aiming to distinguish itself as the creation and the implementation of the fairs and Examination Office, summarizes program, the Center for Advanced Studies Ph.D.-Program starts in fall 2012. The Center one of the leading entrepreneurial graduate innovate125 Future the dethe tasks and demands of her department. in Management (CASiM), deals with fundafor Entrepreneurial and Innovative Manage- HHL schools in Europe Concept, in the coming years. partment of Student Affairs and ExaminaShe together with her team of four memtion Office assumes an important function. bers take care of the students from the moTo reach its strategic goals, HHL is followment they apply, through the admission ing a quality concept for growth in the next process and the enrollment, during their few years which will involve additional studies and their exams until they complete programs and more students. The departtheir degree. The team looks after full- and ment with its new structure is already targeted towards the qualitative growth objectives. Additionally, so as to better assist accepted applicants, coordination with the Department of Program Management, together with the cooperation of recruiting managers, was improved. The department has even received top grades for its opendoor policy and the quick response time for inquiries of students. In 2012, trendence, a personnel service enterprise, ranked HHL as the leading German institution in the category of student advisory services. “We are doing everything to make our stu- two new research centers whose research the role of trust in business sciences and the students as dents the happy,” Kathrin Schmager (Center), connects different research groups at management of transformation processes This also applies the government ny to allow HHL buildings it alre ditional building which are neces Beyond this HH raising external HHL gGmbH, Jahnallee 59, 04 T +49 341 9851-6 HHL NEWS spring 2013 03 CAREERS Entrepreneurship Companies at Your Fingertips Dirk Bremm New Head of BASF CC Americas Dirk Bremm (40) has been appointed Senior Vice President of Construction Chemicals Americas at BASF. During his 13 year career with BASF, Bremm has held various sales, marketing and executive positions in Germany, South Africa and Mexico. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President for BASF’s Construction Chemicals European retail business. He completed his studies in Business Administration at HHLin 1999. At HHL, numerous entrepreneurial activities are combined under one roof. In addition, many successful entrepreneurs and founders developed at HHL, who then founded more than 120 companies in various business fields and branches. HHL alumni are an important pillar of the entrepreneurial spirit at HHL. With a terrific selection of products, which are provided by HHL entrepreneurs, we arranged an HHL startup basket for our guest speakers at HHL such as Timotheus Höttges, CFO and future CEO of the Deutsche Telekom AG, and Matthias Müller, Porsche CEO. These are the entrepreneurs who presented us with something from their businesses: Christiane Springer Professor at HfTL 7 Following her PhD at the Chair of Marketing Management (Prof. Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg), Christiane Springer (35) was appointed Professor of General Business Administration, with an emphasis on Marketing, at the Hochschule für Telekommunikation Leipzig (HfTL) in August 2010. Previous to that, she worked as Chief Executive Officer at the Leipzig School of Media. 8 Philipp Leutiger Partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Philipp Leutiger (36) was named a partner at Roland Berger Consultants. Leutiger has advised customers from the IT and telecommunications industry in the Competence Center InfoCom in Munich since 2010. Before joining Roland Berger, he worked for other leading consultancies for eight years. He is the industry expert for digital business models as well as the broadband technologies they are based on. Philipp Leutiger holds a Masters degree from HHL. Christian Blank Director of Infiniti Christian Blank (40) is the Director Central Europe of Infiniti, Nissan Motor Company’s premium brand. Mr. Blank will take over the leadership of the development of the presence of Infiniti in the region as well as driving dealer performance. Previously, he worked for Mazda Motor Europe as the Director of Fleet Operations. Mr. Blank graduated from HHL in 2000. Jaroslaw Smialek St. ERHARD (state of the art beer which is brewed and bottled in Bavaria and exported to India) Christian Klemenz (MSc4) SunCoal Industries GmbH (worldwide technology leader that refine organic waste into SunCoal® biocoal) Friedrich von Ploetz (K11) Ringekaufen.com GmbH (online jeweller) Dirk Masurat (M9, born Plotzki) Alfred SCHLADERER Alte Schwarzwäl der Hausbrennerei GmbH (family-run distillery now in the sixth generation) Philipp Schladerer (MSc1) Flaconi (online perfumery) Björn Kolbmüller, Paul Schwarzenholz (both K20) Head of Department at WKN AG Since the beginning of 2013 the executive team of the Husum-based WKN AG has been bolstered by Jaroslaw Smialek (43) serving as new Head of Department in Poland. Before joining WKN, Smialek had worked