Browsing by Subject "Kommunikation"

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Am Puls des Wandels - Veränderungskommunikation messen und steuern : Entwicklung und Anwendung eines Controllingansatzes für Veränderungskommunikation.
(2014) Heyder, Daniela; Schweiger, Wolfgang
The objective of the dissertation lies in the development and empirical application of a controlling approach particularly for change communication. For the success of a company continuous change is essential. As fast as the environment changed through e.g. increasing competition, shift in values or innovative technologies, the strategies, structures and processes in enterprises have to change as well as the employees, their mindset and behaviors, in order to secure continuance and growth. For the success of organizational change a special form of internal corporate communication is of central importance – change communication. It can create attention, knowledge and acceptance for the change with the employees concerned by the change and activates a mindset and behavior modification. The journalistically coined role of internal communication changes itself from the passive observer and correspondent of enterprise developments to the master clock and active designer of change processes. An interdisciplinary connection of internal corporate communication with organizational development approaches and implementation instruments of change management is demanded in times of change. So there are characteristics of the goals, strategies, contents, roles and instruments of change communication, which distinguish change communication as a special form of internal corporate communication. In continuous corporate change and with the essential meaning of communication for successful changes the need grew to measure and to steer the performance and impact of change communication systematically with success-critical indicators. This need is encouraged by the increasing attention of the communication science and management for the evaluation of corporate communication. International communication scientists and managers deal with the pressure to justify for their efficiency, effectiveness and budgets as well as with questions for planning and optimizing the success of Public Relations, market and employee communication. As an answer communication experts and controllers together with scientists developed the communication controlling. Contrary to Public relations, marketing communication or internal communication there is so far no scientific or practical approach for controlling change communication, that integrates the characteristics of change communication as a special form of internal communication conceptually or methodically. The development and empirical application of a controlling approach for change communication makes a contribution to lock the shown research gap and to the current discussion in communication controlling. First the characteristics and specific objectives of change communication are illustrated on the basis of a literature analysis. The dissertation regards the phenomenon of organizational change and the special role of communication during change processes. Their goals and tasks, strategies, contents, roles and instruments supply success-critical and steering-related factors of change communication and thus first elements for a controlling system. As a further basis for the specific measurement approach of change communication selected existing controlling approaches of corporate communication as well as change management are outlined and reviewed regarding transferable elements on a change communication controlling system. Beside a controlling tool for internal communication as well as an approach of marketing communication, the PR evaluation plays a major role in this reflection. Additionally evaluation concepts and measurement instruments of the change management deliver valuable implications. Based on this reflection the work defines measuring constructs, indicators and inquiry methods for the controlling of change communication. They are structured in a theoretical framework and an action-oriented measurement system. With the developed controlling system change communication can be evaluated and steered accompanying. The progress of the change is made visible and a rolling wave planning for a continuous optimization of the change process is made possible. The practical applicability of the innovative controlling approach for change communication is tested empirically at a case study. According to the specific goals, strategies, contents, target audiences and instruments of the corporate change initiative „CustomerFirst“ the developed controlling system is modified and applied on two measurement times. From the results of the measurement concrete recommendations for action are derived for steering the change initiative CustomerFirst. The steering mechanisms prove an optimizing effect on the change progress. The development and empirical application of the controlling approach for change communication in the context of a case study make a contribution to the current discussion in communication and change controlling, which look for best practice examples to enhance the discipline.
Beschreibung von 24 Nachhaltigkeitspreisen in Deutschland mit Relevanz für Unternehmen der Ernährungsbranche
(2016) Gebhardt, Beate
Sustainability awards are an exclusive instrument of sustainability communication. They are significant limited - mainly quantitative. Not everyone can get such a price. Often only a few, mostly one, wins a contest.Interest in sustainability prices grows. This interest express companies, the potential winners,and show the donors of awards, the awarding institutions. In the last yearsmore and more sustainability competitions in Germanyare founded.Meanwhile, companies in the food industry can participatein 24 competitions with 82 categories (as of 2013). It is a dynamic market of sustainability awards - with lots of potential, but also some challenges. Independence and transparency of procurement become important elements of awards’ concepts. In this report, 24 sustainability competitions and their categories are featured in factsheets. This include the relevant competitions directlyaimed at companies in the food industry or be open for those.The approach to identify them isdescribed. In addition, the evaluation scheme of transparency of sustainability competitions is explained. Key results are described.
