Organizations face increased pressure to simultaneously address multiple strategic objectives, such as exploration and exploitation or social and commercial value creation. These objectives are paradoxical in the sense that they are interrelated. While one can often not exist without the other, they compete for scarce resources and require different contexts, creating tensions in organizations (Zimmermann, Raisch, & Cardinal, 2018). Managing these tensions is particularly challenging for top management teams (TMTs), which reside at the apex of a firm and make strategic decision that significantly affect the fortunes of their organization (Smith, 2014).
Upper echelon research has, for many decades, shaped our understanding of top management team decision making processes, cognition, and behavior (Finkelstein, Hambrick, & Cannella, 2009; McNamara, Luce, & Tompson, 2002; Pearce & Zahra, 1991). Furthermore, it has also emphasized the role of incentives and compensation schemes in aligning senior executives’ decisions and actions with the priorities of the organization (Devers, Cannella, Reilly, & Yoder, 2007; Gomez-Mejia & Wiseman, 1997; Wowak, Gomez-Mejia, & Steinbach, 2017). However, we know relatively little about how incentives and compensation schemes may be designed to guide the pursuit of paradoxical objectives (Carmeli & Halevi, 2009). Hence, this research project strives to use insights from upper echelon theory to link the still largely disconnected research streams on TMT compensation, and paradoxes through one conceptual and two empirical studies.
The first study aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual understanding of the interplay between different forms of compensation, TMT cognition, as well as the management of paradoxical tensions. While recent studies have provided insights into the role of senior decision makers’ characteristics for the effectiveness of executive compensation (Cho & Hambrick, 2006; Sanders, 2001; Wowak & Hambrick, 2010), these studies largely assume a focus on single-dimensional firm outcomes. This conceptual study strives to develop these insights further. By introducing the multi-dimensionality inherent in paradoxical objectives, it strives to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of compensation as well as of the drivers and impediments of paradoxical thinking and action.
The second study aims to shed empirical light on how senior executives’ compensation influences firms’ ability to simultaneously pursue social and financial outcomes (i.e., hybridity). It thereby differs from prior research (Derchi, Zoni, & Dossi, 2020; Flammer, Hong, & Minor, 2019; Maas, 2018) by distinguishing between several dimensions of what has previously been summarized under social incentives. Furthermore, while prior research focused largely on the interplay between incentives and individual characteristics (Wowak & Hambrick, 2010), we strive to better understand how the firm-level context (in terms of social and economic value orientation) shapes the impact of senior executives’ compensation on hybridity.
Finally, the third study aims to empirically examine the role of CEO and TMT incentives for firms’ ability to simultaneously engage in exploration and exploitation (i.e., ambidexterity). While prior studies primarily looked at either the compensation of the CEO or the entire TMT (Carpenter & Sanders, 2002), we follow recommendations from upper echelon theory (Steinbach, Holcomb, Holmes, Devers, & Cannella, 2017), and look at how CEO-TMT pay diversity impacts exploratory and exploitative firm behavior.
Overall, this project aims to provide empirically grounded in-depth insights into the effects of different compensation schemes on firms’ economic and/or social performance and may thus be instrumenta

Since its birth in the 1950ies, portfolio optimization has suffered from errors regarding the esti-mation of the input parameters (Michaud, 1989). To overcome the resulting underperformance, recent advances in Machine Learning mitigate the impact of estimation errors by directly opti-mizing portfolio weights from raw input data, e.g., using deep neural networks. However, these initial approaches still lack one important practical aspect by neglecting the (portfolio) weight constraints faced by real world asset management companies (e.g., short sale restrictions, in-dustry exposure limitation, factor exposure targets, diversification requirements, or upper bounds on transaction costs). We strive to improve on existing approaches by allowing for the implementation of such constraints. At the conclusion of this project, in addition to a scientific paper, we plan to provide a software toolbox in R and/or Python that implements our findings.

tbc

Aus sich der Wirtschaftsinformatik können Organisationen als Informationssysteme - Mensch-Aufgabe-Technik-Systeme - verstanden werden. Diesem Verständnis folgend sind technische und betriebswirtschaftliche Gestaltungsteilbereiche miteinander abzustimmen. Diese Form der Abstimmung wird auch als "IT-Business-Alignment" bezeichnet. Konstituierend ist hier die Frage des wertsteigernden Einsatzes der Informationstechnologie (IT) durch eine differenzierte Abstimmung mit betriebswirtschaftlichen Anforderungen. Entscheidend ist nicht, ob IT einen Einfluss auf den Unternehmenswert hat, sondern vielmehr wie durch IT gerade ein positiver Wertbeitrag erzielt werden kann.

Grundsätzlich hat die (Um-)Gestaltung von Informationssystemen nach Maßgabe wirtschaftlicher Überlegungen zu erfolgen. Bisherige Ansätze zur Informationssystemgestaltung fokussieren die sachliche Abstimmung von Informationssystemen und adressieren somit die Frage nach der Effektivität einer Gestaltungsalternative. Zusätzlich sind jedoch auch Methoden bereitzustellen, um den Wertbeitrag alternativer Informationssystemgestaltungen zu beurteilen. Der Vorteil einer wertorientierten Gestaltung von Informationssystemen besteht insbesondere darin, dass sich die Entscheidungsunterstützung bereits auf die Phase der Konstruktion von Informationssystemen oder deren Gestaltungsteilbereiche bezieht (und nicht etwa erst auf deren Steuerung). Dies ist von besonderer Bedeutung, da in der Phase der Konstruktion über den eigentlichen Rahmen der Gestaltung disponiert wird, sodass hier der wesentliche Einfluss auf den (späteren) Wertbeitrag ausgeübt wird.

