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The Alfajor is an Argentine delicacy that shows no limits in its development in the country and abroad. Over the last 140 years, it has managed to conquer the palates of Argentines, Paraguayans, Uruguayans and Chileans as a sweet snack or dessert. Because of this outstanding development, the product captured the interest of Brazilian tourists, who incepted the Alfajor in this vast South-American country. Nowadays, several local and imported Alfajores are commercialised
through this new market. Still, many Brazilians have not heard of the product yet, and there are further challenges that Alfajor companies must overcome in their internationalisation process. This work explores these challenges based on the Uppsala Model, explaining how an intermediary can help overcome the Liability of Outsidership. Moreover, an Alfajor’s Psychic Distance Scale is elaborated to
measure the Liability of Foreignness and how the Food Culture Distance with Brazil can harden the introduction of this product in an unfamiliar market.
The Central American countries made up of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama have shared a common electrical network for nine years through an agreement called the Electrical Interconnection System for Central American countries (SIEPAC). This regional project has generated many benefits for the consumers of each country since there are agreements and regulations, the establishment of a regional energy market, cost reduction, and incentives for renewable generation. However, SIEPAC's energy matrix has not managed to improve its diversification and has difficulties in accelerating and substantially increasing renewable energy options. The analysis indicates that considering some isolated efforts in the field of electromobility that some countries of the Central American region have carried out, it is feasible to connect or incorporate the topic of electromobility within the SIEPAC system, managing to accelerate the change in the Energy Matrix of the Electrical Interconnection System for Central American countries; Likewise, the challenges that must be overcome in the regulatory framework to materialize the expected benefits of the combined model of renewable energy and electromobility developed in this research are also indicated.
Start-up is the term used when you want to turn your business idea into practice. In today's rapidly changing market, new businesses are constantly born, and existing ones are constantly going out of business. This is also a common phenomenon in China's language training and overseas study market. Many factors make a successful start-up, and certainly they have similar characteristics. The study of these common characteristics will greatly increase the chances of successful entrepreneurship. At present, China's language training market is still quite large, mainly because of the large population base. But recent domestic policies on the education and training industry, as well as policies which deal with COVID-19, have added considerable number of risks to the industry. Coupled with the rapidly changing international political environment, which often records negative changes, the overseas study industry is also suffering. This paper aims to identify the key issues and new opportunities of the Chinese language training market and study abroad market through a thorough research. Guided by applying proper management strategies and start-up management concepts to avoid the risk of the existing market in order to establish a new start-up company with a different business model using the knowledge of customers and the market which has been obtained from the market research. A business plan with a three-year financial planning will also be created.
The shrimp sector in Ecuador is the second most important in the country and has begun a process of energy transition through the electrification of its operations, moving from the use of diesel for pumping water and aerating the farming ponds, towards the connection to the electrical grid. This energy transition leads to investments in infrastructure and generates an impact on different variables of the sector, such as its productivity, exports, greenhouse gas emissions, social impacts, among others. This study develops a methodology to analyze the energy transition of the sector through electrification scenarios.
In Chapter 1, an introduction to the study to be carried out and the motivation are presented. Chapter 2 shows a review of the literature on the energy transition and the energy situation of the country and the shrimp farming sector. Chapter 3 establishes the scenario analysis framework, as well as proposes the use of the Energy Transition Index as inspiration to analyze the energy transition of the shrimp farming sector. Chapter 4 indicates the methodology to carry out the specific analysis and evaluation. Chapter 5 develops the nine established dimensions of the energy transition applied to the sector. Chapter 6 highlights the critical findings, and finally, in Chapter 7 the conclusions, recommendations and limitations of the study are provided.
The annual demand for Christmas trees in Germany and Denmark is premised upon the seeds of Nordmann firs, which come exclusively from the Racha region in the Great Caucasus ridge of Georgia. It thus forms what is variously called a commodity chain, value chain or production network (as a phenomenon) and that can be accounted for with
different concepts including Global Commodity Chains, Global Value Chains and Global Production Networks. The analysis in the thesis is grounded in the Global production Network (GPN) approach, which in the literature also is associated with possibilities of “strategic coupling” and asks for an analysis of “value capture trajectories”. But can the promise of such as “value capture trajectory” be observed in the case of the Nordmann firGPN for the Racha region, from which the seeds of Christmas trees originate? Master thesis examines the prospects for regional development.
