The Department of Innovation Management focuses on current developments in innovation research and sets research priorities in three subject areas:

Digitalization and the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence is one of the most significant developments of our time. The field of digitalization and AI is examined on two levels at the Innovation Management course: a) the digitalization of business models; and b) the digitalization of processes.

The familiar and tried-and-tested business models are often no longer up to date. The Innovation Management field of study focuses its research on the technological impact assessment of the influence of digitalization and AI on business models. This expertise is also to be transferred into practice. However, as working with business models is often difficult for entrepreneurs, work is also being carried out on the development of digital tools to support business model evaluation, development and transformation. In the shift from familiar and tried-and-tested business models and processes to digital counterparts, in the wake of Industry 4.0, digital and virtual systems, AI, etc., there is a need to adapt, synthesize or completely redevelop existing tools in innovation management. An interdisciplinary approach is advantageous due to increased system complexity. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

In the broad field of digital innovation management, the focus is on the following topics:

• Digitization of existing business models
• Digitization of innovation processes
• Technology impact assessment of AI on business models
• Practice-oriented tool development to support business model evaluation, development and transformation
• Use of AI in the innovation process

Sustainability is a topic that has experienced a successful rise in recent decades. In connection with innovation, there is currently no political or public discussion about future developments in which this topic is not addressed.

In view of this megatrend and the current macroeconomic as well as social and ecological developments, it is also essential for the Innovation Management field of study to consider and research the topic of "sustainability and innovation". Sustainability is made up of the three areas of environment, social and economy. These considerations also permanently play a key role in innovation.

However, sustainability and innovation not only complement each other perfectly in terms of content, but also on a scientific level. The usual research methods in the respective research fields are similar and so know-how and experience from the field of innovation are also used in sustainability research. Mutual synergy effects can be optimally utilized.

Als aktuelles Kernthema im Bereich Nachhaltigkeit und Innovation wird das Forschungsgebiet „Frugale Innovation“ herangezogen. Eine frugale Innovation ist eine Innovation, welche mit dem weit verbreiteten Paradigma „immer mehr, immer besser“ bricht und eine vereinfachte und anwendungsorientierte Lösung bezeichnet, um neue, preissensible Segmente am Fuße der sozioökonomischen Pyramide zu erschließen. Dieser junge Forschungsschwerpunkt wird jedoch auch in andere Richtungen (beispielsweise soziale Innovation, nachhaltige Innovation, nachhaltige Geschäftsmodelle etc.) weiterentwickelt.

In the broad field of sustainability and innovation, the focus is on the following topics:

• Frugal innovation
• Thinking in terms of resources
• Sustainable innovation
• Social innovation
• Sustainable business models
• Influence of the points mentioned on the regional economy

The development of pure product solutions is now a thing of the past. Holistic solutions are increasingly in demand. In the future, intelligent systems, and even systems within systems, will be relevant. The demands on companies and their path towards more complex systems are also evolving. The research environment here has developed from a strongly operational approach to tools and models to a comprehensive and primarily strategically oriented approach. The research focus of the Innovation Management field of study lies primarily in the development of competence, transfer and management systems that have a lasting positive influence on the performance and innovative capacity of the company. Reference is made to the operational, strategic and normative aspects of innovation management. The consideration of all resources and the integration of solutions in special contexts and regional characteristics are also crucial here, as is collaboration with other organizations. This culminates in the open innovation approach, which is a special focus of this research area.
This addresses an existing gap between strategy development in the theoretical environment on the one hand and actual strategy implementation in companies on the other.

In the broad field of corporate development, the focus is on the following topics:

• Holistic innovation models
• Innovation strategies; management strategies
• Open innovation
• (Innovative) business model development/change
• Innovation maturity systems; measurement of innovation and innovation capability
• "Innovation learning“
• Knowledge management