as the Sales and Marketing Director of Fuhrländer AG, Head of Sales in Germany of the Siemens Wind Division and in different management roles with GE Wind Energy. In 2010, he completed his part-time MBA degree at HHL. Spreadshirt (worldwide creative platform for personalized apparel) Lukasz Gadowski (K12) 7 Coffee Circle (online shop for coffee, social venture start up) Martin Elwert (K17) 8 Besser Betreut GmbH (leading online platform for family services in Germany) Steffen Zoller (K15) Career Service at HHL “The Internship is a Huge Chance for Me” HHL student Jonas Stahl found his dream internship at Bentley Motors Limited in Crewe, UK within a week. “The HHL Career Service got me in contact with a former MBA student at Bentley and through him I can now gather work experience from January to March,” says the 24-year-old. As soon as Jonas had signed his learning agreement with HHL he came in contact with Career Services. In addition to job offers he was given a personal checkup of his application papers as well as the opportunity to use the HHL network for career purposes even before he started his studies. In their first days at HHL, students have the opportunity for a personal consultation. Which internship makes sense at the beginning, which could follow later? HHL supports students to search for an internship successfully. Additionally, extracurricular company presentations take place on campus to provide students with some insight into in- dividual career options at those companies. These events are also ideal platforms to get in contact with HHL-Alumni and those individuals in charge of personnel. Jonas Stahl appreciates the responsible work in the sector HR Strategy, Organization and Projects at Bentley which allowed him to integrate quickly into the team. According to Jonas, “The basic principles we learned at HHL are very helpful during an internship: always think one step ahead, anticipate doubts and be prepared to provide well-founded reasoning”. The Master of Science in Management Program that he is enrolled in includes one obligatory and one optional internship. Melanie Petersen, Director of the HHL Career Service, says, “The thesis ‘internship as a door opener’ for the dream job is still valid. Those who prove themselves in an internship often get into so-called intern retention programs or receive a direct offer, and this applies across all industries. It From right to left: Julia Teale (Bentley Recruitment and Talent Manager), Jonas Stahl (MSc8 Student / Internship Trainee), Ralf Böttcher (HHL graduate / Assistant to Member of the Board Sales and Marketing) is an ideal option for the companies to meet future employees through an internship, it often shortens the expensive recruiting process and makes things much easier.” The option of an internship that is integrated in the studies was an important selection criterion for the M.Sc. Program at HHL. He says, “es- pecially because all students do an internship, we can exchange information about different industries, sectors and companies. This head start on information is a clear advantage for future career choices. Altogether, I consider the internship as an opportunity and not as an inconvenient obligation.” 04 HHL NEWS spring 2013 Chair of Financial Management CHAIR OF ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING Visiting Again: Deutsche Bahn AG Exploring the Market of Online Pharmacies – Field Project for the Apologistics GmbH On January 28, 2013, we welcomed Harald Brost, Senior Project Manager and Koray Külçür, CVA, Project Manager M&A Transport & Logistics at Deutsche Bahn AG as guest speakers within the M13 lecture “Corporate Valuation”. Their lecture provided students with a deeper insight into the practical implementation of corporate valuation and M&A. The speakers presented the most important acquisitions and disinvestments of Deutsche Bahn AG between 2001 and 2011, the strategic goals connected to them and explained the three-step M&A process of the company. We are very happy that the cooperation with the M&A department at Deutsche Bahn could be intensified. Harald Brost (right), Senior Project Manager, Koray Külçür (left), CVA, Project Manager, M&A Transport & Logistics at Deutsche Bahn AG together with Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler “Cooperation CCT-BCG - Research Report on Secondary Buyouts” The Center for Corporate Transactions (CCT) was founded in 2007 and is affiliated with HHL’s Chair of Financial Management. The CCT’s objective, in close cooperation with renowned companies, is to analyze practicerelevant questions from the sector of company transactions from different perspectives and to generate and discuss new ideas for research. Since the CCT’s foundation there has been cooperative research with the Boston Consulting Group GmbH. Until now it has generated two successful dissertations, two socalled “white papers”, two academic working papers and two publications in scientific journals. The mutually-achieved research results were presented at the Conference of the Strategic Management Society in Rome in 2011 at the VHB Conference in Bolzano, at the EFMA Conference in Barcelona and at the Conference of the German Research