Research

The digital mindset is seen as an essential factor in mastering digitization and the challenges that come with it. Yet this elusive construct has remained virtually unexplored. In this research project, we address the details of which ways of thinking constitute a digital mindset, how to measure and, most importantly, develop them, and their impact on various parameters in organizations.

Selected contributions:

Hildebrandt, Y. and Beimborn, D. (2021).
Ambiguous, Misinterpreted, But Essential: Conceptualization of the "Digital Mindset".
Proceedings of the 81 Academy of Management Conference, Virtual Event.

Hildebrandt, Y. and Beimborn, D. (2021).
The Intangible Key for Digitalization: Conceptualizing and Measuring the "Digital Mindset"
Proceedings of the 2021 ACM SIGMIS Conference on Computers and People Research, Virtual Event, Germany

Contact: Yannick Hildebrandt

Based on the fact that digital technologies have increasingly become core drivers rather than supporters of new products and services in a steadily growing number of established, large enterprises, companies have moved to build so-called scaled-agile organisations in response to the resulting ever closer integration of IT units and business units in companies. Such a "Scaled-Agile Organisation (SAO)" refers to an organisational structure that applies the following organisational design principles across larger domains: (a) decentralized teams with a high degree of decision-making autonomy, (b) routine application of agile working methods within and between teams, (c) interdisciplinary teams with technical as well as IT experts and (d) criteria (a) to (c) apply permanently, i.e. not only for project contexts. Our research addresses the potential and challenges that exist in implementing and managing SAOs at the various levels of the organisational structure.

Selected publications:

• Frey, J., Hund, A., & Beimborn, D. (2022). Designing Scaled-agile Organizations: A Taxonomy of Design Criteria. (Proceedings of the) 17. International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI22).
• Frey, J., Hund, A., and Beimborn, D. (2021). Scaling Agility: How Organizations Balance Tensions in Scaled-agile Organizations. Proceedings of the 42^th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Austin,TX.
• Frey, J., Hund, A., and Beimborn, D. (2020). Achieving Digital-enabled Strategic Agility Through Resolving Tensions in Scaled-Agile Organizations. Proceedings of the EJIS Special Issue Workshop (Pre-AMCIS Workshop), Salt Lake City, USA.
• Frey, J., Holotiuk, F., and Beimborn, D. (2020). Debating Digital Innovation: A Literature Review on Realizing Value from Digital Innovation. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik, Potsdam, Germany.
• Holotiuk, F., Jentsch, C., and Beimborn, D. (2018). The Determinants and Role of Agility for Digital Organizations. Proceedings of the 26th European Conference on Information Systems, Portsmouth, UK.

Contact: Julian Frey

We investigate success factors for effective IT service management, in particular the management of IT outsourcing relationships. We have developed tools to measure the quality of outsourcing relationships, especially the "soft factors" (such as openness of communication, effectiveness of conflict resolution and the level of common understanding). Methodologically, we are using case studies and survey-based instruments, but will also use approaches of social network analysis and sentiment analysis.
Further, we are focusing on how relationships with outsourcing and cloud service providers need to be managed so that not only the operational service performance is sufficient, but that the service provider also uses its IT capabilities to provide innovation to its clients. This research project is partly conducted in cooperation with the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), where the University of Bamberg belongs to the Academic Alliance Partners.
Currently, we are conducting a global survey on the impact of the COVID pandemic on collaboration and governance effectiveness in IT outsourcing relationships.

Selected Publications:

• Meiser, S., Beimborn, D.: Innovation in Outsourcing : An Empirical Analysis of Outsourcing Vendors’ Innovation Approaches In: Information Systems Outsourcing: The Era of Digital Transformation, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020 pp. 83-100
• Beimborn, D.: Considering the Relative Relevance of Outsourcing Relationship Quality. Proceedings of the 20^th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Barcelona, 2012.
• Beimborn, D. Wagner, H.-T., Blumenberg, S., Beimborn, D.: Knowledge Transfer Processes in IT Outsourcing Relationships and their Impact on Shared Knowledge and Outsourcing Performance. International Journal of Information Management (29:5),2009, pp. 342-352.
• Wüllenweber, K., Beimborn, D., Weitzel, T., König, W.: The Impact of Process Standardization on Business Process Outsourcing Success. Information Systems Frontiers (10:2), 2008, pp. 211-224.
• Beimborn, D. and Mildenberger, A.: Innovation on the Vendor Side - Analyzing the Effects of Innovation Initiatives on Outsourcing Providers' Performance, Proceedings of the 31st European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Kristiansand, Norway, 2023.

Contact: Daniel Beimborn

Despite awareness of the potential that digitalization holds for innovation and entrepreneurship, the failure rate of technology startups is still almost 90%. Startup support systems, such as incubators or accelerators, are seen as important instruments to support emerging companies in overcoming the challenges in the early start-up phase. While researching this early startup phase is challenging (as many new ventures fail before they become visible), analyzing support systems seems promising for gaining deeper insights into the process of new venture creation. In particular, Venture Builders (also known as Startup Studios, Startup Factories or Venture Builders) offer an expanded support portfolio that differs from the other incubation models in that it combines “traditional” offerings such as financial resources, management skills, networking and physical infrastructure with technical skills and Active participation in the innovation process and prototyping combined. Recently published white papers claim that this approach, compared to traditional startups, results in a 30% higher success rate in seed rounds (GSSN 2020). Using case studies and survey-based tools, in this project we examine how digital venture builders should ideally be structured and how digital startups/entrepreneurs should be integrated into this organization.

Selected publications:

• Mittermeier, F., Schwalb, D., and Beimborn, D. (2024) Entrepreneurial Micro-Ecosystems and Their Role for the Success of Digital Start-ups Proceedings of the 45th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Bangkok, Thailand  
• Mittermeier, F., Hund, A., Beimborn, D., Frey, J., and Hildebrandt, Y. (2024) Externalizing Digital Options Thinking: How Corporate Venture Builders Generate Opportunities to Invest in Digital Innovation Proceedings of the 32nd European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Paphos, Cyprus
• Mittermeier, F. (2024) Upgrading Digital Units: Why Incumbent Firms Engage in Digital Venture Building Proceedings of the 30th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Salt Lake City, US

Contact: Ferdinand Mittermeier