Can the State of Tamilnadu, India Transform to Clean Renewable Energy 100% Zero Emissions by 2060?
(2022)
As a result of Industry 4.0, the creation of new technology solutions, and the usage of the Internet in business systems, the concept of logistics 4.0 was developed. This thesis aims to highlight contemporary trends in logistics, the innovativeness of logistics, and new visions of the idea of Logistics 4.0. This approach's fundamental elements are automatic identification, real-time localization, automatic data collecting, networking and integration, data processing and analysis, and commercial services. The following would be a few of the Logistics 4.0 technologies highlighted in the study and are described in detail: Cloud computing, blockchain, big data, robotics, and automation, augmented reality, drones, 3D printing, and autonomous guided vehicles are some of the terms used by the logistics industries and the business or digital business models being implemented with the age of digitalization.
This master thesis analyzed whether the Conceptual Map of Espoused Organizational Values (CMEOV) can be adapted to the German economy and how the contextual factors geographical location, industry affiliation, company size and age affect the espoused organizational value (EOV) landscape. To answer this question, the display and emphasis of espoused organizational values of 290 German companies was first inventoried and embedded into the CMEOV and second compared using descriptive and inferential (frequency hypothesis testing and mean comparison) statistics. The results showed that 94% of value statements of German companies can be depicted by the CMEOV. A suggestion is made that the map could be expanded by adding the value labels “forward-thinking”, “familial”, and “focus” based on findings in the German sample. Results also reveal that the display of EOVs is positively correlated with com-pany size and age as EOVs are less common in younger and smaller organizations. Moreover, intra-national geographical location and industry affiliation have no bearing on the EOV label combination "innovation & technology”. Additionally, firm age influences how much im-portance a company places on CSR-related value labels. This master thesis emphasized the practical implications concerning the topics of paradoxical value systems and impression man-agement. Senior managers need to consider, make sense of, and overcome the paradoxical con-tradiction of balancing (1) the reflection of the company's fundamental values while (2) ful-filling all stakeholder requirements and (3) covering potential economic developments.
Ever since Mark Zuckerberg announced his metaverse mission at Connect – the annual developer conference of Meta – on October 28, 2021, it has become a hype. If it was up to Zuckerberg, large parts of our social life would soon take place in the metaverse. Analysts foresee an annual revenue potential of several trillion dol- lars.
This thesis presents insights into how fashion brands can successfully leverage the opportunities of the metaverse. The methodological framework is based on a mixed-method approach, consisting of a literature review and an empirical part that includes a netnographic investigation and expert interviews.
The results show that virtual worlds can be used as an extension of the brand expe- rience to enable new interaction possibilities with customers and to reach a partic- ularly young target group. In addition, the NFT technology enables companies to identify and reward their most loyal fans in the digital space and build a relationship with them through a new channel.
The crisis between handling the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters has been a significant threat worldwide, especially for developing countries like Indonesia. The activities of the humanitarian aid supply chain when a natural disaster occurs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, have several unmanaged risks. This study specifically identifies risks that occur in the supply chain of humanitarian aid for disaster victims from Humanitarian NGOs in Aceh province. This study uses case-study-based research with mixed methods, where quantitative analysis is used to analyze prioritized risks, and qualitative research is used to create the framework of recovery strategies. The identification of possible risks is made using literature review, several news articles evaluation, and discussions with experts. The results show that there are 35 risk events and 30 risk agents identified in the humanitarian aid supply
chain for disaster victims in Aceh during COVID-19 Pandemic. From the Pareto diagram, there are three risk agents identified with the highest Aggregated Potential Risk (APR) value. They are Natural
Conditions, Health, and Changes in Department policies. The recovery strategies are built in the form of an AURA framework for a long-term perspective's solution. These recovery strategies are expected
to be used not only for COVID-19 threats but also for other long-term disruptions or crises that might
occur in the future.
This paper reviews the link between national labour market participation oriented policy changes and EU Country Specific Recommendations of such Central European countries as Germany and Poland in 2019.
The aim of this master thesis is to examine the reason of implementation avoidance of Country Specific Recommendations in the labour market participation policies of selected Central European countries - Germany and Poland. There is a need in triggers to increase the participation of women, minority groups, and older employees in the workforce. Increased representation of women, underrepresented populations, and older workers in the workforce is necessary for triggering.