Foundation (DGF) in Hannover in 2012. Their current project, the third, is dedicated to the Private Equity (PE) sector and was published at the beginning of February. Under the heading “Take a Second Look at Secondaries. Owners That Raise Their Value-Creation Game Can Excel” Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler and Alexander Knauer (HHL) and Jens Kengelbach, Michael Brigl and Falk Bielesch (BCG) look at secondary buyouts, i.e. at those circumstances in which an investment management company is sold from one private equity company (PE) to another. Building on one of the most extensive data samples in the PE sector of more than 220 companies with “back-to-back” PE owners, the authors were able to show that, contrary to popular belief, “secondaries” do not generate significantly lower earnings than “primaries”. The study also shows that “secondaries“ carry less risk. Center for Leading Innovation & Cooperation CLIC Makes Innovative Capacity in Medicine Visible A deaf man creates software which helps deaf students to participate in school, a woman who had breast cancer surgery develops a shirt (“ShowerShirt”) that can be worn in the shower after the operation, a paraplegic man builds “electric pants” that he can walk in - all these examples show how affected people created innovations that many others can benefit from later. In their article “User Innovators: When Patients Set Out to Help Themselves and End Up Helping Many” which was published in a special edition of the journal Die Unternehmung (August 2012), Hagen Habicht from the Center for Leading Innovation and Cooperation (CLIC) and his colleagues Pedro Oliveira and Viktoriia Shcherbatiuk from the Católica in Lisbon use the examples of eight innovations in the health sector to describe how patients became first innovators and then producers of innovative medical appliances and therefore provided benefits for other patients. Hagen Habicht says: “Health is valuable and expensive. Looking at our modern healthcare system, the part that is played by affected people in the innovation and improvements of healthcare services is absolutely remarkable. The stories of those and many other affected people make a part of innovative medicine visible that has so far been completely neglected.” Link to the article: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers. cfm?abstract_id=2144325 New Publication “Leading Open Innovation” at MIT Press “Leading Open Innovation” is the title of the latest book published by Professors Anne Sigismund Huff, Kathrin M. Möslein and Ralf Reichwald, the academic directors of CLIC through the renowned publishing house MIT Press. The volume is an introduction to the fundamentals, actors and trends of open innovation. It bundles contributions of respected academic authorities such as John Bessant, University of Exeter; Yves Doz, INSEAD; Lynda Gratton, London Business School; Karim Lakhani, Harvard Business School; Frank T. Piller, RWTH Aachen; and Mitchell Tseng, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with the perspectives of leading representatives of management practice. The website www.leadingopeninnovation.com allows for a first glance at the book. This year’s field project of the Chair of Accounting and Auditing was conducted with Apologistics GmbH. The company was founded in 2006 near the international logistic hub Leipzig and, with its main internet domain apodiscounter.de, has since grown to be one of the leading online pharmacies in Germany. The project aimed to analyze customer behavior in the E-Commerce business. Based on a scientifically-derived hypothesis, field tests were conceptualized and conducted in order to achieve a better understanding of the so-called “customer journey” during the web buying process. Additionally, the project team ran a comprehensive shopping basket analysis and developed a planning tool to facilitate calculating discount campaigns. During the project, several meetings were held between the client and the project team consisting of the MSc7 students Marc Fischer, Elisabeth Handschuh, Maximilian May, Torsten Nowell, and Oliver Thiem. The project was supervised by the chair´s assistant professor Dr. Sebastian Hoffmann. “Aligning the challenge of combining marketing theory with the practical development of a methodology to find the most important drivers influencing conversion rates of the online pharmacy has been one of the greatest tasks of the project”, said Maximilian May. “Besides the challenging workload at HHL, we really have been able to learn a lot during the project. In particular, we were able to train our in-depth knowledge of methodological competence, team and time management as well as excellent analytical and conceptual skills,” stated Torsten Nowell. Oliver Thiem added, “For all of us the field project was a great opportunity to combine practical experience with theoretical knowledge. I am very happy with the outcome and proud of our well-reasoned recommendations that will positively affect the sales management of apodiscounter.de in its daily business.” Learning from World-Class Academics in Accounting History Last fall term, Dominic Detzen, Research Associate and Doctoral Candidate at HHL’s