Title of Dissertation:
Promoting Small-Scale Minor Sector Businesses and the Role of Institutions – a Conflict Prevention and Resolution Study in Ghana

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland
University: Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen
Scholarship: KSG Scholarship
Cohort: 1. Cohort, 2014-2017

• Short Abstract

  N/A

• PhD Related Publications

  Michael Kusi Appiah. Promoting small-scale mining sector business and the role of insitutions - a conflict prevention and resolution study in Ghana. https://repositorium.zu.de/frontdoor/index/index/start/0/rows/10/sortfield/score/sortorder/desc/searchtype/simple/query/michael+kusi+appiah/docId/27, 2018.

A broad network of sponsors and cooperation partners facilitates and supports the doctoral program hosted by the WCGE.

Operational Management

The WCGE hosts the doctoral program and leads it operationally.

Main Sponsor

The Karl Schlecht Foundation (KSG) finances the doctoral program and its dialogue platform.

Third Founding Partner

Besides the WCGE and the KSG, the Leadership Excellence Institute Zeppelin (LEIZ) of the Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen is the third founding partner of the doctoral program.

Academic Partner

The HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg and the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen are the academic partners of the doctoral program. The doctoral students are enrolled according to the doctoral regulations of the respective institutions, and they receive their doctor’s degree from their home universities.

Cooperation Partner: Scholarship and Academic Exchange

• The KSG finances the scholarships of the doctoral program.
• The doctoral program cooperates with the Weltethos Institute (WEIT) of the Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen. Together they award the so-called WEIT scholarship, which is also financed by the KSG.
• The doctoral program cooperates with the Stiftung der deutschen Wirtschaft (SDW) as an external scholarship provider. All Ph.D. scholarship holders of the SDW, also those who are not members of the doctoral program, are invited to attend seminars of the study program. This promotes the academic exchange between both groups of doctoral students.
• There is a cooperation agreement between the doctoral program and the Graduate School of Sustainable Management of the Center for Advanced Sustainable Management (CASM) of the Cologne Business School (CBS). Their cooperation aim is to offer their doctoral students a wide-ranging and diverse course program, and to foster exchange between all doctoral students. Doctoral students of both programs can visit seminars and events of the partners, free of charge. Based on this cooperation, joint doctoral workshops are organized.

In field projects, teams of doctoral students work on issues arising for companies, institutions, NGOs, and their decision makers in their day-to-day work. They develop theoretically well-founded and feasible concepts of responsible management and good leadership to solve these problems.

Aim of the Field Projects

The field projects are an integral part of the doctoral program. They belong to its third pillar, the dialogue platform. Their aim is to develop scientifically well-founded and at the same time applicable concepts of good, responsible leadership. Up-to-date research in business, corporate, and leadership ethics should be applied to concrete questions that arise for businesses, institutions, and NGOs, and their decision makers during the course of their daily practice. The focus of field projects thus lies on questions of theory-practice-transfer.

Field projects give the doctoral students the opportunity to work in teams, for example, on consulting projects or case studies or to expand a concept for a dialog process aimed towards decision makers in business and society. Thereby, they gain valuable work experience with interesting partners, create new and valuable professional credentials, and broaden their (research) horizons. Field projects also offer members and partners of the WCGE the opportunity to work with talented, young scholars on their specific questions of ethics and responsible leadership.

General Information about the Field Projects

Teams of two to four doctoral students work together in field projects under the lead of a scientific supervisor. Normally, one of the supervising professors takes over the role of the scientific supervisor.

A field project lasts three months. Each doctoral student should expect to work approximately ten hours per week on the project during this time.

Doctoral students have to successfully complete two field projects within the first and second year of their membership in the doctoral program. Each field project is worth 10 ECTS credits.

Field projects can either be initiated by the WCGE, the scientific supervisor, external clients, or the doctoral student.

Completed Field Projects

• Field Project XXVIII: Conflicts for Responsible Business: A Fresh Perspective on the WCGE Code of Conduct through Global and Youth Voices

  In 2010, the WCGE collaborated with over 50 prominent corporations and organizations  to launch the "Code of Responsible Conduct for Business'' Initiative. This initiative highlighted six contentious areas for corporate investment aimed at improving business practices. On the 25th anniversary of the WZGE, a team of doctoral students reevaluated the controversial topics outlined in the Code of Responsible Conduct, with a specific focus on incorporating a global perspective and the perspective of the younger generation.

  During the field project, they conducted a comprehensive investigation using a blend of desk analysis, qualitative research, and conflict analysis. The desk research included documents across developed and developing countries consisting of academic papers, industry reports, news and international reports. For the qualitative research, they carried out interviews and focus group workshops with more than 20 young people from both Europe and Africa.This combination of research methods facilitated the identification of three key characteristics that define young people: being socially aware (woke), experiencing financial limitations (broke), and having complex identities (complicated). Additionally, they identified three significant transformations that companies need to embrace to engage in responsible business practices in today's world: redefining work, corporate political responsibility, and prioritizing the well-being of the planet.By integrating the findings related to the defining traits of young people and the anticipated shifts in business practices, they discovered nine perceived conflicts. Consequently, they successfully formulated specific questions that can guide entrepreneurial actions for sustainable and responsible businesses in our current times.