The Commission is responsible for this coordination, and in this paper, recommendations related to the labor market participation policy will be analyzed along with Country Reports to achieve the goal of identifying variations in the implementation and additional precedence of recommendations related to the labor market participation strategy in Poland and Germany in 2019. Thesis studies the participation of women, older employees, and tax disincentives within low wage earners.
Kidnappings, among other threats, are inherent to the realities of humanitarian aid workers. To increase the chance of survival and facilitate coping with the extreme conditions and demands of being held captive, targeted pre-deployment preparation is necessary. This thesis addresses the identification of teaching content for pre-deployment captivity survival training and the subjective value of such training. With the help of seven qualitative expert interviews, the stresses and challenges of captivity were identified, which are understood as goal clarification for training. Further, coping strategies were displayed to allow participants of training programs to draw on vicarious experiences and reveal possible courses of action.
Bangladesh has been experiencing tremendous GDP growth for a long time and is now one of the fastest-developing economies in the world. Recent CDP report on eligibility and suitability for graduation to a middle-income country from a least developed country indicates that she is on the right track to achieving development status. In her development, all her development partners have contributed on a large scale in different aspects. Currently, China is the largest trade and reliable strategic partner for Bangladesh. It has a substantial attribution on the growth and development perspectives, but the trade deficit, concentration of FDI, and bitter experiences on debt in many countries have created suspicions. Simultaneously, the Chinese greater appearance in Bangladesh has raised the contention among other regional and global partners. They have active participation in several development endeavors to restrain Bangladesh from absolute Chinese influence. As an alternative development partner, China has enhanced better bargaining power for Bangladesh and introduced a greater dilemma to uphold her neutral foreign policy. Nevertheless, Bangladesh still has succeeded in diversifying her development partners on whom she depends on foreign direct investment, debt, trade, technology, and financial support. In general, her development approach is dependent on all rather than exclusive to one, and she needs to be rigid and transparent about her development objectives and policies.
This study was focused to determine the causal relationship between free cash flow (FCF) and profitability of public listed pharmaceutical companies in Germany. Based on the review of the past empirical studies it was found that contradictory evidences are present in the past studies regarding the relationship of FCF and the variables of profitability of publicly listed companies. To conduct this study, quantitative research was performed, where quantitative data was empirically testing to find evidence regarding the impact of FCF on variables of profitability of public listed pharmaceutical companies in Germany. A sample of 10 years panel data from 2011 to 2020 was selected for 10 German publicly listed pharmaceutical companies. The data was collected from the annual financial reports of the listed companies. Panel regression analysis with random effect was conducted to analyze the data. The results of the panel regression analysis suggested that FCF can have a significant positive impact on net profit margin (NPM) and return on asset (ROA) as variables of profitability. Therefore, the causal relationship of FCF with the two variables of profitability namely; NPM and ROA of the 10 German public listed pharmaceutical companies was found to be positive and significant. However, the causal relationship of FCF with the two variables of profitability namely; gross profit margin (GPM) and return on equity (ROE) of the 10 German public listed pharmaceutical companies was found to be insignificant. The FCF can increase the profitability in terms of NPM and ROA of German public listed pharmaceutical companies. Hence, the causal relationship between free cash available and profitability in term of ROA and NPM of the pharmaceutical public listed companies in Germany were found to be significant and positive. Therefore, the upwards movement of FCF can have a significant positive influence on profitability of pharmaceutical public listed companies in Germany in terms of ROA and NPM.
The following master thesis introduces relatively new, yet still important and interesting field of research – the use of social media in terms of social movements, and, more specifically, progressive and regressive ones. The thesis argues the impactful role of the Internet in the development of social progress and elaborates on its contradictory aspects, considering different political and social actors. The basis for my research consists of the theoretical foundations of social movements and media and, namely, media effects theory. Empirical analysis will help to distinguish between characteristics of media use in left- and right-oriented activism and its flexibility. Practical contribution to this analysis is made by exemplifying usage of social media in progressive (Fridays for Future) and regressive (Pegida) movements and highlighting different approaches to choosing the network platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Thesis concludes that the role of social media in modern world is undeniable for social progress, however, there is a remarkable difference in progressive and regressive approach. Meaning that, while the first ones are fighting for the renovation of democracy in a given country or society in general, those on the other extreme are putting an effort in undermining trust in established political institutions and violating public order.