Change - spontane Assoziationen und Einstellungen : Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Umfrage in der Stuttgarter Bevölkerung
(2009) Mücke, Daniel
Wir leben in einer dynamischen Umwelt. Verantwortlich für diese Schnelllebigkeit sind Veränderungen verschiedenster Art: im Job, auf den Märkten oder aber auch im privaten Bereich. Und das Tempo, mit dem sich diese Veränderungen vollziehen, hat nicht zuletzt auch durch den technischen Fortschritt weiter zugenommen. Veränderungen machen unsicher, manchmal sogar Angst, auf jeden Fall sind sie immer weniger zu kalkulieren. Expect the unexpecteted. Was so einfach klingt, ist in der Realität eine mit vielen Unsicherheiten behaftete Strategie. Die Unternehmen agieren innerhalb von Modellen oder ?Rastern?, die ihnen als Handlungsanleitungen in Veränderungssituationen dienen sollen. Doch die Ängste und Bedürfnisse der Menschen ? welche eigentlich Basis jeglichen Handelns in Change-Prozessen sein sollten ? finden kaum Beachtung. Die vorliegende Studie soll erste Ansätze zur Schließung dieser Lücke geben.
Change communication zwischen Gefühl und Kalkül : theoretische Überlegungen und Ergebnisse aus Umfragen
(2008) Mast, Claudia
Der Wandel, den Gesellschaften, Unternehmen und Individuen bewältigen, wird immer schneller, spürbarer und komplexer. Change Management als Aufgabenfeld hat in der letzten Dekade Karriere gemacht. Veränderungen sind zur Normalität und Change Management bzw. Kommunikation zur alltäglichen Herausforderung von Firmen aller Branchen und Größen geworden. Kein Wunder, dass die Literatur mit Hinweisen, worauf bei Veränderungsprozessen zu achten ist, nahezu unübersichtlich wird. Dennoch ? so die ernüchternde Bilanz von Andreas Voß und Ulrike Röttger im prmagazin 4/2008 ? fehle in Wissenschaft und Praxis nach wie vor ein belastbarer Rahmen, um Changeprozesse erfolgreich zu gestalten. Über den realen Verlauf von Changeprojekten gibt es nur wenige empirische Studien. Es ist kaum Nachprüfbares bekannt. Weder die Unternehmen noch die beratenden Agenturen lassen sich eben gerne in die Karten schauen und manchmal werden auch Auswirkungen von Projekten erst lange nach den Abschlussberichten sichtbar, wenn möglicherweise die Verantwortlichen in Agentur und Unternehmen längs andere Aufgaben übernommen haben. Eines ist jedoch klar: Unternehmen sind komplexe, soziale Systeme, die in immer volatileren Umfeldern agieren. Sie sind sowohl Betroffene als auch Treiber des Wandels. Schließlich leben sie davon, Innovationen aller Art zu generieren und zu verkaufen ? und dieses unter dem dynamischen Einfluss des Wettbewerbs. Es kann daher keine einfachen und pauschalen Antworten auf die Frage geben, wie erfolgreiche Change Communication aussieht.
Communicating climate change : how proximising climate change and global identity predict engagement
(2018) Loy, Laura Sophia; Trepte, Sabine
The majority of scientists express an urgent need to limit climate change in order to ensure sustainable development, but our societies are not reacting decisively enough to achieve this goal. My research aims to understand how news about climate change can be communicated to convey scientific knowledge and support climate protection. Proximising climate change by focussing on local instead of global or remote consequences has been recommended as a promising communication strategy. The reasoning is that many people seem to perceive climate change as a phenomenon that affects mainly other people in far-off places (i.e., psychological socio-spatial distance). Proximising might bring climate change closer. However, the recommendation still lacked convincing empirical evidence. Thus, my research investigated the communication of proximity vs. distance in news coverage. Specifically, I examined the process assumed to be behind proximising effects, namely a reduction of the psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change, which might increase issue relevance and in turn promote climate protective behaviour and climate change knowledge. In Study 1 (N = 498), people were asked to what extent the news communicated climate change as something affecting mainly other people in distant locations. The more they perceived news communication as socio-spatially distant, the higher their psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change and the lower relevance they attributed to the issue. Perceived communicated socio-spatial distance was indirectly and negatively related with climate protective behavioural knowledge through higher psychological socio-spatial distance. Study 2 (N = 99) found no evidence that communicating socio-spatial proximity vs. distance of climate change in a news text influences psychological socio-spatial distance, relevance attributed to the news text, climate protective behaviour, and climate change knowledge. However, the test power was not sufficient to detect small effect sizes. In Study 3 (N = 508), proximising climate change in a news text decreased the psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change and indirectly and positively predicted climate protective behaviour as well as climate change knowledge through lower psychological socio-spatial distance and higher relevance attribution. While the indirect relations were small, stronger relations might arise if people repeatedly receive local information. I thus suggest that it is worthwhile to complement news about global climate change with reports about regional impacts. As a second objective, I aimed to illuminate whether the concept of a global identity helps to explain why proximising might not always be necessary or useful. I assumed that the more people identify with people all over the world, the more relevant they evaluate climate change to be and the more they are motivated to take climate protective action and acquire climate change knowledge. Moreover, I supposed that people with a strong global identity might evaluate climate change as relevant regardless of whether they perceive that the consequences mainly affect other people in distant places. In other words, a global identity might bridge the psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change. In Study 1, global identity positively predicted the relevance attributed to climate change and climate protective behaviour, as well as climate change knowledge indirectly through relevance attribution. In Study 2, the global identity dimension of self-investment positively predicted climate protective behaviour. However, global identity did not bridge the psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change in either study. I further reasoned that the negative relation between psychological socio-spatial distance and relevance attribution might be weaker if global identity is made salient. In other words, a salient global identity might bridge the psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change. In Study 3, before reading the news text, participants watched either a control video or a video showing a man dancing with people all over the world, which communicated a feeling of connectedness. While participants who received the control video evaluated the news text as less relevant as their psychological socio-spatial distance of climate change increased, there was no such relation among participants who received the connectedness video. Moreover, communicated proximity vs. distance in the news text did not indirectly predict climate protective behaviour and climate change knowledge in the latter group. This suggests that communicating connectedness might be a way to bridge the distance of climate change communication and render issues that are perceived as affecting mainly other people in far-off locations more relevant to recipients.