  Team Members

  • Vittorio Cerulli
  • Usochi Ilozumba

  Supervisors

  • Dr. Martin von Broock
  • PD Dr. Lisa Schmalzried

  Time Period

  • 04/2023-06/2023

  [item title="Field Project XXVII: Climate-neutral Transformation & Employment"]

  In the research project "Lab Industry & Transformation" conducted with the E.ON Foundation, the WCGE examined the employees’ acceptance for the climate-neutral transformation of the German industry. The findings of a comprehensive quantitative survey revealed a broad consensus among employees regarding the urgent necessity of a climate-neutral transformation. However, a majority of respondents also expressed concerns about the personal challenges that come with such a transformation, including potential salary reductions and mobility constraints.

  Building upon this survey, the field project focused on the issue of structural change towards a climate-neutral industry and the fair treatment of employment interests. The project team aimed to explore strategies for achieving a "just transition." In pursuit of this goal, qualitative interviews were conducted with experts from various sectors, including politics, business, trade unions, and civil society. These experts were presented with the findings of the earlier quantitative survey as a basis for discussion.   

  The expert interviews were subjected to scientific analysis to explore the intersections between individual perspectives and expert knowledge. This comparative approach allowed for the confirmation of the findings from the earlier quantitative study and a deeper examination of the interconnections and effects arising from the transformation process. As a result, ethical dilemmas, potential solutions and investment potentials were derived to address the challenges of the climate-neutral transformation. These included initiatives such as multi-stakeholder dialogs, the promotion of a shared vision or empowering employees as agents of change.

  Team Members

  • Manon Filler
  • Stephan Gebauer
  • Georg Röde

  Supervisors

  • Dr. Martin von Broock
  • Dr. Michael Walter

  Time Period

  • 12/2022-04/2023

• Field Project XXVI: Ethical Evaluation of Excess Profit Taxes

  The field project was about the issue of Excess Profit Taxes (EPT) in cooperation with the advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Since the rise of energy prices last year or so, the introduction of EPT is a controversial topic, widely discussed in society. From a corporate point of view, the question arises of how to manage EPT and their impact on corporate social responsibility through closely related issues such as social justice. As a starting point, it seems useful to get an overview of the discussed arguments in society. Therefore, three of doctoral students mapped the ongoing debate and its arguments taking various perspectives. First, they looked through the economic arguments. Then, they took a political perspective collecting arguments from different political actors. Subsequently, they analyzed the EPT issue from a philosophical perspective. Finally, they investigated the relationship between EPT and trust in democracy to get an even bigger picture. Here, we additionally conducted short interviews with experts from various backgrounds to complement our findings. As a result, they provided a comprehensive and structured overview of the current state of the EPT debate, which serves as a basis for the strategy development process. 

  Team Members

  • Usochi Illozumba
  • Simon Merz
  • Christin Philipp

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek

  Time Period

  • 12/2022-04/2023

• Field Project XXV: Leadership + Passion: Creation of a Video

  In the course of the field project, a team of doctoral students took part in KSG's "Leadership+Passion" call for ideas. The task was to shoot a five to ten minute video about role models for the topic area "Leadership and Passion".
  
  In its video contribution, the WCGE team dedicated itself to the association "Humanitäre Hilfe Ukraine e.V.". A group of volunteers founded the association in Leipzig in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine. Based on their common goal and passion to help, these young people joined together and took leading roles in collecting donations, building a logistics network, and providing humanitarian aid to people in need throughout Ukraine. To gain a deeper insight into this initiative and, more importantly, the volunteers working there, the WCGE team visited the association's facility in Leipzig several times, filmed its ongoing work, and conducted a series of interviews. The interviewees shared their personal experiences of volunteering at the organization, the collective leadership that is characteristic of their group, and how passion has helped them overcome various challenges along the way. At the end of the video, the volunteers make a heartfelt plea for continued support to Ukraine during this time of crisis.

  Team Members

  • Taiwo Yusuff
  • Artur Klingbeil
  • Shayan Khan

  Supervisors

  • Lisa-Marie Heimes
  • PD Dr. Lisa Schmalzried

  Time Period

  • 02/2022-08/2022

• Field Project XXIV: Nudging Corporate Compliance and Integrity based on the Ethical Compass

  Legal (and ethical) compliance remains a key topic and challenge for businesses today. More specifically, many companies are asking themselves two main questions: how can compliance be more effectively managed, and how can businesses encourage and maintain their ethical values in everyday business endeavors? This five-month field project was conducted with the Integrity Fund as a way to derive recommendations for the longer two-year research cooperation. The doctoral team sought to create a better understanding of the current and future problems compliance officers face, as well as the potential for behavioral nudges and the ethical compass in addressing these challenges.

  To derive the recommendations, the project team undertook semi-structured qualitative interviews with compliance professionals in Germany. Interview questions addressed topics of the most pressing issues in compliance, how ethical values play a role in the development and procedures surrounding compliance, and compliance officers’ perception of the role of behavioral nudges in their work. (Nudging theory argues that small changes to processes and environments can help encourage or discourage certain behaviors while maintaining the actor’s freedom of choice.) These interviews were then scientifically analyzed and recommendations for future survey questions, interview questions, and research opportunities were proposed.