Digital Voice Assistant is an interesting topic and a growing consumer trend recently. The combination between Digital Voice Assistants and their commercial applications in E-Commerce practices has brought the interest for further research, especially on customers' opinions and their buying behavior towards this trend. Various opinions from earlier studies have supported the benefits of Digital Voice Assistants on the customer buying journey and decision-making process, which show a promising utilization of such AI intervention on the human buying experience. They are believed to resolve several existing missing expectations from the customers in the occurring E-Commerce platforms.
On one side, the empirical study shows a different reflection on the perceived acknowledgment of the customers in this trend. The study research also remarks that the preferences to the changes in current E-Commerce platforms are not direct to the later willingness to use Digital Voice Assistants in E-Commerce. Although the awareness and experience of this topic are new, the knowledge and recommendation from this study will help understand better the customers' mindset and explore the new perspectives in this complex trend. Additionally, this is a study recommendation for case platform HelloMary, but not limited to other E-Commerce platforms which tend to use Digital Voice Assistants as the new on-platform experience for the customer buying experience.
Earnings management is considered as a strategy applied by managers of a firm to intentionally modify the financial information to deceive stakeholders and achieve economic and contractual benefits. One of the forms of earnings management is accruals-based earnings management that occurs from accounting choices, adjustments, and managerial decisions. The primary objective of this thesis project is to investigate the impact of accrual-based earnings management on firms’ financial performance. A sample of 14 firms is selected from German automobile manufacturing firms listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) over the period from 2010 to 2019 using a purposive sampling technique. Data is gathered from financial reports of sample firms. This study measured accrual-based earnings management through discretionary accrual (DA) using the modified Jones model, while firms’ financial performance is measured using return on assets (ROA). In the econometric model, the dependent variable is return on assets (ROA), whereas the independent variable is discretionary accruals (DA) that incorporate with other three control variables such as firm size (SIZE), leverage (LEV), and liquidity (LIQ). This analysis is done using a panel data regression model to assess the relationship between variables. The findings show that automobile manufacturing firms listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange are involved in income-decreasing discretionary accruals, and its impact on firms’ financial performance (ROA) is significantly positive. Furthermore, the finding of this study confirms that there is not only discretionary accruals but also size, which influences firms' financial performance. However, leverage and liquidity have an insignificant relationship with firms’ financial performance. Finally, the finding of this study may be useful for investors, financial analysts, and other interested parties to understand how firms’ earnings are manipulated and how its impact on firms' financial performance so that they can make their financial decisions and analysis accordingly.
The Application of Valuation Models in Value-based Performance Measurement at Gas Industry Companies
(2022)
This thesis addresses the topic of corporate sustainability strategies and the subsequent impact on financial performance and competitive advantage. A new method to assess the efficacy of corporate sustainability strategies is developed and outlined within. The background of corporate sustainability will be discussed by examining its ties to sustainable development and the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social), along with a review of the literature on the various theories of corporate sustainability strategies. The relationship between corporate sustainability and corporate financial performance will also be reviewed. Through this, a set of relevant factors will be identified in order to create a novel assessment framework for analyzing corporate sustainability strategies. A case study of Siemens AG will then be conducted to evaluate its corporate sustainability strategy and the resulting impact on Siemens’ competitive advantage. The implication of these findings will then be discussed.
The work performed by controllers changes over time, and due to technological evolution. Consequently, the controller competencies and academic formation to work change too. Therefore, this research aim was to answer: What is the required level of preparation of accounting and controlling graduates to handle the controller's role and tasks? To answer this question was realized an empiric research, where 32 graduates answered a survey, and it was collected 359 job advertisements. The job advertisement was analyzed using data mining applying phyton, and it was used descriptive statistics for the survey, both data set were compared using data visualization. The result demonstrated that a controller requires a set of controlling, interdisciplinary, methodological, socio-personal, and digital competencies. Obtaining these competencies are through business administration study or vocational training in business. digital competencies are not yet in demand by employer, except for business intelligence. The graduates do not master digital competencies. These findings can serve as a basis for the improvement of the curricula on which the controller training process is based.