Chair of Accounting and Auditing, spent a semester as a visiting scholar at Rice University in Houston, TX. During the visit, he pursued two main objectives: On one hand, he participated in two semester-long accounting seminars – “Introduction to Accounting Research”, taught by K. Ramesh, professor of accounting, and “Applied Empirical Methods in Accounting” by Brian Rountree, associate professor at Rice. Both lecturers are extensively published and highly-regarded accounting researchers, who brought their unique insights into the courses. On the other hand, Dominic Detzen made use of the extensive library, which Professor Stephen Zeff, arguably the best known researcher in the field of accounting history, holds. Based on this large collection of books, journals and official publications by accounting standard setting bodies worldwide, Dominic Detzen drafted a research article titled “Inflation, Exchange Rates and the Conceptual Framework: The FASB’s Debates from 1973-1984”, which is to be part of his dissertation. Besides the direct support of Professors Ramesh, Rountree and Zeff, Dominic Detzen acknowledges the engaging research environment at Rice and the interaction with the school’s worldclass faculty as well as doctoral students at an institution that is truly dedicated to advancing accounting thought and practice. Programs From Leipzig to Asia MBA Students Inga Brauer and Kyle Wilson (M12) Experience Study Abroad Term “We actually got the opportunity to enjoy ‘two study abroad periods’ during our stay in Asia. While one of us did the study abroad in Bangkok, Thailand (at Sasin Graduate School of Management) from September to the end of November, the other did the study abroad in Singapore (at Nanyang Technical University) from the beginning of November until February. Since the periods overlapped a little, we moved to both places together. The six months abroad provided great insight into the Asian culture. It was interesting to see how different the cultures and countries are from one another. Besides our study abroad destinations, we had the possibility to travel to some other countries in the region (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and China) which, again, were all very different from one another. For our career, the time in Asia broadened our understanding of this diverse continent and we feel better prepared to work for companies who want to take advantage of Asia’s growth opportunities. Currently we are finishing our theses and have also begun to fill out applications for companies in Germany and the USA.” “The six months abroad provided great insight into the Asian culture.” HHL NEWS spring 2013 05 Dr. Werner Jackstädt Chair of Economic and Business Ethics Helping an Online Shop to become more International - Field Project for Mysportgroup In the fall term 2012, the project team consisting of Christian Pflug, André Prenzlow, Michael Steibl, Steffen Suttner and Marvin Wruck (MSc8) worked on a field project for mysportgroup, a Berlin-based online sports equipment retailer founded in 2010 by the HHL graduates Erik Pfannmöller and Albert Schwarzmeier. The goal of the project was to establish an excel-based decision tool to support the management of mysportgroup in identifying attractive markets for the internationalization of the company’s online shop and to give a country rec- ommendation based on the results. The team identified four major decision criteria as crucial for the internationalization process; those being the macroeconomic environment of a country, the local e-commerce market, country-specific customer acquisition costs and last but not least the level of competition. These categories were split up in measurable sub-criteria. After a final sensitivity analysis,the project team concluded that the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were the most promising markets for mysportgroup. Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Wissenschaftsförderung der SparkassenFinanzgruppe e.V. Supports Research at HHL The Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at HHL is conducting a joint research project with Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) to analyze the Venture Capital market in Germany and reestablish an active discussion in literature. To get new insights HHL and TU Dresden conducted a longitudinal survey in cooperation with eight public Venture Capital funds and are currently analyzing the data of 124 technology-based new ventures. The focus lies in making new findings in the areas of interpersonal relationships, management support, networks, technology, risk management and internationalization. The innovative research method of combining quantitative and qualitative data and using a longitudinal data set distinguishes the research project from previous ones in the field. Early results of the research projects were presented at the Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurial Research 2012 (in Regensburg) and G-Forum 2012 (in Potsdam). A forthcoming paper for the special issue of the Thunderbird International Business Review will deal with the topic of the internationalization of the VC-backed high-tech companies. Therefore, the resources