Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Digital technologies are fundamentally changing our economy and society. They are upending many traditional ways of doing business and at the same time opening up new economic and societal opportunities. Researchers in our group conceptualise and theorise these transformations while also delivering practical and applied knowledge in innovative formats for practitioners and policy makers.
The HIIG Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society Group (IES) embraces these diverse developments. Our aim is to understand, inform and co-create innovation and entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing, globally interconnected digital economy and society.
IES was founded based on three years of action research within HIIG’s Startup Clinics, followed by several sector-specific research projects on topics such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, digital platforms and the future of work. Our current work builds on this legacy, focusing on four research areas, through which we investigate the mechanisms and enablers of digital innovation and entrepreneurship at different analytical levels:
 | Digital Technologies & Value CreationHow do organisations create economic and social value using digital technologies and artificial intelligence? How can innovative formats and methods be used to transfer knowledge successfully between research and business? |
 | Collaboration & OpennessWhat opportunities and challenges are arising from open source and open innovation? How can startups effectively collaborate with communities and established companies? |
 | Platforms & EcosystemsHow are new paradigms of the digital economy, such as platform capitalism and the sharing economy, impacting traditional economic actors, structures and business models? What are the risks, opportunities, and alternatives? |
 | Digital Social Innovation & EntrepreneurshipHow does digitisation influence social innovation and social entrepreneurship? How do organisations tackle grand societal challenges – especially in times of crisis? |
Research approach
In line with HIIG’s mission, we aim to pioneer interdisciplinary research and promote unconventional approaches in the area of innovation, entrepreneurship and society. We conduct theoretically grounded research and seek to co-create societal and economic value together with businesses, policymakers and the public. To achieve this, we develop novel research approaches and use new technologies and methodologies. Our work is participatory and collaborative, ensuring that joint learning and knowledge transfer happen continuously and consistently. This approach helps us keep up with the novelty, complexity and dynamism of the digital economy.
For more information, read our brochure.
Further research programmes
Media and dataPeople Analytics
We explore how organizations and users employ people analytics applications. These applications analyze a variety of data such as usage data from digital information...
Entrepreneurship and innovationDigital Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship
In the “Digital Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship” research project, we investigate entrepreneurial organisations that primarily focus on society – often called social enterprises. We...
Entrepreneurship and innovationData Cooperation Platforms for SMEs
Large digital platforms from the USA and China have dominated digital markets across industries and countries. They quickly became the most valuable companies in...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Media and dataPlatform Alternatives
How can Europe’s digital platform economy be governed to achieve fairer results for all stakeholders? The Platform Alternatives project analyses the structural effects of...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureArtificial Intelligence & Knowledge Work – Implications, Opportunities And Risks
The research project focuses on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in the intraorganizational workplace of knowledge workers. The project investigates with which...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureDemystifying AI in entrepreneurship
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to sustainably change how value is created in all sectors. In order to tab into this potential for...
Entrepreneurship and innovationTask Force: European Platform Economy
The “Task Force European Platform Economy” is a group of HIIG researchers who study the implications of global platformisation for European actors and institutions....
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureCompeting and complementing – The relation of Co-determination and new participatory platforms within companies
In our project “Competing and complementing – The relation of co-determination and new participatory platforms within companies” we do research on workers participation on...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Science and educationOpen!
OPEN!NEXT – Open and community-based innovation processes Recent socio-technological evolutions in Europe and around the globe show: product innovation is not the exclusive remit...
Entrepreneurship and innovationLearn. Match. Partner.
Digitization trends present different challenges for each business area. There is no single, universal model solution for all companies. Established companies usually know about...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureDigital Innovation in German mid-sized businesses
Digitalisation brings new opportunities and growth potential, especially for the German Mittelstand. What kind of activities and strategies are pursued when it comes to...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureHow to collaborate with startups?
Joint innovation projects by corporates and startups are being supported by ongoing digitalisation. These collaborative approaches consist of different engagement models such as startup...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureGemeinsam Digital
_Gemeinsam digital, the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Berlin, is a central contact point for all companies in Berlin and nationwide that have questions about digitization. Our...
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Society and cultureUser innovation in smart energy technologies
Interconnected, intelligent energy systems are a highly discussed issue. Such systems are used by customers to control and measure their energy us-age.