   Team Members

  • Stephan Gebauer
  • Cassandra Grützner
  • Emma van den Terrell

  Supervisors

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek
  • Maja Petrushevska

  Time Period

  • 02/2022-07/2022

• Field Project XXIII: Diversity & Inclusion

  Diversity is increasingly gaining importance on company level: Mixed teams, equal chances, and opportunities to participate have a strong impact on motivation and performance of employees. Accordingly, companies seek to act and are confronted with a multitude of potential projects or initiatives all circling around the many facets the topic of diversity brings. Moreover, diversity is gaining momentum when it comes to corporate reporting and rating-based evaluation of company performance. On behalf of one the leading German pharmaceutical companies the field project analyzed success factors in the context of the increasing number of diversity-related standards, initiatives, and potential legal regulations in many countries. In the framework of a benchmark analysis best practices were identified for three pillars of action: Establishment of a “Diversity & Engagement Council” by the respective company, analysis of company performance in terms of ESG ratings, as well as corporate reporting in line with standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). As for the Council, the team focused on distilling best practices by leading companies and translating them into a guidebook. The guidebook was developed in the form of a “living document” and shall support the first members of the newly founded Council over the first couple of months. In terms of ESG Gap Closing, Human Capital Development and the management of the gender pay gap as well as existing and prospective legal developments in Europe and Latin America gained major attention. As for GRI reporting, the team identified best practices in terms of connecting board and CEO remuneration with individual and team based ESG performance, and the role of stakeholders in the process of determining remuneration. In addition, the updated GRI standards that were published in October 2021 were analyzed in the light of the potential implications on future GRI reporting by the pharmaceutical company. In consequence, similarities were identified for all three fields of action that will determine success of corporate action as well as of internal and external communication: Objectives and goals that are in line with corporate values and culture, transparency, as well as traceability of progress by means of non-financial indicators.

   Team Members

  • Cassandra Grützner
  • Oleg Fedoseev

  Supervisors

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck
  • Dr. Manuela Glass

  Time Period

  • 09/2021-11/2021

• Field Project XXII: Responsible Lobbying at Daimler: Designing an Evaluation Concept

  The field project is part of larger WCGE collaboration with Daimler AG to develop a concept which would allow a company like Daimler to evaluate its lobbying practices. The project endeavors to come up with a holistic lobbying evaluation tool but evaluation itself of the existing lobbying practices was out of the scope of this field project.

  The main question was what responsible lobbying is and how a given company’s lobbying activities can be evaluated. The team reviewed existing guidelines and best-practice examples of “responsible lobbying” that would allow for the development of a normative framework for a variety of stakeholders (as a benchmark against which Daimler’s actual lobbying work could be evaluated). The results of analysis were refined in several iterations after receiving feedback from Daimler representatives during online workshops. The finally proposed evaluation framework emphasizes on the dimensions of ‘responsibility’ and ‘effectiveness’. Key components within these two dimensions were identified and put forward for implementation.

   Team Members

  • Arlette Danielle Román Almánzar
  • Laurence Martel
  • Oleg Fedoseev
  • Shayan Ali Khan

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck

  Time Period

  • 03/2021-07/2021

• Field Project XXI: Quantifying and Monetizing Environmental and Social Impacts in Fashion Industry Supply Chains

  Ensuring human rights in supply chains is moving center stage for many companies, especially in the textile industry. Recognizing that through technology it is possible to drive improvement inworking conditions and worker wellbeing, companies are working to develop and implement digital solutions to achieve this goal. In this project, the doctoral students joined forces with the company Vaude to develop a concept for an optimal tool to capture and ultimately improve worker wellbeing, not only from a “preventing harm” perspective but also from a positive perspective of worker wellbeing and worker engagement.

  Team Members

  • Emma van den Terrell
  • Taiwo Yusuff
  • Silvia Vázquez Sánchez

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons

  Time Period

  • 04/21-06/21

• Field Project XX: Leadership + Empathy: Development of a virtual Escape Room

   As part of the KSG call for ideas 'Leadership + X', the field project addressed the question "What is good leadership?" with a focus on empathic leadership. The project team therefore dealt with the interface between leadership and empathy, both theoretically and practically. The goal of the project was to creatively implement key insights on empathy and leadership in an Escape Room to enable (aspiring) managers to gain thought-provoking impulses in a playful way and to acquire important competencies at the interface between business and ethics. The project was accompanied by workshops, lectures and consultations by researchers at the interface between leadership and empathy as well as experts for (science) communication and creative media experts.

   

  The Escape Room of the WZGE team focused in particular on the clarification of possible limits of empathic leadership, e.g. through negative externalities and pitfalls. Leaders are often confronted with complex challenges in everyday business life and are constantly exposed to conflicts of interest that need to be dealt with. Here, the designed Escape Room can make an important contribution to making (future) leaders aware of the costs, limits and externalities of empathic leadership.

  Team Members

  • Hanna Schmidt
  • Moritz Appels
  • Christian Kroll

  Supervisors

  • Lisa-Marie Heimes
  • PD Dr. Lisa Schmalzried

  Zeitraum

  • 04/21-07/21

• Field Project XIX: How ethical are our ethics? – A field project with the medical aid organization action medeor e.V.