KEY AUDIT MATTERS & COVID-19: An analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on KAMs of DAX 40 Companies
(2022)
The collapse of Enron and WorldCom2 and the negative effects of the Global Financial Crisis catalyzed two major challenges for the accounting profession. The work of independent auditors was questioned by the public as they had given unqualified audit opinion soon before these companies filed for bankruptcy. To address the dissatisfaction of users of financial statements on the role of the auditor, in January 2015, the IAASB issued a new ISA 701. ISA 701 requires auditors of listed entities to report key audit matters in the audit report. The purpose of KAMs is to present the most significant entity-specific matters based on the auditor's judgement to provide more useful information to the users of the report. The auditors of the top 40 Germany listed entities had to comply with this requirement for accounting periods ending on or after 15 December 2016. Ever since the introduction of KAMs in the auditor’s report, the most reported matters in DAX 40 audit reports relates to asset impairment (including goodwill), revenue recognition and taxation (including valuation of deferred tax assets). With the current Covid-19 pandemic, the work of auditors was affected in different ways. Therefore, there is need to analyze if matters significant to auditors were influenced by the pandemic. To address this issue, an analysis of auditors reports from financial years 2018-2020 for the DAX 40 companies was carried out. The results showed that matters significant to auditors were more or less the same since the adoption of ISA 701. Furthermore, the existence of Covid-19 played a significant role for commonly reported KAM (goodwill impairment) to be of high importance in the audit of 2020 consolidated financial statements because of the increased audit risk.
COVID-19 pandemic influence on the social protection systems of selected Global South countries.
(2022)
Social protection which is a set of policies and programmes designated to improve people’s life quality and protect them from poverty and social vulnerabilities is something that has been severely impacted by the sudden Coronavirus pandemic that began in late 2019. The following paper will analyse how the social protection systems of Brazil and Rwanda performed in the times of the crisis and its main assumption is that the social protection system in Brazil has failed in the face of COVID-19 pandemic due to deficient and callous governing while the inclusive and efficient policymaking in Rwanda enabled the country’s social protection system to conduct an effective crisis response.
The study will examine what are the country-specific social protection factors that contributed to different crisis responses in the instances of Brazil and Rwanda. The key results are that while the COVID-19 pandemic has disclosed the weaknesses of social protection systems in both Brazil and Rwanda, the first had a failed response because of the dismissive attitude of political leaders which resulted in unsatisfactory consequences in the social protection functionality while the latter performed admirably in the times of a crisis because of a fast institutional healthcare response and communication between the government and the citizens. The research method of this study is literature analysis and review as well as a cross-country comparison.
Current trends and challenges in last-mile delivery with consideration of digital technologies
(2021)
Growing online sales market, globalization and urbanization caused new challenges in freight transportation. These global trends created an open market where goods are purchased in any country and delivered directly to the end customer’s doorstep. Currently distributing goods around the city is the least efficient step of the entire supply chain, which makes it an important challenge not only for the retail and transportation companies, but also for researchers. In order to make the processes in urban logistics more efficient, different digital solutions and new business models were developed. However, there is still a lack of systematically organized information about the new trends and technologies in last-mile delivery.
The goal of this thesis was to explore and compare the new concepts of last-mile delivery. Therefore, two main research questions were formulated: How can new smart technologies change the current last-mile delivery processes? Which last-mile technology is more suitable for each type of urban delivery? In order to answer the research questions, a case-study research methodology was chosen. The information was gained through the state-of-the-art analysis, where relevant books and articles in scientific journals were reviewed, and the use-cases described.
The results of this work were three types of analysis. Operational feasibility analysis focused on the comparison of technical capabilities of identified last-mile technologies. Financial analysis compared different types of costs required for using each technology for urban delivery. Finally, in the comparison analysis all theoretical information and previously conducted analyses results were summarized. The most relevant last-mile technologies were then recommended for each type of last-mile delivery.
Driven by the decrease in the fertility rate, the increase in life expectancy, and, therefore, the shift of the demographical structure, the topic of labor shortage is gaining more importance worldwide, and in the context of the present paper, in Europe and Germany. More precisely, this paper deals with the labor shortage in the field of nursing in Germany.
The lack of nurses and geriatric nurses is not only due to the demographical change. Moreover, it’s a result of the poor working conditions, the negative image of the profession, and other factors that will be examined in the paper in every detail.
Further, the paper examines the labor shortage in nursing out of the perspective of several actors, including the state, institutions, and literature, in consideration of political, sociological, economical, and technological factors. In the course of this analysis, five semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed within the paper.
All these attempts aim to answer the research question: "What are the causes and the effects of the shortage of skilled labor in the nursing sector in Germany?" The answer to this question considers a variety of different components.