Communication and collaboration technology use at the digital workplace : antecedents, use processes, and consequences
(2021) Schoch, Manfred; Gimpel, Henner
Our world is becoming more and more digital and interconnected. Particularly new communication and collaboration technologies have changed the way we go about our daily life and work. Several technological and social developments are the driving forces for this change. On the one hand, technological advancements, such as portable devices, fast infrastructure, and constantly available software applications, transform the way employees communicate, collaborate, and transfer knowledge. On the other hand, social developments, such as an increase in knowledge-intense jobs and a workforce that has grown accustomed to increasingly modern and innovative technology from their private lives, contribute to the development. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital work and the use of communication and collaboration technology has increased unlike anything seen before. It is the organizations’ responsibility to care for their employees and leave no one behind in this transformation process of work as we know it. Yet, the management of increasingly complex portfolios of digital technologies, comprised of privately-owned and business-owned components, confronts individuals, IT departments, and management with challenges. To address them, organizations and individuals need to broaden their understanding of how and why employees use digital technologies and learn about the associated outcomes. Information Systems research has long been concerned with understanding digital technology use, which is among the most researched topics of the discipline. Research results on technology use have been summarized along the three categories antecedents, use process, and outcomes Antecedents describe factors that influence use. Insights into use processes provide us with details of how technology is used in practice. Use outcomes comprise different factors that can be positively or negatively affected by using technology, such as performance or stress. Within the field, a subset of studies has specifically focused on communication and collaboration technology. Yet, in light of the rise in ubiquitous digital work and the challenges that come with it, further investigation into this subject is necessary. This dissertation aims at providing novel insights into the use of communication and collaboration technology for organizations and individuals across the three categories: antecedents, use processes, and outcomes. In Chapter 2, this dissertation deals with important antecedents of use decisions of communication and collaboration technology. Chapter 2.1 does so by identifying factors that drive the choice of digital technologies in the context of knowledge transfer. Chapter 2.2 analyzes rationales for using privately-owned technology for business purposes based on a risk-benefit perspective. Chapter 3 analyzes individual use processes of communication and collaboration technology in more detail using digital trace data and user interviews. Different heterogeneous user roles are derived from the data in Chapter 3.1. Second, user behavior over time and the effect of external events on such behavior are examined (Chapter 3.2). Chapter 4 presents insights on outcomes of use behavior, particularly adverse outcomes. Insights are provided on the role of individual appraisal in the relationship between communication and collaboration technology use and associated stress (Chapter 4.1). Second, outcomes of the use of mixed IT portfolios comprised of privately-owned and business-owned components are investigated (Chapter 4.2). In summation, this dissertation contributes to the rich body of knowledge on technology use. It broadens our understanding of why communication and collaboration technologies are used, how they are used, and what consequences arise from their use. Thus, insights are provided to practitioners on how to manage technology use in a human-centered way while considering the risks of technology use and reaping its multifaceted benefits. The results of this dissertation may inspire future research on a topic that is potentially more relevant today than ever before.