which may foster the internationalization process were analyzed. Further conference presentations and journal articles are already planned. The project partners are now very glad to receive external funds from Wissenschaftsförderung der Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe e.V. This is not only a great success for the project but also shows the importance of the topic of Venture Capital. CAMPUS Latin American Students at HHL Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru: those are the LatinAmerican countries from which most students come to study at HHL. Additionally, the exchange universities of the Leipzig Business School, where HHL-students go for their term abroad, are located in these and other regions of South America. One example is the Chilean Tomas Labra (33, right) who came from Chile to HHL for his MBA studies together with his wife and his two children. The industrial engineer had worked for a port operating company in Valpariso before. He came across HHL during his internet research and by looking at rankings and accreditations. One positive aspect for him was to see that HHL has a student initiative called “Hispanic Business Club” which confirmed his resolution for choosing HHL. Enthused about the activities of the club he recently assumed the leadership of the club. Life in Germany offers him and his family the opportunity to live in an open and highly developed society and to learn the German language. The biggest challenge for the Labras at first was finding a place at a kindergarten and a doctor in Leipzig. In his roles as an MBA student and a father Tomas Labra receives a lot of support from his fellow students. “Their reactions are always very responsible and they support me if there is a problem.” He adds, “for me the concept of a full-time MBA cannot be 24/7. As a father, I still have other responsibilities. In the evenings and on weekends I try not to work for my MBA. But this is a huge challenge.” After completing his MBA studies, Tomas Labra wants to found his own business. “That’s why I have chosen HHL,” he says. Chair of Marketing Management HHL Actively Promotes Partnership for Innovation Program In late 2012, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research announced the Zwanzig20 – Partnerschaft für Innovation program. The program’s aim is to support entrepreneurial cooperation and research across different economic sectors. Small and medium sized enterprises in combination with innovative research institutes are the main focus of this program, which will support up to ten syndicates with a total funding of 500 million. The uniqueness of this program lies in the fact that there are no restrictions with regards to the problems that any one syndicate can address and the fact that all syndicates will be supported over a period of seven years until 2020. The Chair of Marketing Management under Professor Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg was asked by the Leipzig Chamber of Commerce to co- ordinate an application process for the Leipzig region. Beginning in 2012, many diverse ideas and possible competencies of companies in and around Leipzig were gathered. In combination with an analysis of current macroeconomic challenges, a focus was put on an energy and resource topic. During the process, the syndicate merged with another syndicate at the University of Leipzig that had pursued a very similar focus. With these combined competencies, the newly formed syndicate aims at addressing some of the key challenges that the Energiewende has created for the coming decades. Program applications are due at the beginning of April and in June the Federal Ministry of Education and Research will announce which syndicates will be supported over the coming years. Let’s keep our fingers crossed! Students Discuss Topics of Service and Retail Marketing On February 26 and 27 a group of students from the MSc6 class and a number of exchange students met at HHL’s city campus for the service and retail marketing seminar. The seminar is part of the marketing management elective module and this year covered topics such as multichannel shopping, vertical integration in retailing, and how to improve the customer service experience. In order to bridge the gap between academia and practice, Professor Kirch- georg invited two guest speakers. On Tuesday, Rainer Borst, center manager of the recently opened shopping mall Höfe am Brühl in Leipzig, showed the students around and answered their challenging questions. On Wednesday, Dr. Stefan Wriggers, former Ph.D. student at the Chair of Marketing Management and now sales manager at Media Markt, joined the students and contributed to the seminar through his deep knowledge in the field of retailing. Sustainability, Marketing and Casinos – A Good Match? Since 2012, HHL’s Chair of Marketing Management is conducting research in the area of sustainable consumer behavior in cooperation with the marketing chairs from the Leibniz University Hannover (Prof. Wiedmann), the University of Potsdam (Prof. Balderjahn) and the GfK Verein (Prof. Wildner). From February 15-17, 2013, first results were presented in a competitive paper session at the AMA Winter Marketing