Concerning the effects, several activities and measures to counteract the shortage of nursing workforce in Germany are presented, including, among other things, the project “Konzertierte Aktion Pflege”, various legislations, activities driven by human resources. Overall, the thesis and the results are beneficial for everyone that is influenced by the topic (including nurses, governmental institutions, employers, and employees in nursing), along with everyone in society. This is because anyone, either as a relative or as a patient, can be confronted with the need for care.
The frequently changing environment forces organizations to adapt, resulting in the emergence of evolutionary forms of organizational design. Evolutionary organizations take actions based on the requirements of their environment, such as variation, selection, and retention. Designing their structures and processes to be adaptive (organic), evolutionary organizations react to their complex environments with social complexity. They are characterized by red uced standardization, formalization as well as wide configurations and decentralized authority. Complemented by their holistic perspective they represent a new and interesting field of research. Due to the high degree of informal structures in such organizations, organizational behavior is from major importance. In this context, psychological ownership has been credited to support several positive organizational behaviors, helping organizations to adapt. This thesis examines the relationship of both concepts, placing psychological ownership into the context of evolutionary organizations. A literature review and an empirical study (sample) have been conducted. As a result of the literature review, five behaviors of evolutionary organizations have been identified, such as innovation, careful resource handling, anticipation, selection, and preservation. The empirical study consisted of four open-ended interviews, exploring the link between psychological ownership and the evolution driven behaviors. As a result, a positive relationship between psychological ownership and each of the evolution driven behaviors has been hypothesized. Implications for evolutionary forms of organizational design have been d iscussed .
The aim of this research is to examine the potential of blended learning concepts for the development of future skills, which has not been sufficiently investigated. This subject is analyzed on the fundamentals of the behaviorist, the cognitivist, the constructivist and the connectivist learning theory.
For this purpose, the following research question was raised:
(How) Can relevant future skills be developed through blended learning concepts?
In order to obtain more precise results, the future skills were divided into technological, knowledge-based, digital and social skills. A qualitative content analysis was carried out on the basis of seven expert interviews.
Findings regarding the development of future skills suggest that blended learning concepts have a high potential to prepare students for the modern working world. Particularly with its focus on self-organized learning in cooperative and collaborative learning environments, blended learning proves to be more suitable for the development of future skills than purely analog or purely digital learning formats.
Driven by digitalization, the emerging sharing economy and the associated change in values, the concept of coworking spaces is gaining importance, as well as economic and scientific relevance.
However, despite the increasing popularity of this topic in the media there are hardly any scientific data about working conditions in coworking spaces from the user perspective.
This paper examines the experiences from the perspective of dependent employees in more detail. This group of people did not choose to work in such an environment but do so because of their employer. Working in a coworking space presents a range of new opportunities and at the same time new challenges for employees, which shall be discussed in this paper.
In the course of the analysis, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted and then analyzed based on Mayring's qualitative analysis.
The results show that most importantly, employees benefit from coworking spaces due to the networking and socializing component which is a vital part of this specific working environment. Consequently, the various possibilities for distraction that often accompany the social component pose a considerable challenge.
Interestingly, the majority of participants confirmed that they enjoy working in a coworking space despite the challenges involved. Nobody stated the opposite.
Given that an increasing number of people request a flexible work environment it is most likely that coworking spaces will gain more importance for organizations and therefore will continue to impact workspaces in the future.
This thesis and the results of the qualitative analysis are beneficial for scientific use, coworking space owners, for organizations as well as entrepreneurs.
In today’s world which is characterized by profound change, leaders are ex- pected to successfully steer companies through the difficulties of the digital age. To encounter the challenges leaders face on this journey, digital leader- ship has emerged as a potential approach, however, empirical research on the concept is limited. Hence, the main purpose of this thesis is to investigate dig- ital leadership by outlining the extent to which it emerges as a unique leader- ship style. Based on a comprehensive literature review and a qualitative anal- ysis of ten expert interviews, this thesis contributes to an enhanced under- standing of digital leadership. The results indicate that the role and perception of leadership itself are changing. The challenges arising from the new context of the digital age require leaders to display behavioral complexity and possess versatile competencies. By comparing digital leadership with established lead- ership styles, the thesis finds decisive congruence of various leadership com- petencies, while many digital competencies emerge as new. Overall, competen- cies regarding employee empowerment are of paramount importance. The complexity of the digital age requires leaders to exhibit situationally appropri- ate leadership styles. Therefore, digital leadership combines established lead- ership styles and is enriched by new behaviors required in the digital age. The extent of uniqueness is contingent on the new context in which leadership occurs.