Entrepreneurship and innovation · Media and data»dwerft«
In March 2014, a three-year research project on new technologies for digital moving images will start in Babelsberg: the »dwerft«.
Entrepreneurship and innovationEntrepreneurship Research Lab
Our Innovation and Entrepreneurship team is a transdisciplinary group of researchers at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society (HIIG).
Asal DardanProject Coordinator: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Fabian Stephany, Dr.
Hendrik Send, Prof. Dr.Associated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Jessica Schmeiss, Dr.Associate Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Lea ErlenweinStudent assistant: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Lena StarkeResearcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Martin Wrobel, Prof. Dr.Associated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Maximilian von Grafenstein, Prof. Dr.Associated Researcher, Co-Head of Research Programme
Nancy Richter, Dr.Associated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Nicolas Friederici, Dr. (on parental leave)Project Lead (on parental leave): Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Paul Jackson, Dr.Associate Researcher: Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Philip MeierAssociated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Shirley OgollaResearcher: The evolving digital society
Sonja KöhneAssociated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Stephan Bohn, Dr.Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Stephan Jansen, Prof. Dr.Associate Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society | Founding Coordinator: DUCAH
Thomas Schildhauer, Prof. Dr. Dr.Research Director
Tina KrellResearcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Books
Richter, N., Jackson, P., Schildhauer, T. (Eds.) (2018). Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Journal articles and conference proceedings
Gümüşay, A.A., Smets, M., & Morris, T. (2020). ‘God at Work’: Engaging Central and Incompatible Institutional Logics through Elastic Hybridity. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 63(1), 124 - 154. DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.0481 Publication details
Grafenstein, M. v., Jain, A., Thorne, M., Rogers, J. et al. (2019). Our Friends Electric – Reflections on Advocacy and Design Research for the Voice Enabled Internet. ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. DOI: 10.1145/3290605.3300344 Publication details
Friederici, N. (2018). Delineating African Innovation Hubs from Business Incubators: A Process Perspective. Research Paper submitted to 4th Biennial Conference of the Africa Academy of Management, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 3rd - 6th January 2018. Publication details
Gümüşay, Ali Aslan; Bohné, Thomas (2018). Individual and organizational inhibitors to the development of entrepreneurial competencies in universities. Research Policy, 47(2), 363 - 378. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2017.11.008 Publication details
Gümüşay, Ali Aslan (2018). Commentary: Sharing is caring: From material to socio-material sharing. Academy of Management Discoveries, 4(3), 376 - 377. DOI: 10.5465/amd.2018.0083 Publication details
Jackson, P., Dobson, P., & Richter, N. (2017). The situational logic of entrepreneurship: a realist approach to national policy. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 1-24. Publication details
Gümüşay, Ali Aslan (2017). Unpacking entrepreneurial opportunities – an institutional logics perspective. Innovation: Organization & Management, 20(3), 209 - 222. DOI: 10.1080/14479338.2017.1404430 Publication details
Dopfer, M., Grafenstein v., M., Richter, N., Schildhauer, T., Tech, R., Trifonov, S., & Wrobel, M. (2015). Fördernde und Hindernde Faktoren Für Internet-Enabled Startups (Supporting and Hindering Factors for Internet-Enabled Startups). HIIG Discussion Paper Series, 2015(06). Publication details
Book contributions and chapters
Grafenstein, M. v. (2019). Co-Regulation and the Competitive Advantage in the GDPR: Data protection certification mechanisms, codes of conduct and the “state of the art” of data protection-by-design. In González-Fuster, G., van Brakel, R., & P. De Hert, Research Handbook on Privacy and Data Protection Law. Values, Norms and Global Politics, Edward Elgar Publishing, 1st Ed.. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Publication details