Essays on investor communication in the context of startups
(2023) Kaiser, Manuel Tobias; Kuckertz, Andreas
With their creativity and innovative business models, entrepreneurs make an important contribution to global innovation, thus promoting economic growth and the labor market with startup jobs. However, the growth ambitions of entrepreneurs also require investments. Against this backdrop, previous research has already extensively discussed the importance of external investors and highlighted different facets of the entrepreneur-investor relationship. Central concept, to explain this relationship, is investor relations, which mainly refers to the communication of entrepreneur and investor. However, research on investor communication faces the challenge that a variety of new players, hence new forms of financing, have recently emerged in the market, further fragmenting the research field. In addition, technological advances are also changing the way entrepreneurs and investors communicate with each other. Against this background, previous research on investor relations in the startup context leaves open research questions that will be answered in this dissertation. This results in the following overarching research question for the structure of this dissertation: How do entrepreneurs shape communication with their investors? The first study was co-authored with Andreas Kuckertz and captures the research landscape on entrepreneurial communication using bibliometric analyses with algorithmic historiography and thematic map for science mapping. Thus, the structures of previous communication research from an entrepreneurship perspective are examined in more detail. The basis of this analysis is 383 articles from peer-reviewed journals. The results of these analyses show that communication in the context of resourcing is a relevant field of research, especially in investor relations. Overall, this study thus opens the research field of this dissertation by embedding investor communication as an element of entrepreneurial communication research. The second study was conducted with Elisabeth S.C. Berger and is a structured literature review that reviews the current state of research on trust between entrepreneurs and different types of investors. It identified and analyzed 32 articles dealing with trust in the context of venture capital, business angels, crowdfunding, or bank financing. This study builds on the results from the first study by revealing that communication is a trust-building factor. Thus, the second study shows how different concepts are interrelated and influence trust in the entrepreneur-investor relationship. The third study is co-authored with Andreas Kuckertz and examines the communication of entrepreneurs before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also considers the extent to which entrepreneurs financed by a venture capital investor differ in their communication from those entrepreneurs working without an investor. For this purpose, a novel method of text analysis was used to examine 110,283 tweets from 760 entrepreneurs. The results indicate that working with a venture capital investor also changes the professionalism of founder communication. This group shows a more professional expression of their emotions. In the fourth study, which was conducted in collaboration with Andreas Kuckertz, the emotions of investors expressed in communication are examined. This study focuses on venture capitalists and business angels. Although these two investors have a longer history in entrepreneurship research, their emotions have so far been largely ignored. However, since emotions are also relevant within relationships and therefore also in communication, this study broadens the view of the big picture in the entrepreneur-investor relationship by adding an emotional perspective. For this study, 994,969 tweets from 822 investors were analyzed and statistically compared regarding their emotions. Overall, the four studies in this dissertation address different relationship concepts that arise in the context of entrepreneur-investor relationships. Thus, this dissertation also provides impulses for entrepreneurs and investors in practice, for research and also for politics.
Internationale Unternehmenskommunikation: Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Befragung von Kommunikationsverantwortlichen in 20 multinationalen Großunternehmen
(2005) Huck, Simone
Die Internationalisierung von Wirtschaft, Politik und Gesellschaft hat die Rahmenbedingungen der Unternehmenskommunikation verändert. Sie ist längst nicht mehr nur auf nationale Öffentlichkeiten beschränkt, sondern überschreitet zunehmend regionale, nationale und damit auch kulturelle Grenzen. Mit jedem Land, auf das ein weltweit tätiges Unternehmen seine Kommunikationsarbeit ausweitet, vervielfachen sich die Herausforderungen: Welche Bestimmungsfaktoren weist internationale Unternehmenskommunikation auf? Welche Strategien kommen für die weltweite Ausrichtung von Kommunikation in Frage? Und wie kann eine globale Pressearbeit funktionieren? Wie lassen sich über die interne Kommunikation Mitarbeiter unterschiedlicher Kulturen erreichen? Antworten auf diese und weitere Fragen erhalten Sie in Band 1 der Reihe ?Kommunikation & Analyse?.