In the data-driven foresight (DDF) discipline, researchers and practitioners make use of a variety of data sources to gain data-based insights into future-oriented research questions. The most established and most frequently used data sources for these purposes are scientific publications and patent data, with many examples of successfully conducted trend studies. While scientific publications and patents can provide valuable insights into emerging technologies and their early downstream maturing phases, the later development phases are not sufficiently covered by these data sources, as the focus is no longer primarily on technical but rather on strategic and market-related factors. Furthermore, these science- and technology-heavy data sources alone do not contain all the information needed to anticipate an innovation's market success, nor can they single-handedly cover all aspects of a multi-perspective foresight. For this reason, foresight research constantly strives to identify and utilize additional data sources and to examine them for early trend signals. As part of this research project, we also continue our ongoing application of online job postings as an innovative foresight data source for DDF and test other data sources to which we can apply our findings.

Our research aims to explore regulatory requirements as an additional risk dimension in Information Systems (IS) projects. We will evaluate how evolving regulations impact IS project management, with a particular focus on the EMIR REFIT project. The objective is to develop an enhanced risk management framework that incorporates regulatory risks, providing managers with practical insights to address compliance-related challenges in IS projects.

So far, research on humble leadership has shown that this leadership style brings many positive outcomes for individual employees (e.g., trust, creativity, engagement), the team (e.g., performance, psychological safety), and the organization (e.g., performance and reduced turnover [intentions[). The goal of the project is to develop an online training program for leaders based on the concept of humble leadership. This training supports leaders in cultivating the following behaviors as part of their leadership style: recognition of their own strengths and weaknesses, willingness to learn and openness to criticism, as well as appreciation and acknowledgment of the contributions of others. Through weekly modules, participants will learn practical techniques to reflect on, enhance, and positively change their leadership behavior. To evaluate the training, both a pre- and post-assessment will be conducted, with the evaluation conducted by the employees of the leader, who observe their leader's behavior on a daily basis. The project focuses on the development of the training program and the subsequent recruitment of partici-ating leaders. The pre-assessment, training implementation, and post-assessment are expected to be completed up to six months after the project period.

The Liechtenstein General Civil Code (ABGB) was adopted in 1812, following the Austrian role model. After World War I, Liechtenstein adjusted its economy towards Switzerland, which also led to an adaptation of private law to the Swiss legal system. In this process, property law as well as parts of personal and corporate law were incorporated, the latter also containing Liechtenstein-specific legal innovations. However, attempts to reform the law of obligations, inheritance law, and family law failed, resulting in a private law system that remains to this day a hybrid of Swiss and Austrian legal influences. Since Liechtenstein’s accession to the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1995, European legislation has also been gaining increasing influence.

At the same time, legislation can never comprehensively regulate all legal matters, as this would lead to an unmanageable expansion of legal texts. Legal systems within the continental European legal tradition address this issue through the use of general clauses. These legal norms are formulated in broad terms and require further concretization through case law and legal scholarship. From a legal-theoretical perspective, this is referred to as gaps intra legem, meaning that no true legislative gap exists, as a general clause-like provision can still be applied. However, resolving legal questions in such cases is only possible if the general clause is substantiated by judicial interpretation and value judgments. In addition to statutory law and case law-based legal doctrines, fundamental rights may also serve as a means to interpret and apply general clauses.

This research project aims to examine the function and impact of such general clauses in Liechtenstein’s private law.

This project aims to analyse the current international tax architecture, focusing on its role in assessing the need for reform and proposing new international tax standards. The growing interest in addressing issues such as the (re)allocation of taxing rights, the taxation of the digital economy, substance as a means of conferring tax residency, and more, has proven to be a catalyst for rethinking the approach to governance in international tax matters. The study examines the governance challenges within this international tax framework and asks whether OECD-led institutions or the newly established United Nations Tax Framework Convention can bring greater fairness and inclusiveness to the decision-making process. A key concern in this regard is whether proposed international initiatives infringe on the sovereignty of countries to regulate their own tax jurisdictions, or whether these standards should be treated as non-binding soft law. Moreover, this project will also explore the representation of developing and low-income countries in the discussion of international tax architecture and argue for their greater involvement in the formulation of new proposals. In addition, the project addresses the challenges associated with the decisions of taxpayers to relocate, highlighting the need for effective implementation of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) measures and appropriate allocation of taxing rights to jurisdictions where value is created. Furthermore, the project analyses the impact of these international tax initiatives on Liechtenstein, how the country should respond and its potential role in influencing global tax policy decisions, aiming to highlight the increasing role of regional and national concerns for fairness and equity in decision-making processes that respect the interests of all countries, including small but economically significant jurisdictions such as Liechtenstein.