Educa- tor’s Conference of the American Marketing Association. This year’s conference took place in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA) and was attended by more than 650 participants from the international marketing science community. Thus, a promising opportunity was given to share our insights, obtain feedback for future research, and establish networks to conduct international research. Academic Marketing Association Meets in Austria The Academic Marketing Association (Akademische Marketinggesellschaft e.V., AMG) has opened its new business year with its PhD student seminar and its seventh members’ meeting from February 28 to March 3, 2013 in Wörgl/Tyrol (Austria). Numerous members found their way into the famous winter region. With their presence they facilitated networking and professional exchange with regard to different scientific topics and business issues such as trade show atmosphere or the position of Marketing in practice. Current PhD students at HHL’s Chair of Marketing Management took the opportunity to discuss their work and to get helpful advices from their colleagues. Discussions with the Chair’s PhD alumni have contributed to the knowledge transfer from practice to science. In the seventh meeting of the members the last business year was reviewed and plans for upcoming projects and next steps for the current year were discussed. All members agreed, that in 2013 again the best marketing student will be awarded with the association’s marketing prize. www.akademische-marketinggesellschaft.de. Hispanic Business Club Besides the USA, Europe and Asia, Latin America is a highly attractive region to conduct business. The Hispanic Business Club aims at building a network of Spanish speaking HHL students and companies. Current activities involve: _ Additionally, the club plans to organize _ Start-up Chile Meetup Session organized a guest lecture with a business leader by the Hispanic Business Club of HHL from a Latin American country. on March 21, at 6 p.m. at HHL. www.facebook.com/#!/pages/HHL-Hispanic-BusinessClub/ 153244714724414 www.hhl-students.de/hbc/ 06 HHL NEWS spring 2013 Upcoming Events Save the date March 18 Enrollment Ceremony & Welcome BBQ Keynote speaker at the enrollment ceremony will be Samuel Kermelk, HHL Alumnus (P4) and CEO of HeiterBlick GmbH March 21 Start-up Chile Meetup Session organized by the Hispanic Business Club of HHL March 22 HHL Master Information Day March 23 GMAT Seminar For Beginners March 25 HHL International Guest Lecture with Dr. József Czukor, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary April 3 (Start: 11 a.m.) Leipzig Leadership Lecture with Timotheus Höttges, CFO, Deutsche Telekom AG April 9 HHL Startup Career Fair April 12 (Start: 6.30 p.m.) The All-New Thank God it’s Friday April 13 HHL Students’ Golf Trophy 2012 April 18/19 Energy Conference “Let’s face the Energiewende – Business solutions to manage upcoming challenges” May 10-12 XVII. European Ivy League May 31/June 1 Leipzig Entrepreneurship Lecture und Accelerate Conference June 1 GMAT Seminar for Beginners July 4 CASiM Conference “Change Management” August 31 Graduation / HHL Alumni Homecoming Keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony will be Matthias Müller, CEO of Porsche AG September 6 5th HHL Manager Golf Cup September 11 Enrollment Ceremony with keynote speaker Frank Strauß, Chairman of the Board of Management of Deutsche Postbank AG November 20/21 2013 HHL Forum Application Deadlines for HHL’s Study Programs PROGRAMS Full-time M.Sc. Program: June 20 (intake September) January 15 (intake March) Full-time MBA Program: June 30, Non-EU applications: May 30 Part-time M.Sc. Program/ Part-time MBA Program: January 15 Global Executive MBA: August 31, 2013 General Management Program 2013 Start-Up Chile Meetup Session at HHL Start-Up Chile is a program created by the Chilean Government, that seeks to attract early stage, high-potential entrepreneurs to create their startups in Chile, using it as a platform to go global. The program provides entrepreneurs with USD 40,000 of seed capital, and a temporary 1-year resident visa to develop their projects for six months, along with access to the most potent social and capital networks in the country. As an HHL’s Hispanic Business Club initiative, Start-Up Chile will hold a meetup session at HHL on March 21 at 6 p.m. in order to explain in detail the program and answer any questions. http://startupchile.org/ startupchile@hhl.de Currently, HHL’s General Management Program (GMP) is running until June 2013. The open-enrollment program with Professor Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg as Academic Director is designed for managers who want to expand their business knowledge. The 15-day program (in German) which starts again in April costs EUR 9,000. Special financial support from the European Union is possible. www.hhl.de/gmp2013 “I am extremely grateful for the German National Scholarship. I am particularly glad to see HHL expand its regional profile with this National Scholarship, giving me the privilege to be supported by enviaM, a company from my hometown Chemnitz. Thanks to the flexible nature of the funding I can focus even more on my