Issues Management unter veränderten Umweltbedingungen
(2023) Wnuck, Corinna; Schweiger, Wolfgang
The idea of issues management aims to ensure that companies actively exert influence on other environmental developments through early identification and strategically planned participation in publicly and organisationally relevant issues. The goal is to maintain their own room for manoeuvre and secure their corporate reputation. Environmental conditions play a central role in shaping issues management. These have changed noticeably since the first issues manage- ment approaches at the end of the 1970s. Digitalisation, medialisation, globalization, and the transformation of the public sphere through digital structural change are the drivers of these changes. Issues management has not yet been tested for its validity under changed environmen- tal conditions. The overarching research question of this study therefore is: How do companies shape issues management under changed environmental conditions? The empirical study uses qualitative, guideline-based expert interviews to examine how issues management is carried out today under changed environmental conditions. For this purpose, the research question is deepened on the basis of six issue management dimensions: the concept, the structure, the process, the management, the actor and the resource dimension. For the research, 22 experts from the agency/consultancy context and the corporate environment were interviewed. Conceptually, issues management has not altered under changed environmental conditions. It remains a preventive function that identifies issues in the corporate environment as early as possible in order to secure and enhance the companys reputation and to deal with these issues in a strategically planned manner. Issues management has a deprioritised existence in many companies, partly because the overlaps with other disciplines are high. Therefore, in many com- panies issues management is practised but not called such. At the structural level of issues management, changes due to digitalisation and globalisation are becoming visible. Modern is- sues management organisations have to work faster, more agile and more flexibly than before. They have to identify issues globally, in real time, and prepare them in a way that is appropriate for different cultural areas. This requires efficient and transparent information and knowledge management systems as well as flexible resource adjustment options. The study shows that changes due to digitalised environmental conditions are effective on the processual level. Due to the acceleration of environmental developments, the process phases run faster or parallel to each other. Reflection and reaction times have shortened with increasing issue complexity. Fol- lowing the sequences of the Scrum logic from software development, an alternative process model is developed in the study that maps the simultaneity and growing complexity of environ- mental developments. The management level is characterised by changes due to accelerated environmental developments, globalisation, medialisation and changed public structures, which are evident to different degrees in the individual phases of the management level. The study shows that the evaluation of issues management is still a challenge today and is only carried out with limitations in the companies. Agencies see a lack of will here, companies justify this with the lack of meaningfulness of the results about the actual performance of issues management. At the actor level, the transformation of the public sphere is having an effect. There is an in- crease in the number of situational, volatile and well-networked sub-publics, which are grouped around various issues and ensure that once an issue has arisen, it can no longer be laid to rest. In addition, the balance of power has shifted in favour of previously weakly represented groups. Furthermore, "journalism bypassing" is a frequently observed phenomenon. On the resource level, issues managers need a significantly expanded repertoire of competences and skills due to digitalisation and medialisation. Furthermore, the use of digital tools in issues management is increasing. At the time of the survey, these were primarily online monitoring tools, editorial management tools, collaborative work platforms and virtual team environments. AI and chat- bots, on the other hand, are the exception. Overall, the study concludes that the changed environmental conditions make the idea of issues management more relevant than ever. Although not always under the name, strategically planned early recognition and management of issues has become established in most compa- nies. At the same time, the environmental changes have a strong impact on implementation. Furthermore, there is a need to catch up especially in the area of digital and data-based corporate communication. This is where potential lies dormant to remedy some of the problems identified in the paper.
Kommunikations-Controlling zur zielgerichteten Steuerung der internen Kommunikation in der Bundeswehr
(2015) Abel, Stephan Christopher; Brettschneider, Frank
Presuming that there is need for improvement the doctor’s thesis aims at systematically selecting the best fitting instrument for a strategic-objective-oriented management of the German Federal Armed Forces’ internal communication. It starts with a description and multi-dimensional classification of all available instruments for the management of private enterprises’ internal communication. Before proposing one of them for managing the German Federal Armed Forces’ internal communication, there is conducted an organizational analysis to clear the crucial differences between the German Federal Armed Forces and private enterprises. As a part of this, there is also conducted a research for the differences in internal communication between these two organizations by using Qualitative Research methods. The evaluation of 16 expert interviews leads to a model called ‚Unterschiedsmodell interne Kommunikation Bundeswehr vs. privatwirtschaftliches Unternehmen’. The findings resulting from the organizational analysis are used to create an evaluation tool that finally proposes to establish the ‚Communications Value System’ in combination with the ‚Index Interne Kommunikation’ for a strategic-objective-oriented management of the German Federal Armed Forces’ internal communication.
Konfliktkostenmanagement – Wirtschaftlichkeitskontrolle im Konflikt- und Kommunikationsmanagement
(2014) Audi, Manuel; Brettschneider, Frank
Conflict management is a method of limiting the negative effects of conflict while increasing the positive ones. Conflict cost management has not yet been considered as a major task of the conflict management process. The dissertation bridges this gap by developing a theoretical model which aims to ensure a systematical management of direct and indirect conflict costs. The conflict cost management model is being integrated into the conflict and communication management process. The model can be incorporated in the organizational management process as an independent approach to identify, measure and control conflict costs. Furthermore the model can be used to manage the profitability of different interventions aiming to prevent and/or to treat existing or potential conflicts.
