Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research

Innovation and entrepreneurship are important sources for the growth of modern economic systems and the enhancement of the prosperity and quality of life of their citizens. However, they can entail high economic and social costs and may cause major disruptions at the individual and societal level. In the context of digitalization, a number of new ethical questions arise which have an impact on the societal assessment of new technologies, new organizational forms and business models. By designing the framework conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship as well as through immediate interventions (e.g., incentive measures) policymakers are able to influence these processes. Another important field lies in the innovation management of companies which aims at improving the economic efficiency of innovation processes.

A profound scientific understanding of the causal relationships between the determinants and outcomes of innovation and entrepreneurship processes is necessary to successfully carry out such tasks. The department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research engages in research to explore and analyze these relationships from an economics perspective and contributes to the innovation discourse with other disciplines in close cooperation with the legal department of the institute.