Richter, N., Volquartz, L., Schildhauer, T., Neumann, K. (2018). What Drives Internet Startups in Berlin? A Qualitative Analysis of the Facilitating and Inhibiting Factors. In N. Richter, Jackson, P., T. Schildhauer (Eds.), Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Richter, N., Schildhauer, T. (2018). Startup Clinics: Applied Research and “First Aid” for Early Stage Startups. In P. Jackson, N. Richter, T. Schildhauer (Eds.), Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Wrobel, M. (2018). Do You Have What It Takes to Become an Internet Entrepreneur? The Key Competencies of Successful Founders. In P. Jackson, N. Richter, T. Schildhauer (Eds.), Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Dopfer, M. (2018). Why Business Model Innovation Matters to Startups. In P. Jackson, N. Richter, T. Schildhauer (Eds.), Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Jackson, P., Richter, N., Schildhauer T. (2018). How Established Firms can Profit from Working with Startups. In P. Jackson, N. Richter, T. Schildhauer (Eds.), Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Jackson, P., Richter, N., Schildhauer T. (2018). Meeting the Innovation Challenge: Agile Processes for Established Organisations. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Meier, P. (2018). Digitale Plattformen als Innovationstreiber. In P. Plugmann (Ed.), Innovationsumgebungen gestalten. Impulse für Start-ups und etablierte Unternehmen im globalen Wettbewerb (pp. 207-217). Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler. Publication details
Friederici, N. (2018). Innovation Hubs in Africa: Assemblers of Technology Entrepreneurs. In M. Tynnhammar (Ed.), New Waves in Innovation Management Research (ISPIM Insights) (pp. 435-454). Delaware, USA: Vernon Press. Publication details
Schildhauer, T., & Flum, T., & Voss, H. (2018). „Weiterbildung 4.0“ für die Wirtschaft 4.0. In C., Bär, T., Grädler, R. Mayr (Eds.), Digitalisierung im Spannungsfeld von Politik, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Recht (pp. 283-298). Berlin: Springer Gabler. Publication details
Jackson, P., Richter, N., Schildhauer T. (2017). Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Startups: The Case of Germany and the USA. In P. Jackson, N. Richter, T. Schildhauer (Eds.), Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership. Preparing for a Digital Future. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave McMillan. Publication details
Sauer, R., Dopfer, M., Schmeiss, J., & Gassmann, O. (2016). Geschäftsmodell als Gral der Digitalisierung. In O. Gassmann & P. Sutter, Digitale Transformation im Unternehmen gestalten (pp. 15-26). München, Deutschland: Hanser Verlag. Publication details
Working paper
Friederici, N., & Graham, M. (2018). The Bounded Opportunities of Digital Enterprises in Global Economic Peripheries. Friederici, N., & Graham, M.. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3249499 Publication details
Other publications
Schmeiss, J., & Friederici, N. (2019). How much magic lies behind German AI production? Digital Society Blog. Publication details
Ogolla, S. (2018). Employee Empowerment or workers’ control? The use case of Enterprise Social Networks. Connected Life Conference. Publication details
Richter, T., & Große, M. (2018). Mehr Energie für die Energie. Publication details
Olk, C. (2018). Die Zukunft der Arbeit? An der Zukunft arbeiten!. Publication details
Wrobel, M., Schildhauer, T., & Preiß, K. (2017). Kooperationen zwischen Startups und Mittelstand. Learn. Match. Partner. Eine Studie des Alexander von Humboldt Instituts für Internet und Gesellschaft. Publication details
Ogolla, S. (2017). Artificial Intelligence at a Crossroads. Publication details
Große, M. (2015). Autarkie und der große Plan – die Energiewende und kleine, konkrete Lösungen. Publication details
Lectures and presentations
Daten-Kooperationsplattformen für den MittelstandDigitale Plattformen im Mittelstand – Gemeinsame Wertschöpfung als Chance?. Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Online, Berlin, Germany: 16.02.2021 Further information
Nicolas Friederici
Künstliche Intelligenz und digitale WertschöpfungIndustrie und Handelskammer zu Berlin. IHK Berlin. IHK Berlin, Online, Berlin: 14.12.2020
Annika Ulich
Varieties of Platform Strategy: An Exploratory Study of European EnterprisesWorkshop Regulating work in the platform economy (Session: The effects of the platform economy: business models and value chains). Hertie School. Online, Berlin, Germany: 27.05.2020
Nicolas Friederici
Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa: Last Mile Platforms and Other Localized Business ModelsGIZ.Digital Gateway Online Event. GIZ. Online, Bonn, Germany: 27.03.2020
Nicolas Friederici
Economic Geographies of the Digital. Universität Bayreuth. Weizenbaum Institut, Berlin, Deutschland: 24.01.2020Nicolas Friederici