Die Kraft von Awards : Umfrage unter Unternehmen und Vergabeinstitutionen in Deutschland 2023
(2023) Gebhardt, Beate; Hellstern, Laura
From an academic perspective, research on the effects of sustainability awards and their potential to contribute to sustainability transformation represents a niche. Against the backdrop of an increasing number of awards targeting companies and multiple crises "disrupting" companies in different ways and new EU regulations, such as on evidence-based corporate communication on environmental aspects, the question of the power of awards needs to be re-examined and answers are more important than ever. In a double study within the framework of the SIEGER project funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), awarding institutions and companies throughout Germany were surveyed online in spring 2023. The objective was to discover first the effects of sustainability awards from the point of view of award-giving institutions, the donators, and companies, the award-recipients, and second the contribution they can make to a sustainability transformation. Sustainability awards are mostly attributed positive to very positive effects, both on the micro level (employee motivation), but especially on the meso level (image gain; awareness), less so on the macro level (ecological aspects; social aspects). The evaluation of the power of awards, their direction of impact and strength, in this study is perceived and is shaped by the different framing of the respondents. Award donors and winners overestimate the perception of awards by third parties as well as the external learning effects (imitation effects). The thematic focus on sustainability leads awarding institutions to overstate the intended ecological effects of an award. The majority of respondents believe that awards can contribute to sustainability transformation. Compared to other awards, sustainability awards are seen as having more power and making a more positive contribution to sustainability transformation. The analysis also shows that awards are a mirror of current political and social demands and developments. Beyond the ecological claim "sustainability award", awards integrate socio-ecological aspects in their requirements for the entrepreneurial participants of the competition. The further development of sustainability awards can therefore be achieved through internal development on the part of the awarding institutions and supported by external measures.
Nachhaltigkeitsexzellenz in der Landwirtschaft: Mehr Sichtbarkeit für die versteckten Leuchttürme der Alltagspraxis
(2024-09) Gebhardt, Beate; Hellstern, Laura
Im Projekt NEAL wurde die Bedeutung von exzellenter Mikro-Nachhaltigkeit und die Rolle von Nachhaltigkeitsawards sowie weiterer unterstützender Instrumente einer nachhaltigen Transformation in der Landwirtschaft untersucht. Die Erkenntnisse des Projektes sollen landwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen, Verbänden sowie weiteren relevanten Akteuren der land¬wirtschaftlichen Wertschöpfungsketten eine Orientierung geben in den Fragen: • Welche Nachhaltigkeitsthemen benötigen in Zukunft ein größeres Augenmerk? • Wie können Landwirt*innen in ihrer Nachhaltigkeitstransformation gefördert werden? • Welche Rolle spielen Nachhaltigkeitsawards in der Nachhaltigkeitstransformation? Für das Forschungsprojekt NEAL wurden dazu (a) 310 Landwirt*innen und 59 landwirtschaftsnahe Verbände in einem bundesweiten Nachhaltigkeits-Crowd-Screening im Frühjahr 2022 online befragt und hierbei insgesamt 236 herausragende, awardwürdige Nachhaltigkeitsaktivitäten identifiziert, die in der Landwirtschaft bereits umgesetzt oder geplant werden. Mittels Awards-Matching und Clustering wurde (b) der webbasierte, interaktive CSR-Award Finder mit über 150 Wettbewerben erstellt und Ende 2022 online gestellt. Der CSR-Award Finder macht die Welt der Awards für Unternehmen übersichtlicher und einfacher zugänglich, insbesondere erleichtert dies den Zugang kleiner Unternehmen und landwirtschaftliche Betriebe. Zentrale Aussagen der Studie lauten: 1. Nachhaltigkeit ist für Landwirt*innen ein relevantes Thema und viele „versteckte“ nachhaltige Tätigkeiten werden auf den befragten Betrieben bereits umgesetzt. 2. Bio-Betriebe zeigen sich als Vorreiter von Nachhaltigkeitsexzellenz in der Landwirtschaft. 3. Bodennutzung, Biodiversität, regionale Wertschöpfung und Tierwohl sind wichtige Bereiche, in denen viele nachhaltigkeitsbezogene Maßnahmen von Landwirt*innen umgesetzt und als besonders hervorgehoben werden. 4. „Blinde Flecken“ in Nachhaltigkeitsansätzen korrespondieren mit Bewertungen der Landwirtschaft.. 5. Leuchttürme der Mikro-Ebene kommen auf der Makro-Ebene kaum an. 6. Eine heterogene und multifunktionale Landwirtschaft benötigt vielfältige, multiple Instrumente zur Förderung von Nachhaltigkeit auf Betriebsebene. 7. Nachhaltigkeitstransformation in der Landwirtschaft benötigt mehr gemeinsame An-strengungen. 8. Nachhaltigkeitsexzellenz in der Landwirtschaft benötigt mehr Mut und Sichtbarkeit. Die Ergebnisse im Projekt NEAL unterstreichen: Ein Ansatz alleine ist nicht ausreichend. Aufgrund der Heterogenität der landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe gilt dies gerade auch für die Landwirtschaft. Sustainable Finance und Awards sind dabei zwei verschiedene Ansätze bzw. Instrumente, die beide als wichtig und unterstützend gelten, um die Nachhaltigkeitstransformation landwirtschaftlicher Systeme und Betriebe voranzubringen. Beiden Ansätzen wird bescheinigt, ein wichtiges Instrument unter vielen zu sein, aber singulär einen eher geringen Hebel zu haben, da nicht alle landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe damit eingebunden werden können oder sich dadurch angesprochen fühlen. Die Ergebnisse im Projekt NEAL zeigen außerdem, Awards sind in die Toolbox der bekannten Instrumente und Anreize zur Stärkung der Nachhaltigkeitstransformation einzubinden. Sie stehen damit neben ökonomischen Anreizen im Markt oder regulativen Anreize, die vom Staat gesetzt werden. Awards setzen am Positiven und an der Sichtbarmachung des Vorbildhaften und Innovativen in der Landwirtschaft an. Sie können damit das verborgene Besondere, die nachhaltigen Aktivitäten und die versteckten Leuchttürme in der Landwirtschaft, nach außen tragen und zum Leuchten bringen, und damit die Nachhaltigkeits-Motivation der Landwirt*innen erheblich steigern.
Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation in Investor Relations
(2007) Fiedler, Katja; Mast, Claudia
The author analyses the importance of corporate sustainability and its communication to the financial community. She has surveyed financial analysts and financial journalists who are intermediaries in the communication between investors and corporations. The conclusion is that the financial analysts and financial journalists have an instrumental interest in corporate sustainability, whenever ecologically or socially relevant corporate behaviour might have an economic impact.
Nachhaltigkeitswettbewerbe in Deutschland 2020 : Übersicht und Methodik der Bestandsaufnahme
(2020) Gebhardt, Beate
This working paper present a systematic collection of German sustainability competitions in 2020 to all interested readers. The collection of 141 sustainability competitions serves as a basis for further projects and studies by the Business Excellence and Sustainability Transformation Working Group (AK BEST), University of Hohenheim. The present collection updates a previous list from 2017.
Phänomen Shitstorm - Herausforderung für die Onlinekrisenkommunikation von Unternehmen
(2015) Salzborn, Christian; Schweiger, Wolfgang
Social media has found their way into society as well as the corporate world. But the more benefits the new platforms brings to the corporate communication, the more are their responsible members afraid about the potential loss of control over their communication. Customers and consumers communicate now on "eye level" and in the case of criticism it may lead to an accumulation of critical, sometimes gleeful comments in social media, which are directed against the company - the so-called Shitstorm. The term was chosen among others as the Anglizismus of 2011 in Germany and found its way into the “Duden” dictionary. But what exactly is meant by this? How long does a Shitstorm take? Which platforms are involved and how develop it? What topics make up a Shitstorm and how can the players involved be described? What are the consequences of a Shitstorm for the company and how can it react within a professional online crisis communication before, during and after a Shitstorm? The aim of the present communication science work was to answer these and other questions in the context of a theory-based empirical study to identify and describe key characteristics and structures of the phenomenon Shitstorm. For this purpose, a combination of methods was used, which combines the advantages of quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Based on the findings the author present also three Shitstorm types as well as a final definition and derives comprehensive recommendations for the crisis communication of the company.
Plant-based foods for future. Results of consumer and professional expert interviews in five European countries - EIT-Food Project „The V-Place“
(2020) Gebhardt, Beate; Hadwiger, Klaus
This working paper documents the methodology of the qualitative studies and the resulting insights, as part one of the two-stage study of the Project „The V-Place - Enabling consumer choice in Vegan or Vegetarian food products“ in six European countries. The interviews with 70 consumers and professional experts in total has already been completed. Still in 2020, a quantitative consumer survey will be conducted in Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain and Poland. The project is led by the Hohenheim Research Center for Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim. The Department of Agricultural Markets at the University of Hohenheim is responsible for the qualitative studies. This project is funded by EIT Food, the Food Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). EIT is an EU institution under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
Professionelle unterrichtsbezogene Kommunikation zwischen berufsschulischen Lehrkräften
(2022) Schadt, Christian; Warwas, Julia
Despite their relevance for the facilitation of professionalization processes in teacher education as well as for the successful implementation of curricular reforms into the classroom, relevant micro processes of teacher collaboration seem to be little (systematically) investigated so far. This applies especially for the vocational school sector, where teacher collaboration is seen as necessary to cope with the tasks of teaching development that takes collective responsibility. One of the most relevant process variables of successful vs. less successful collaboration among teachers is communication about teaching. However, it has not yet been clarified which characteristics constitute an effective (=professional) communication about teaching for a successful mastering of cooperation processes. The present study addressed this desideratum and examined professional communication about teaching (pct) among (prospective) teachers at vocational schools in two consecutive research studies. A first step in this process was a systematic literature review carried out according to the PRISMA Statement focusing on international research literature to uncover generic characteristics of pct. The systematic literature review was guided by the following questions: a) Which definitions and theoretical underpinnings concerning pct can be identified in studies? b) Which observational measures characterize a pct? c) Is pct among teachers related to job-related growth (and to which facets of job-related growth in detail) A category-based content analysis of k=88 studies identified as relevant throughout the review process showed that pct is very