   

  This case study was about taking a closer look at the ethical-moral conduct and procedures towards donors of NGOs using the example of action medeor e.V.. In particular, the focus was on the question of accepting corporate donations, which was examined and discussed in more detail. It was important to first discuss and demonstrate the legal and thus factual basis, i.e. to present the German "hard law". After all, this provides the framework within which the ethical starting points for resolving an issue in relation to critical donation assumptions can be discussed and analyzed. The second part dealt with the presentation of the philosophical perspectives and also their practical feasibility. The focus of the work is the third part of the report, which compiled a catalog of actions for action medeor e.V., which is intended to help in the decision-making process and to provide guidance for a possible external positioning on the issue. The catalog highlights all perspectives and aspects, such as commitment to international standards, donations from German or international companies, and also a possible lowering of ethical and moral standards. Overall, the report came to the conclusion that a differentiated middle course can be a good and practical approach to this complex issue.

   

  Team Members

  • Hanna Schmidt
  • Hannah Schragmann
  • Jacqueline Zimmermann

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Ingo Pies

  Time Period

  • 09/20-01/21

• Field Project XVIII: The WCGE Podcast – Concept and implementation of the WZGE podcast format Werte und Wirklichkeit

  The WCGE has given three doctoral students the opportunity to produce a podcast for the institute. The team has produced two full episodes for the newly created Werte & Wirklichkeit podcast. The production included a broad range of tasks including market research, interviewing all members of the WCGE Team, strategy and marketing creation, finding suitable podcast formats, topics as well as interview partners, acquiring technical skills like cutting and editing as well as the execution of interviews with two interview partners: entrepreneur Michael Corteletti as well as WCGE Alumna Dr. Rebecca Rühle. Furthermore, the podcast team participated with four mini-podcast episodes in the podcast project LEADERSHIP + TRUST which is part of the theme campaign LEADERSHIP + X, an initiative of the Karl Schlecht Foundation. It addresses the relevance and aspects of trust in a management context. The podcast presents various voices concerning ‘good leadership’ and offers the Karl Schlecht Foundation's funding community an opportunity for dialogue. The target group for both podcast projects are young and established leaders, all stakeholders of the Karl Schlecht Foundation as well as partners of the WCGE, leadership researchers and other interested parties. The WCGE podcast will be further continued as the production team has implemented a framework as well a workshop in place to hand over all necessary materials and information to concerned parties of the WCGE for its continuation.

  Team Members

  • Lili Jassemi Schmidt-Thomé
  • Hannah Schragmann
  • Moritz Appels

  Supervisors

  • Lisa-Marie Heimes
  • PD Dr. Lisa Schmalzried

  Time Period

  • 04/20-07/20

• Field Project XVII: Trust in Digital Innovations in the Energy Sector: European Best Practices in the Context of the Smart Meter Rollout

  Digital innovations are a central pillar of the “Energiewende” and can make a fundamental contribution to ensuring an efficient, secure and sustainable energy supply. However, along the essential digital transformation of the energy system diverse ethical problems occur, such as concerns about the protection of privacy in the transmission and processing of personal energy data. With regard to these challenges the WZGE project "Ethical Challenges of the Digital Energiewende", funded by the innogy Foundation for Energy and Society, poses the question: How can companies contribute creating confidence in digital innovations in the energy sector in order to promote energy system transformation?

  The accompanying field project "Trust in Digital Innovations in the Energy Sector", which was carried out by two doctoral students of the WZGE, makes an important contribution to answering this question. The project focused on the rollout of smart meters, which are an essential building block of digitalization processes in the energy sector. However, studies show a fundamental trust problem: out of concern for their privacy, many consumers have reservations about smart meters and the associated transmission of energy consumption data to companies. Against this background, the objective of the best-practice study was to examine the smart meter rollout in Europe to identify design examples for strengthening trust in digital innovations in the energy sector. Specifically, the rollout process of the three pioneer countries Sweden, Great Britain and the Netherlands was examined. For the preparation of the three case studies, the project looked at relevant country-specific contributions to the discourse and conducted qualitative expert interviews with representatives from business, politics and civil society involved in the rollout. As a result, four essential best-practice strategies for building trust in smart metering were identified: 1) Early stakeholder participation and dialogue, 2) proactive, transparent, comprehensible and inclusive accompanying communication that makes the added value of smart metering visible to consumers, 3) the possibility of voluntary use in conjunction with a privacy-by-design approach, and 4) a gradual introduction of smart meters in order to create acceptance and trust for future extended functions through positive experiences

  Team Members

  • Marie Schwimmer
  • Felix Wittke

  Supervisors

  • Dr. Martin von Broock
  • Dr. Michael Walter

  Time Period

  • 04/20-06/20

• Field Project XVI: Protecting Human Rights in the Context of Mobility Services

  Sub-Saharan Africa is a big potential market for western based companies, so for VW. However, there might be unintended consequences of new business models like mobility services. With regards to corporate social responsibility, corporations can and should use their resources to mitigate these unintended consequences of their business decisions.

  Other mobility service providers have been confronted with several reports of sexual harassment, which is a human rights violation. Therefore, goal of the project was in particular to develop strategies of how companies could sufficiently deal with possible cases of human rights violation in their mobility services.

