Publication records

How are team dynamics affected by our evermore global and virtualized business context? An innovative game created at ESMT Berlin pits business leaders against fictional hackers to find out.

Since its inception, the luxury industry has been a growth story. Product extensions, store network expansion, entering growth markets – especially China and digital commerce – have been the drivers of the last years. Business cycles? There were some downturns during the SARS epidemic and the financial market crisis in 2009. Soon after, growth resumed at an even accelerated rate, driven by many more consumers craving luxury goods. Few thought that the diversification in terms of products, geographies, sectors, and consumers could be affected by economic downturns. All that is needed is a constant growth of the luxury clientele and their disposable incomes for marketers to turn them into customers of the brand.

Through two studies we observed, that leaders must make a concerted effort to encourage assertiveness and speak-up behavior in their area of responsibility by asking open-ended questions before posing solutions, even (and especially) in high-stakes and urgent situations. When people are under pressure, it’s not uncommon for many to shut down and grow quiet as oppose to proactive. This is why inquiry must be used as a means for getting information — especially during crises. Further, leader’s encouragement will help to create an environment of psychological safety, and the solutions they gather will be much better for it. A business framework that emphasizes leading with questions, and one that trains and retains leaders with this skill set, is capable of achieving operational excellence.

Previously published on HBR.org
December 9, 2019

New regulations and opportunities in the decentralized energy market can be good for the planet and business.

The Commission “‘Competition Law 4.0’” was set up by the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy with the task to draw up recommendations for the further development of EU competition law in the light of the digital economy. The final report with 22 recommendations was handed over in September 2019.
The commission finds that the practical and actual power of consumers to dispose of their own data must be improved, clear rules of conduct for dominant platforms must be introduced, legal certainty for cooperation in the digital sector must be enhanced, and the institutional linkage between competition law and other digital regulation must be strengthened.