The 20 most recently published documents
Measuring the influence of subsidies on the sustainability of microfinance institutions is a major challenge. This dissertation shows that the Subsidy Dependence Index remains the most promising ratio to calculate the subsidy received and measure microfinance institutions’ dependence on subsidies to conduct further research on the institutions’ ability to become socially and financially sustainable. By comparing the Subsidy Dependence Index to alternative measurements, a detailed discussion, and an exemplary calculation, its applicability to addressing the research gap of microfinance institutions’ reliance on subsidies to improve their efficiency can be shown. A calculation for 224 microfinance institutions serving 23.5 million active borrowers shows its applicability for large-scale data sets. Focusing on the microfinance institution (MFI), this research project takes an institutionalist approach.
Since efficiency is the prerequisite to sustainability, the hypothesis that subsidies have a conflicting influence on microfinance institutions’ financial and social efficiency has been tested using a reduced panel of 216 microfinance institutions. A multi-input/ multi-output data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to determine financial and social efficiency beyond ratios. The efficiency scores that serve as a proxy for sustainability are then used as dependent variables in panel data regressions. The main finding is that subsidies have a negative but only marginal effect on efficiency. However, the effect is only strongly significant regarding social efficiency.
To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is no research done to evaluate the influence of subsidies on financial and social efficiency based on a DEA.
Delphi-Studie Zukunft 2030
(2021)
Delphi-Studie
(2021)
In my doctoral dissertation, I conduct research on family firm decision-making, performance, and valuation. In particular, I explore (i) the role stocks—in contrast to flow-based theories used by extant research (i.e., prospect theory and its derivatives)—in share repurchasing decisions of family firms by drawing on motivation-opportunity-ability theory of behavior and the developed stock-based view on family firm decision-making, (ii) the moderating effect of national culture (i.e., the degree of masculinity) on the effects of board diversity on family firm performance by drawing on upper echelons theory, and (iii) the effects of non-family-managed family firms on firm valuation in the acquisition context by drawing on signaling theory.
Background: In view of steadily rising healthcare expenditures (HCE), studies on spending distributions can provide important guidance for policy decisions. Since the majority of HCE is concentrated in a few high-cost cases, this study focusses on the spending distribution between different cost-risk groups. We show detailed allocation structures, distinguishing several categories of HCE and the survival status of insureds to gain insights regarding the share of mortality costs.
Methods: Our analyses rely on data from a large sickness fund that covers around four million insureds. We classify the population into ten equal risk groups by costs and then determine expenditure shares of total HCE and daily per-capita expenditures depending on survival status and risk group affiliation.
Results: Our results offer that the often stated dominating effect of mortality costs of HCE is only evident in lower cost-risk groups and almost exclusively attributable to inpatient care. Furthermore, HCE in the calendar year of death is the same for most cost-risk groups, with the exception of risk groups at both ends of the distribution. However, in the case of the highest cost-risk group, the difference between survivors and decedents is proportionally small. The differences in cost structure between decedents in high-risk and other risk groups are primarily attributable to pharmaceutical spending.
Conclusion: Short-term high HCE in the year of death occur equally in all cost-risk groups and are hardly avoidable. By contrast, in the extremely high cost-risk groups, the cost difference between the year before death and the year of death is much smaller. Overall, this group remains the main target to influence the rise in HCE and its characteristics should be considered with respect to future HCE projections.
External investors
(2023)
Within this doctoral dissertation, I explore external investments in family firms. In particular, this dissertation comprises three independent studies to contribute to and extend current literature regarding family firms and external investors. The first study extends research on external investments in family firms by fundamentally analyzing the decision criteria of family firm owner-managers for using external minority investments, thus representing a first interim step of external succession. The second study changes the point of view and contributes by analyzing the drivers of financial investors’ preference for acquiring a family firm. The third study analyzes drivers resulting in financial investors’ successful or unsuccessful acquisition of family firms.
Greening of the tax code
(2023)
This thesis examines the impact of green fiscal policies, specifically environmental taxes, on firms' decision-making and competitiveness. It aims to contribute to the taxation and financial policy literature by analyzing the influence of environmental taxes on corporate investment decisions and the distribution of the economic burden, the effect on corporate emission levels, and the shift in competitive market dynamics due to a green VAT. The findings suggest that standalone environmental taxes may not be the first best option, but their effectiveness can be improved through combining them with additional policy measures to foster firms' innovativeness. The thesis also shows that the adjustment of traditional forms of taxation, such as the VAT, can promote sector growth. The thesis thereby provides a more nuanced view on the economic consequences of environmental taxes.
Airport slot allocation
(2023)
This dissertation addresses the concept of airport slot allocation as a major regulatory directive in air transport management. In three sequential parts, today’s slot allocation procedure, addressing the assignment of time windows for departure and landing operations at coordinated airports, is being assessed and critically evaluated. The three sections evolve from the evaluation and revision of a suitable criteria set to the development and implementation of a network solution. As a key feature, a carbon emissions price including the air carriers’ CO2 emissions is being provided, serving as the allocation principle. In all three parts, explicit reference to the IATA Worldwide Slot Guidelines, representing today’s regulatory framework, is being provided, highlighting explicit deficits and drawbacks of that solution. In the first part, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), as a concept of decision making based on a comparison of criteria and alternatives, is being applied guiding the allocation decision at a single airport. In this section, a set of multiple criteria is being proposed and weighted according a set of slot coordinators’ preferences. As a key feature, the concept of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is being extended by the conduction of a Pairwise Comparison-based Preference Measurement (PCPM) representing one stage of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In part two, the perspective of the dissertation changes from a single-point to a multiple-point allocation environment. In this part, a model is being provided that includes the allocation of slots in an airport network. As a key feature, slots are being allocated such that the two complementary cost functions are being minimized. On one hand, the developed carbon cost function includes the minimization of the carbon footprint per traveling passenger. On the other hand, the developed handling cost function is being minimized incorporating a dedicated airport perspective to the solution. In part three, the proposed model is being further extended by the incorporation of a third directive, the minimization of connection cost, related to the application of solution in a hub-and-spoke network. As a result, the study demonstrates how slot allocation can be conducted efficiently in an airport network, and how the consideration of the carbon footprint per traveling passenger serves to calculate the allocation optimum.
Linking talent management and organizational outcomes through the lens of professional football
(2023)
Today's global business landscape is marked by intricate technological and societal challenges, intensified by geopolitical shifts and economic disparities. The expectations for CEOs have undoubtedly evolved, now requiring a form of adaptive leadership capable of steering through unprecedented disruptions, managing vast organizational and environmental complexities, and navigating an unstable geopolitical landscape.
Added to these challenges is the urgent need to build inclusive, purpose-driven organizations that resonate with an increasingly demanding and discerning workforce.
In light of these transformative changes, a pressing question looms large for corporate boards and stakeholders alike: Are European CEOs adequately equipped and prepared for the future?
To address this, we carried out extensive empirical research on the 600 largest publicly listed corporations in Europe across 14 countries. We examined the life histories and career paths of approximately 1,350 CEOs. Our aim is to offer a comprehensive assessment of CEO profiles, highlighting strengths and potential challenges in the face of specific strategic imperatives. Our overarching findings underscore a duality; while there has been commendable progress in certain areas, distinct gaps remain in others, and these disparities further vary across European markets.