Was steckt eigentlich hinter dem Begriff „Künstliche Intelligenz"?Deutsche Wohnen SE:. Deutsche Wohnen SE. Deutsche Wohnen SE, Berlin, Germany: 30.09.2019
Thomas Schildhauer
How can startups collaborate and engage with corporatesStartup Class 2019 (Session: Digitales Lernzentrum from Facebook). Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin. Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin, Berlin, Germany: 20.09.2019 Further information
Thomas Schildhauer
Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa. BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway: 13.09.2019Nicolas Friederici
An exploration for value capture mechanisms in platform-orchestrated networksInternational Conference on Design and Technology. Technion, Haifa, Israel: 18.06.2019 Further information
Philip Meier
Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa: Escaping from Silicon Valley’s Long ShadowWorld Bank Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice. World Bank, Washington, D.C., USA: 21.05.2019
Nicolas Friederici
Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa: How a Continent Is Escaping from Silicon Valley’s Long Shadow. Quello Center, Michigan State University, Michigan, U.S.A.: 20.05.2019 Further informationNicolas Friederici
The Platformization of EverythingPresentation. Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, Haas Business School, University of California, Berkeley, USA: 22.04.2019 Further information
Philip Meier
Colloquium Development Geography (Session: Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa: Escaping from Silicon Valley’s Long Shadow). Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany: 01.02.2019Nicolas Friederici
Blockchain-enabled value creation between multiple parties: A transaction cost perspective.World Open Innovation Conference (Session: Digital Transformation). UC Berkeley, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation. Berkeley Haas, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, San Francisco, USA: 13.12.2018 Further information
Jessica Schmeiss, Katharina Hölzle, Robin Tech
Kooperation zwischen Startups und MittelstandMittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Regionalkonferenz Berlin. Gemeinsam digital: Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum. Mercure Hotel Berlin Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany: 08.11.2018
Philip Meier
Digital Entrepreneurship in AfricaManagement Research Seminar: Lecture on Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa. WU Wien, Vienna, Austria: 06.11.2018 Further information
Friederici, N.
Künstliche Intelligenz und neue Formen der ArbeitThink Big Camp XXL. Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung. O2-Tower, Munich, Germany: 19.10.2018 Further information
Shirley Ogolla
Smart Energy in Deutschland – Wie Nutzerinnovationen die Energiewende voranbringenHEA-Tagung 2018 - Märkte.Partner.Energie (Session: Energie smart nachgefragt). Umweltforum Berlin, Berlin, Germany: 19.09.2018
Matti Große
Determining Datamining - A Marxist perspectiveMyData Conference 2018 (Session: Debating Rights and Responsibilities). Open Knowledge Foundation Finland. Kulturittaallo, Helsinki, Finland: 29.08.2018
Christopher Olk
The governance of open business models through blockchain technologyR&D Management Conference 2018 (Session: Digitally-enabled business model innovation). Politecnico di Milano. Politecnico di Milano School of Management, Milan, Italy: 02.07.2018 Further information
Jessica Schmeiss, Robin Tech, Jonas Kahlert
Surviving Social Media In The Workplace: A Kitre:publica 2018. Station Berlin, Berlin, Germany: 03.05.2018 Further information
Shirley Ogolla
Triggers of collaborative prototyping: A netnographic study of user innovation in open source hardware communities15th International Open and User Innovation Conference (Session: Communities: User Innovation and Open Source 1). University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria: 12.07.2017
Matti Große
Identification and Classification of User Innovation: Implications for Future Research15th International Open and User Innovation Conference (Session: Innovation Policy). University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria: 11.07.2017
Jakob J. Korbel, Matti Große
Consequences of digitalization for service innovation theories: conceptual ideas and implications for future research16th International Schumpeter Society Conference (Session: The Digital Economy). International Schumpeter Society. Hotel Bonaventure, Montéal, Canada: 07.07.2016
Matti Große
Panels
Entrepreneurship and Faith: A Diversity of Religious PerpectivesL.I.F.E. Research Conference 2021 – 1st Annual Research Conference on Faith and Entrepreneurship. Miami University, L.I.F.E. Research Lab. Online, Miami, USA: 08.04.2021 Further information