academic studies.” Thomas Maier, M.Sc. in Management Program July 4, 2013 CASiM Scientific Conference “Change Management” vation and the rise of digital media, the management of change and transformation processes in firms and organizations has become a crucial task of survival. While change management is not a new topic in business research, the developments of the last decade have posed many new challenges for the change management of firms and organizations, and have thus also raised many new questions for academic research in business administration. The conference will run scientific talks focusing on “Organizational Change and Leadership” and “Change Management in Firms and Markets” with parallel panels on the topics “Adaptive Leadership and Motivation”, “Organizational Change and Corporate Gov- cheerleading and table soccer competitions again. Participants also have the opportunity to participate in workshops and individual recruiting interviews with first-class companies. Last but not least, networking and the opportunity to celebrate are part of the program. www.hhl-students.de/ivy-league April 3, 2013 Leipzig Leadership Lecture On April 3, 2013, Timotheus Höttges, CFO and future CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, will speak to kick-off the new series of lectures “Leipzig Leadership Lecture”. The event will take place from 11 to 12 o’clock in the lecture hall in the Schmalenbach building. April 18/19, 2013 German National Scholarship On July 4, 2013, the Center for Advanced Studies in Management (CASiM) and HHL will host a scientific conference on the topic “Change Management”. In current times of economic and financial crises with ever shortening innovation cycles, open inno- March 21, 2013 HHL Energy Conference On April 18 and 19, 2013, the III. HHL Ener gy Conference under the patronage of Dr. Philipp Rösler, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, will take place discussing the topic “Let’s face the Energiewende – business solutions to manage upcoming challenges”. High ranking representatives will discuss current trends in the energy sector. Within the framework of the conference, students of Economy and Engineering can win prize money totaling EUR 3,500 in a case study competition. Partners and participants of the event are, amongst others, Siemens, Siemens Management Consulting, Deutsche Bahn, enviaM, MITGAS, MIBRAG, CTG and E.ON. www.hhl-energyconference.com May 10 - 12, 2013 XVII. European Ivy League Every goal counts in the 17th edition of the European Ivy League between May 10 and 12. The motto of Europe’s biggest soccer tournament organized by students this year is “Score for more”. The traditional tournament is organized annually by students of HHL. For HHL Alumni, it is a welcome invitation to return to their former school and make new contacts. Besides the soccer tournament there will also be ernance”, as well as “Co-Evolution: Change Management and Interactive Communication”. Call for Papers: A special publication will be devoted to the topics of the CASiM Conference. Deadlines: April 15, 2013, for the pre-submission of an abstract. Contact: casim@hhl.de www.hhl.de/casim-conference-2013 200 Over 200 companies stand behind HHL’s part-time MBA students May 31/June 1, 2013 Leipzig Entrepreneurship Lecture and Accelerate Conference The Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship and the student initiative Accelerate@HHL have joined forces this year to offer an event on the topic of Entrepreneurship. This year’s Entrepreneurship Lecture which will take place on May 31 on the HHL campus is dedicated to financing startups. The Accelerate Conference that follows and which continues to June, 1 will, amongst other things, deal with questions of the operative implementation of founding a business. A case study competition encourages participants to apply their knowledge and takes them closer to their goal of founding a scalable startup. www.accelerate-entrepreneurship.com November 20/21, 2013 2013 HHL Forum: Rethinking Leadership – The Role of Communication Following the 2012 HHL Forum entitled “Rethinking Management – Dynamic Competition and Sustainability”, we would like to consider the role of communication in 2013. Managers hide behind phrases, citizens behind prejudice. Our business and market economy, however, cannot afford for its two most important pillars to not understand each other. Dr. Heinrich Weiss (former president of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) as well as CEO of SMS Siemag AG) will be one of the speakers. www.hhl.de/hhl-forum Impressum Publisher: HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management Jahnallee 59 · 04109 Leipzig · Germany Tel.: +49 341 9851-60 · Fax: +49 341 9851-679 e-mail: info@hhl.de · Internet: www.hhl.de Publication Date: March 18, 2013 V.I.S.D.P.: Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Dean of HHL Editors: Executive Management of HHL: Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Dr. Axel Baisch Editorial Board: Volker Stößel (MBA) Concept: CLAUS KOCHTM www.clauskoch.com Photos: HHL Frequency: quarterly ISSN 1433 934X | ISSN 1867-8017 Thank you to all contributors and proofreaders of this edition.