  Team Members

  • Gonzalo Conti
  • Dijana Galijasevic
  • Hannah Schragmann
  • Jacqueline Zimmermann

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck

  Time Period

  • 12/19-04/20

• Field Project XV: Data and algoritm ethics for the Chemie-Sozialpartner (BAVC and IG BCE)

  Increased security, more efficient processes, fairer personnel management—the opportunities offered by digital innovations are manifold, especially at work. Nevertheless, these innovations are usually accompanied by undesirable side effects such as hidden performance measurement, manipulation or discrimination. For the Chemie-Sozialpartner (the employer organization BAVC and the union IG BCE), this leads to the question: how can both employer and employee representatives create trust for the responsible use of new technologies? An important (yet not the only) step is to agree on guidelines for data and algorithm ethics in the professional world. The WCGE accompanies the necessary process with its own impulses and moderation.
  A corner stone of this process was the field project “Data and Algorithmic Ethics for the Chemie Sozialpartner”, for which three PhD students created a benchmark analysis of over 200 national and international codes for data and algorithmic ethics.
  These were prioritized according to the criteria “relevance”, “quality”, and “diversity”, before a shortlist of 15 sources was analyzed and evaluated in detail. The doctoral students developed a pattern of ten recurring "core values" as well as central areas of conflict resulting from these values. They presented the results of the research together with policy making implications for the Chemie-Sozialpartner on February 20, 2020 in Wiesbaden.

  Team Members

  • Christian Kroll
  • Alexander Reese
  • Felix Wittke

  Supervisors

  • Dr. Martin von Broock
  • Adrian Gombert

  Time Period

  • 11/19-02/20

• Field Project XIV: Relational Leadership within Business Partnerships in India: A process Framework

  Interorganizational partnerships are an important mechanism for companies to gain access to networks, resources, and knowledge, especially in emerging markets. This study describes the steps through which multinational collaborations in India can create, develop, and evaluate relationship-based partnerships. In the context of business-to-business partnerships, the researchers intend to (i) create a relational process framework of how these partnerships are structured and (ii) analyze whether, in the context of such business-to-business partnerships, relational governance through relational leadership can be complementary to formal contracts or rather replace them. A case study-based research design is applied to explore relational leadership in business partnerships in India, thereby incorporating case studies of nine globally emerging collaborations. The result is a process framework for relational leadership with six distinct steps for building a business partnership in India. In addition, the researchers* found that the framework complements the relational governance process supported by relational leadership and formal contracts when brought into business partnerships in India. The main objective of the study was to contribute to current theory in the growing field of relational leadership. Users* responsible for building business partnerships can gain insight into the application of relational leadership through the framework. The results indicate that companies can sustain long-term partnerships when specific relational governance mechanisms are supported primarily through the application of relational leadership.

  Team Members

  • Dominik Fischer
  • Preeti Singh

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland

  Time Period

  • 10/17-07/18

• Field Project XIII: EDEKA & WWF – Moral Commitments in a Joint Sustainability Partnership between a Business Firm and a Civil Society Organization

  Since the German retail food trader EDEKA and the German section of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) started working together in 2009, their cooperation has grown increasingly close. EDEKA’s annual progress in producing and managing in a sustainable manner is measured and put on record in progress reports, which are available online. In turn, EDEKA may use WWF’s widely known panda logo in its marketing and on the packaging of certain certified groceries.
  Still, the partnership is far from undisputed. WWF has a reputation of teaming up with businesses, and many consider its pursuit to seek compromise inadequate. The NGO “Survival International” has allotted WWF the “Greenwashing of the Year” award in 2017, and Greenpeace harshly criticizes EDEKA for what they deem unsustainable business conduct.
  The case study follows the journalist Pat, who tries to form an opinion on this controversial topic. Apart from gathering background-information on the constituting actors, he also engages with the economist Kim. Kim steers his attention to the ordonomic research program in business ethics, which draws on institutional economics in order to identify and overcome social dilemmas via moral commitments. This allows for a fact-based assessment of the partnership between EDEKA and WWF.

  Team Members
  

  • Adrian Gombert
  • Benedikt Kirner
  • Raphael Ng
  • Alexander Reese

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Ingo Pies

  Time Period

  • 11/2018-02/2019

• Field Project XII: Dealing with Ethical Ambiguity – A Field Project with betterplace lab

  The solution to current societal problems requires, now more than ever, active collaboration between civil society organizations, the public sector, and private corporations. Nevertheless, it is argued that these partnerships may undermine the legitimacy and reputation of civil society organizations, as they associate with corporations whose behavior might be distrusted by the public opinion.

  The WCGE, together with betterplace lab, a German non-governmental organization (NGO) that aims to use digitization for the improvement and humanization of society, reflected on these issues by studying how betterplace lab should work with companies that are ethically ambiguous. Ethical ambiguity refers to organizations with a potentially significant impact on society but whose ethical record is disputable.

A group of five doctoral candidates tackled this question by reflecting, from a theoretical and practical perspective, on how NGO should deal with companies that challenge their values.

  As an outcome of the project, the team provided betterplace labs with a framework to assess their future partners, the projects they might endeavor and the standards to sustain the process of working with them. These tools will support betterplace lab in the challenge of partnering with private companies without drifting away from their purpose and values.