Ali Aslan Gümüşay
Zwischen Autonomie und Überwachung: Kann People Analytics dem Interesse der Arbeitnehmer*innen dienen?Abschlusskonferenz: Machtfragen der Digitalisierung. Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Online, Germany: 19.01.2021 Further information
Sonja Köhne
Brave new world?! Opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in the digital ageGronen 2020 - All Systems go?! Sustainability in the Digital Age. Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment, Online, Portugal: 17.06.2020 Further information
Ali Aslan Gümüşay
Leibniz Media Lunch Talk: Der Corona-Effekt: Pandemiebekämpfung durch digitale Medien in China und Europa. Leibniz Institute for media research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI). Online, Hamburg, Germany: 28.04.2020 Further informationJörg Pohle, Tina Krell, Deniz Erden, Wolfgang Schulz
The Effects of Automation on Employment, Wages, and Inequality in Germany. American Academy. American Academy, Berlin, Germany: 09.12.2019 Further informationThomas Schildhauer
Kampf der Plattform-Giganten – wie sieht der deutsch-europäische Weg aus?11. Internet Governance Forum Deutschland. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft & Energie, Berlin, Germany: 11.09.2019 Further information
Nicolas Friederici
Moderation of workshops and panels
Wir denken die Zukunft der Gesundheitswirtschaft im smarten Quartier neuBundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft. Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW), Online, Germany: 05.11.2020
Annika Ulich, Stephan A. Jansen
Organisation of events
Is the future of work online?British Council 'Knowledge is GREAT' lecture. 29.04.2021. Online, Singapore, Singapore. Co-Organised by: British Council Singapore (International) Further information
Fabian Stephany
Vom Fließband zur KIDigitaler Salon. 28.04.2021. Online, Berlin, Germany (National) Further information
Georg von Richthofen
Impulsvortrag zum Digital Urban Center for Aging and HealthRotary Club Hannover-Kröpcke Online-Meeting. 23.04.2021. Online, Hanover, Germany. Co-Organised by: Rotary Club Hannover-Kröpcke (National) Further information
Thomas Schildhauer
“Commitment versus Compliance: Prioritizing, Compromizing, and the Development of Templates in Situations of Institutional Complexity”MAN 910 – Area Management Seminar. 17.03.2021. University of Mannheim Business School, Mannheim, Germany (International) Further information
Ali Aslan Gümüsay
Digitale Innovation im GesundheitssektorNetzwerkveranstaltung für Mittelstand und Startups. 28.01.2021. Mittelstand-4.0 Kompetenzzentrum Berlin, Online, Germany (National) Further information
Frederik Efferenn, Annika Ulich, Christoph Gerling, Thomas Schildhauer
KeynoteDigitale Innovation im Gesundheitssektor – Netzwerkveranstaltung für Mittelstand und Startups. 28.01.2021. Online, Berlin, Germany. Co-Organised by: Gemeinsam digital (National) Further information
Thomas Schildhauer
Doktorand*innen-Kolloquium IEG16.07.2020. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (National)
Ali Aslan Gümüsay
Policy Co-Creation Workshop17.06.2020. Online, Berlin, Germany. Co-Organised by: Federal Ministry of Finance (National)
Tina Krell, Nicolas Friederici, Philip Meier
Artificial Intelligence and SMEsAI Coffee Talks. 10.06.2020. across Mittelstand 4.0 Centres of Excellence, Online, Germany (National)
Klemens Witte, Nils Hungerland
Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the Common GoodCollaborative Open Course for Master Programs in Business Administration, Management and Organisation Studies. 16.04.2020. Organising in Times of Crisis, Online, Austria (International) Further information
Ali Aslan Gümüsay
‘God at Work’: Engaging Central and Incompatible Institutional Logics through Elastic Hybridity07.01.2020. Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany (National) Further information
Ali Aslan Gümüsay
Artificial intelligence consultation hours with small and medium-sized companiesMittelstand 4.0 Centre of Excellence Berlin. From 19.09.2019 to 21.04.2021. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (National) Further information
Klemens Witte, Nils Hungerland
Nominations
IGP Jury des BMWi.Ali Aslan Gümüsay
Member of the Advisory Board: BMBF project Africa digital in cooperation with technopolis group and konnektiv.Nicolas Friederici
Member of DFG Network Digital Strategizing.Ali Aslan Gümüşay
Principal Investigator: DFG Network “Grand Challenges & New Forms of Organizing”.Ali Aslan Gümüsay
Jury member: Diamond Star (Handelsblatt-Tagung).Thomas Schildhauer