heterogeneously defined and theoretically embedded. In addition, the observable measures of pct could be classified according to two different dimensions. Pct is characterized by the occurrence of characteristics on a level concerning the regulation of the process of communicating (quantitative aspects of communicating, structuring of communicating and atmosphere of communicating) as well as on a level concerning the content of communicating (focus on content and quality of communicating). Pct that follows the characteristics of both of these levels can bring about a large variety of gains in professionalization in the subject-specific, didactical, and pedagogical knowledge and skills of teachers and, above all, promote the successful mastering of collaboration processes. The findings on the observable measures of pct were then applied to develop a category system for the analysis of teaching-related communication between teachers. Subsequently, the second study was designed to determine the extent to which teaching-related communication between (prospective) teachers of vocational schools, that follows the previously identified measures, can actually promote the process of collaborative task accomplishment. For this purpose, a total of N=14 dyads (N=7 dyads of prospective teachers and N=7 dyads of experienced teachers each) were assigned to a simulated teaching situation in which they had to make a joint decision within the framework of lesson planning through communicative exchange. Specifically, a suitable learning task had to be selected from a set of learning tasks presented by means of a vignette for a teachingrelated lesson planning scenario through discussion. The communicative exchanges between the dyads of (prospective) vocational teachers have been recorded, transcribed and evaluated by means of a content analysis using the category system. For this purpose, the category system was first pre-tested, a coding manual was developed, and the simulated teaching situation was evaluated by means of a questionnaire. The research questions of this second sub-study were as follows: d) To what extent do the exchanges between the dyads reflect the characteristics of pct identified by the review? e) To what extent do the participants assess the research design as representative of and realistic for their profession? f) How can we recognize qualitative pct and how can we distinguish between qualitatively different exchanges based on the specific categories? g) In light of the categories of pct derived, to what extent do qualitatively distinguishable exchanges have an effect on the collaboration process/process of collaborative decision-making by dyads? It turned out that the initial category system for pct had to be revised in (a few) parts only and that a suitable coding manual could be developed for analyzing the exchanges of the dyads about learning tasks. The simulated teaching situation was assessed by the participants as being broadly authentic for the area of vocational teaching. In addition, it could be shown that the tools for analyzing pct are suitable for distinguishing exchanges of different qualities among tandems. Finally, it could be demonstrated that a qualitatively distinguishable exchange according to the criteria of analyzing pct can also influence the process of joint task accomplishment of the teacher dyads with varying degrees of success. The findings on this research topic, which has been hitherto largely marginalized within the discipline of vocational teaching, were used to eventually draw up implications for further research and the training of vocational school teachers.
Quo vadis? Ansätze der Qualitätssicherung von Nachhaltigkeitswettbewerben für Unternehmen
(2021) Gebhardt, Beate
This report summarises the findings of an expert workshop on "Approaches and possibilities for quality assurance of sustainability competitions", which was successfully held on 4 November 2021. The workshop was hosted by the BEST initiative at the University of Hohenheim, under the leadership of Dr Beate Gebhardt. In the workshop, together with stakeholders from practice and science, approaches for quality improvements and visualisation of high-quality standards in sustainability contests were identified and evaluated by the experts. Essential steps and research projects for the future were defined. The key results of the event are: 1.) the impact and power of sustainability competitions as potential drivers of sustainability transition is endangered (loss of significance); 2.) in order to sharpen their profile, high-quality sustainability competitions should become more visible (visualisation); 3.) the BEST initiative at the University of Hohenheim is starting a dialogue to develop criteria for high-quality sustainability competitions (orientation).
Reputationsorientiertes Themen- und Issues-Management : Konzeption, Regelbetrieb, Weiterentwicklung
(2011) Fahrenbach, Christian; Brettschneider, Frank
The dissertation examines, how organizations can implement, operate and enhance an reputation oriented issues management. Therefore, the operational issues-management-model is linked to the strategic aim reputation and its parts. The first chapters proves the importance of reputation and issues management in general. Then a practical model is being developed, of how issues management with its substeps planning, acting, controlling can be organized. A detailed chapter explains the possible conceptualization and implementation of an issues management in an existing company. A detailed case study assesses the findings and develops them further.