  Team Members

  • Gonzalo Conti
  • Dijana Galijasevic
  • Nils Kruse
  • Lili Jassemi Schmidt-Thomé
  • Marie Schwimmer

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck

  Time Period

  • 11/18-02/19

• Field Project XI: Sustainability Reporting in Germany: an Analysis for the Leipziger Gruppe

  How do companies in Germany report on sustainability? What are the characteristics that excellent sustainability reports possess? For this field project, the sustainability reports of twenty-two companies were examined. Excellent reports from the ranking by iöw and future e.V. (e.g. BMW and Deutsche Bahn) as well as companies from the environment of the Leipziger Gruppe (e.g. Leipziger Messe, Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe or DREWAG) were analysed. In addition to the motives and standards of sustainability reporting (the latter include e.g. the Global Reporting Initiative or the German Sustainability Code), focus was placed on the substantive concepts behind the reports, such as the sustainability concept or the sustainability strategy of the respective companies. Conclusions were drawn on how the Leipziger Gruppe can position itself in the field of tension between the expectations of customers, employees, and the public. Sustainability reporting was presented as an opportunity to communicating to stakeholders how business activities affect economy, environment, and society. A sustainability report documents how the needs of different stakeholders have been considered and balanced, and can thereby, build trust. This form of trust creates a special bond between companies and their stakeholders – without it, sustainable management would be unthinkable.

  Team Members

  • Adrian Gombert
  • Magdalena Wallkamm

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek

  Time Period

  • 04/2018-07/2018

• Field Project X: The Code of Responsible Conduct for Business: International Controversial Topics for Volkswagen

  Volkswagen AG's partnership with the WCGE in this field project aims to develop a deeper understanding of the group's own integrity and trust expectations. The ethical focal points of integrity and the trust of Volkswagen's customers and stakeholders are especially emphasized by the board of management in Volkswagen's new 2017 Code of Conduct. This project strives to examine how Volkswagen's corporate integrity implies trustworthiness by respecting the group’s legitimate stakeholders' trust expectations.

  Public expectations and perceptions of the Volkswagen Code of Conduct, along with their commitment to the Code of Responsible Conduct for Business (Leitbild), could differ internationally and the gaps between external and internal perspectives could lead to reputational risks for Volkswagen. This field project seeks to identify these gaps by focussing on selected ethical issues highlighted by both Volkswagen's Code of Conduct and the WCGE's Code of Responsible Conduct for Business. The target countries are Mexico and South Africa in relation to Volkswagen AG Germany. The selected controversial topics and ethical issues for Volkswagen’s operations in the selected countries include:

  • Human Rights issues pertaining to child and forced labour
  • Environmental protection
  • The new group-wide whistle-blower and ombudsman system
  • Labour relations and equal opportunities

  This project is a follow-up of an ongoing collaboration between Volkswagen and WCGE, and succeeds a previous field project completed in 2013 initiated by Volkswagen with WCGE through the Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL). Barbara Lamprecht was the project’s contact partner at Volkswagen.

  Team Members

  • Benedikt Kirner
  • Nils Kruse
  • Raphael Ng
  • Andani Thakhathi

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek

  Time Period

  • 04/2018-06/2018

• Field Project IX: Experiments on Investment Decisions

  Inspired by the “World Exhibition Reformation,” a team of doctoral students has developed a decision-making experiment to engage in conversation with visitors from the World Exhibition on Ethical Action in Everyday Life. The aim of the interaction was to create awareness for (ethical) dilemma situations and to stimulate a discourse about the responsibility of the economy and the own scope of action/room for manoeuvre (for example, as a consumer).

  For this purpose, two well-known decision-making situations from game theory - Prisoner's Dilemma and Cowardice (“chicken”) have been modified into an easy-to-understand “investment game”. The investment game was accompanied by a survey in which attitudes to the national and international economic system, global challenges and their trust in decision-makers were queried. The scientific goals were, (1) to investigate the willingness of the volunteers to cooperate and (2) find out if there is a correlation between willingness to cooperate and attitude to the economic system or trust in decision makers. Thus, with the help of the experiment, the willingness of any given population to cooperate can be measured in a simple (i.e. not repeated) game. Secondly, the attitudes of the subjects to the national and international economic system can also be inquired and considered depending on their willingness to cooperate. The developed game can be used, for example, in seminars.

  On the basis of the content-related results, a concept for a World Café Workshop was developed and implemented.

  Team Members

  • Elena Hunzinger
  • Rebecca Ruehle
  • Magdalena Wallkamm
  • Sabine Wiesmüller

  Supervisor

  • Dr. Anja Staemmler

  Time Period

  • 05/2017-07/2017

• Field Project VIII: Bitter Sweet: Child Labour in the Chocolate Industry: A Clear Case of Double Standards?

  The case deals with the issue of child labour in the international cocoa supply chain using Nestle as an example. The case begins when two friends, Simon and Linda, get into a public disagreement over a Nestle Kit Kat bar at a supermarket checkout. Simon is convinced that consumers should boycott Nestle by refraining from buying their products until the company successfully eradicates child labour from its supply chain. Linda believes, however, that Nestle only cannot eradicate child labour, as the situation is far more complex and this leaves her sceptical of what she sees as Simon’s oversimplification of the matter.

  This leads to the central contention, which the case seeks to help participants deal with in future situations, namely: how to reconcile normative ideals with empirical conditions. Simon’s radical recommendation of boycotting Nestle is rooted in the normative ideal that children should not work at all, while Linda empathises with Nestle based on the empirical conditions that make it impossible for Nestle as a company to single-handedly eradicate child labour. The case study gives participants a practical tool with which they can address complex ethical problems, taking into consideration both norms as well as empirical conditions. It helps them to create a complete ethical argument in business ethics. Such a tool offers a pragmatic approach to addressing ethical organisational issues in a manner that takes both ideals and the reality into account without ignoring one or the other.

  To access of this case study free of charge, please contact the coordinator.

  Team Members

  • Julia Grimm
  • Rebecca Ruehle
  • Andani Thakhathi

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck

  Time Period

  • 01/2017-05/2017

• Field Project VII: Transcultural Management in Global Firms

  Transculturality is a subject of growing interest in both the academic and business world. When facing globalization, companies are required to work with resources and cultures across borders in order to strengthen cooperation and reap full benefits of globalization. Intercultural management, which is mainly focussed on overcoming differences, is a tool commonly employed by companies to encourage their ability and readiness to cooperate. However, the current state of research in the field of transculturality suggests that transcultural management involves creating commonalities as a basis for cooperative economic value creation in transactions between (culturally) diverse actors.

  This development offers great potential for the productive management of (cultural) diversity. For companies, the key question is how transculturality can be realised and sustained in daily business.

  The aim of this project is to further enhance the understanding of transcultural management practices within globally operating companies. The focus lies on Compliance, Integrity, Global Human Resources (Leadership Development), Diversity Management and Ethics/CSR. Explorative research is conducted at the German and international departments of two distinct, globally operating firms from distinct industries. In addition to understanding the status quo of transcultural management, the team aims at identifying opportunities for further development.

  • Reports from the Field 04 - Transcultural Management in Global Firms

  Team Members

  • Julika Baumann Montecinos
  • Elena Hunzinger
  • Preeti Singh
  • Sabine Wiesmüller

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland

  Time Period

  • 01/2017-12/2017

• Field Project VI: Collective Self-Commitments in the Textile Industry

  About six months after German Federal Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation Gerd Müller launched a multi-stakeholder initiative comprising of fashion companies, retailers, trade unions, and the civil society to improve working conditions and labour rights in the textile industry, the industry suddenly walked out on him. After months of discussions, negotiations, and meetings with experts in the field, the majority of industry representatives refused to become members of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (hereafter named Textiles Partnership). The initial idea behind this partnership was to tackle the poor working conditions in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry in developing countries such as Bangladesh. But after many controversies over the partnership’s goals and the processes it involved, and just one day before the inaugural act, various trade and commerce associations, as well as many retailers, announced that they would not sign the agreement.

  The case of the Textiles Partnership illustrates how initiatives of collective action may be suited to tackle ethical problems in business practice. It sheds light on the problems that hamper the emergence and effectiveness of such initiatives and contributes to a debate on their feasibility. The report on this case was based on material drawn from public sources and from interviews with people who were involved in the formation of the Textiles Partnership.

  To get access of the case study free of charge, please contact the coordinator.

  Team Members

  • Katharina de Biasi
  • Julia Grimm
  • Simon Piest

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck

  Time Period

  • 01/2016-05/2016

• Field Project V: The Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges of SDG Management in the Business Sector

  The United Nations’ recently published Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires companies to “apply their creativity and innovation to solving sustainable development challenges” (U.N. 2015). In this context, management tools have been provided by the United Nations and cooperating institutions to facilitate successful management of the SDGs in the business sector. Against the backdrop of the ever-increasing importance of companies to manage the SDGs alongside their core operations, the study conducted by the field project argues that the SDG tools, to date, are restricted to a mere qualitative management approach. They fail to take into account the language-specific disposition of firms that is largely characterized by quantitative communication patterns. Building upon the state-of-the-art in SDG management, the aim of the project was to devise an “SDG tool box” for corporations. To do so, the “SDG Market Evaluator” was developed as a figures-based approach to SDG management. An SDG workshop with VAUDE Sport GmbH was conducted during the course of the project so as to evaluate the applicability and soundness of the SDG management tools and thereby, identify potential future developments and need for research.

  • Reports from the Field 03 - The Sustainable Development Goals from a Firm’s Perspective

  Team Members

  • Isabel Jandeisek
  • Linda Kannenberg
  • Michael Kusi Appiah
  • Marco Möhrer

  Supervisor

  • Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland

  Time Period

  • 02/2016-06/2016

• Field Project IV: The Transcultural Caravan

  To realize cooperation and to identify, shape, and foster shared values in international companies, employees’ attitudes and their awareness of values is necessary. A tool for global value management in leadership is the LEIZ Transcultural Profiler (LTCP). It is a questionnaire-based instrument that addresses how managers deal with cultural values. The doctoral students involved in the Transcultural Caravan Project collected data using the LTCP and analysed it along with existing datasets. The datasets contain results from LTCP sessions at large German companies’ branches in China and Germany. In this way, group comparisons of transcultural competencies and priorities according to national culture, educational (business ethics) background, industry sector, overseas experience, gender, etc. could be made. On this basis, suggestions for the further development of the LTCP and the potential of the profiler as a tool for managers in the modern, global economy could be revealed.

  • Reports from the Field 02 - Transculturalism and Leadership Excellence Evaluation of the Transcultural Profiler

  Team Members

  • Marco Möhrer
  • Marcel Pillath
  • Fabian Simmank
  • Michaël Suurendonk

  Supervisors

  • Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland
  • Angelica Marte

  Time Period

  • 09/2015-12/2015

• Field Project III: Evaluating Supply and Demand for Executive Education in Ethics

  In an investigation about how well managers’ demand for business ethics training is met by market offers, four different categories of educational providers were identified – private academies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and corporate universities. The diverse offers of these institutions are met by an increase in demand that is characterized by (1) a heightened interest in compliance-related ethical issues, (2) the wish for practical applicability of the content, (3) a diverse and disputed understanding of the term ‘ethics’, (4) the importance of the company’s corporate culture, (5) three different target groups, namely future leaders, middle and top management and (6) a preference for three formats for conveying business ethics education –webinars, seminars and workshops, and conferences, conventions and similar events.

  • Reports from the Field 01 - Evaluating Supply and Demand for Executive Education in Ethics

  Team members

  • Katharina de Biasi
  • Linda Kannenberg
  • Inggrid Panontongan
  • Simon Piest

  Supervisors

  • Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck
  • Dr. Anja Staemmler

  Time Period

  • 03/2015-06/2015

• Field Project II: Implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) in Companies’ Supply Chains of Minerals

  Between May and October 2014, a team of doctoral students conducted a project on the implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) of telecommunication and electronic companies in the use of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and by the involvement of further rules such as the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act and the proposed E.U. directive on responsible sourcing of raw materials in conflict areas, the team has explored how companies can implement and sustainably manage international and regional standards in their supply chain. On the basis of the WCGE approach, this included the analysis of legitimate and illegitimate expectations societies place on political actors, NGOs, and stakeholders, and the question of how companies can respond to such expectations and avoid inconsistencies in their actions. For this purpose, the doctoral students conducted interviews with expert representatives from companies, NGOs, and the political sphere. Based on existing standards, the team developed a ten-step approach that was designed to support companies in the introduction and implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence, and has identified current challenges and potentialities thereof.

  Team Members

  • Michael Kusi Appiah
  • Fabian Simmank
  • Inggrid Panontongan

  Supervisors

  • Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland
  • Dr. Manuela Glass

  Time Period

  • 04/2014-10/2014

• Field Project I: Cost effectiveness analysis of a health education project by the German Stiftung Weltbevölkerung

  Between May and October 2014, a team of doctoral students conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of the "Young Adolescents Project" (YAP). YAP is an informational and educational project that was implemented in Uganda between 2009 and 2012 by the German Stiftung Weltbevölkerung in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. The aim of this project was to teach young adolescents knowledge in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights. The field project was part of the activities of the foundation, in accordance with the requirements for the effective use of aid funds as stipulated, for example, in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

  For more information about the YAP, which is currently being led in Kenya, see.

  Team Members

  • Marcel Pillath
  • Preeti Singh
  • Michaёl Suurendonk

  SupervisorInnen

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek
  • Dr. Anja Staemmler

  Time Period

  • 04/2014-10/2014

Here you will find information about the current doctoral students of the program, their research, and backgrounds.

Leading professors of business, corporate, and leadership ethics are involved in the doctoral program.

The following professors supervise doctoral students in the doctoral program with their doctoral projects, teach core courses, and hold chair positions in research colloquia and jour fixe. They are also scientific supervisors of field projects. The doctoral students thus benefit from expert knowledge and input of all professors cooperating with the program.

Former Supervisors

How can the economy become part of the solution to social challenges? What shape should the economic system take for this purpose? What responsibilities should companies be held accountable for? And what defines good leadership? – The aim of the international doctoral program “Ethics and Responsible Leadership in Business” is to promote research that develops scientifically well-founded, and practically applicable answers to these questions. The doctoral program is ideal for highly qualified, socially engaged, and globally thinking and active young scholars and practitioners from all over the world. These students are academically and financially supported during the course of their PhD projects. The Wittenberg-Center for Global Ethics (WCGE) hosts this doctoral program, and the Karl Schlecht Foundation (KSG) finances it.

The doctoral program, which is first of this kind in a German-speaking country, rests on four pillars: (1) It supports doctoral students with their research, which is supervised by leading professors of business, corporate, and leadership ethics. (2) Whilst completing their doctorates, the doctoral students attend various seminars and lectures relating to the study program. The study program provides them the opportunity to build a broad scientific and professional network. (3) Through an innovative dialog platform with field projects and jour fixes, doctoral students also gain access to partners in the field. Thereby, they can apply their own research into a broader social context and transfer it to current problems in the field. (4) The doctoral program supports doctoral students financially by awarding scholarships. Using this special structure, the doctoral program connects the findings by leading scholars, with the experience of decision-makers at international companies and the perspectives of non-state armed actors.