Thomas Clauß

Universität Witten/Herdecke · Department of Business Economics

The hidden champion concept has received much interest in practice. As market leaders in niche markets, hidden champions represent the success of the (German) Mittelstand. Innovation is a key element of their strategy and their focus and niche market strategy are associated with specific technological capabilities. However, thus far, little quantit...

In recent years, sharing economy business models (BMs) have gained substantial research attention. This stream has led to several important insights, but due to its practical nature and diversity, it has provided limited conceptual integration. This introductory article conceptualizes the research field of sharing economy BMs and their implications...

Research Summary Although business model innovation (BMI) is said to be underpinned by managerial capabilities, there is a lack of studies that delve into the mechanisms through which these capabilities support BMI. In this study, we highlight internal and external advice seeking as underlying microfoundations of dynamic managerial capabilities for...

In Familienunternehmen entstehen heute durch egalitäre Vererbungen immer größere Gesellschafterkreise, die sich aus verwandtschaftlich verbundenen Eigentümern zusammensetzen. Ein Großteil der Familienmitglieder ist dabei nicht mehr operativ tätig, nimmt jedoch bestimmenden Einfluss. Welche spezifischen Schlüsselkompetenzen dabei zählen, erfahren Si...

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of different strategic behaviors adopted during COVID-19 pandemic on employment change (a percentage change in the number of employees) in both family and non�family firms. We use an international survey-based dataset of 2,192 family and non-family firms. We provide evidence that a pivoting strate...

While innovative work behavior sets the stage for organizational innovativeness, little is known about how innovative work behavior is related to business model innovation. This study analyzes how employees' innovative work behavior leads to business model innovation. Following the organizational support theory, we further examine that business mod...

CfP - Entrepreneurship im digitalen Zeitalter Fallstudien, Ansätze und Tools für Ökosysteme, Geschäftsmodelle und Technologien Unser Herausgeberband richtet sich an Einreichungen empirischer und konzeptioneller Beiträge, die sich mit den Herausforderungen und Chancen von Entrepreneurship im digitalen Zeitalter befassen. Wir suchen Beiträge mit F...

This book provides empirical and conceptual papers and studies that tackle the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurship in the digital era. It offers professionals, managers, researchers, lecturers, and students from the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation management, and business development valuable insight into the topic of entrepren...

Despite the increasing interest in business model innovation (BMI), the literature lacks solid empirical evidence about its impact over time. We address this gap by taking an element-based perspective, differentiating three core dimensions: value creation, value proposition, and value capture. We collected cross-industry data based on more than 35,...

Research on entrepreneurship in family firms has grown exponentially over the past two decades. Due to the various theoretical perspectives and contexts found here however, this body of research remains fragmented, with a unified understanding of the current state of knowledge and the opportunities for future research in the field continuing to lac...

During the last 20 years, business model innovation (BMI) has become a fundamental concept in strategic management and entrepreneurship research and practice. Tools such as the business model canvas or the business model navigator were used in business workshops around the world and have created numerous ideas on how business models can be innovate...

The issues of fostering internationalization and innovating business models through digital capabilities appear neglected in the research on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The literature on internationalization theory can be enriched by understanding how SMEs innovate their business models to promote their internationalization in the digital...

This study examines whether founding generation managed family firms are capable of responding proactively to the COVID-19 disruption via firm renewal. We used a unique global COVID-19 crisis specific survey dataset comprising of 2,130 family firm observations. Our findings indicate that in comparison to the later generations, founding generation-m...

Die Digitalisierung stellt seit einigen Jahren ein zentrales Thema in Unternehmen jeglicher Größe und Branchenzugehörigkeit dar. Dies nimmt Familienunternehmen nicht aus. Neben den mit der Digitalisierung einhergehenden umfangreichen technischen, strukturellen und kulturellen Herausforderungen stehen Familienunternehmen jedoch zudem vor der Aufgabe...

Recently, studies have highlighted the importance of a holistic digitalisation that incorporates process digitalisation, product digitalisation as well as digital transformation involving redefinitions of business models and organisational identities. Whereas previous studies either aimed for generalisability across firms, or investigated digital t...

This study examines whether founding generation managed family firms are capable of responding proactively to the COVID-19 disruption via firm renewal. We used a unique global COVID-19 specific survey dataset comprising of 2130 family firm observations. Our findings indicate that in comparison to the later generations, founding generation-managed f...

The open innovation paradigm has created substantial new opportunities for firms in various sectors. However, scholars have long expressed concern that open innovation also entails a dark side, which can result in value co-destruction. This concern highlights the importance of devoting attention to the perils of pursuing open innovation. Existing s...

Auf Basis einer Befragung des Wittener Instituts für Familienunternehmen (WIFU) und des Forschungszentrums Mittelstand (FZM) der Universität Trier untersucht die vorliegende Studie die digitale Transformation des deutschen Mittelstands, mit besonderem Fokus auf Familienunternehmen. Die Datengrundlage bilden 525 Unternehmen, 444 davon sind Familienu...

How entrepreneurial orientation facilitates the identification of new opportunities in newly established ventures in emerging economies remains largely unexplored. Approaching entrepreneurial orientation as a second order latent construct, we examined the mediating role of opportunity recognition on new venture performance. Using a survey data from...

Regional business development is driven by family firms, which are generally deeply embedded in their region, particularly in rural areas. This study explores how family entrepreneurs’ embeddedness drives an entrepreneurial ecosystem as a regional context for innovation. For this purpose, the study brings together entrepreneurship research on embed...

Enhancing sustainability in terms of a simultaneous pursuit of economic, ecological and social goals has become a key requirement for firms across industries and countries. Although many studies have focused on multiple aspects surrounding the topic of sustainability such as mechanisms, technologies and business models, little is known about sustai...

The failure ratio of new ventures across the globe pushes researchers towards finding solutions, but the response is not effective. This research project surveyed 297 new manufacturing enterprises from China to find factors that significantly contribute to the success of new ventures. The results indicated that intellectual capital significantly su...

Technology transfer remains one of the key functions of universities, seen with the growing importance attached to interactions between them and industry partners. Relying on self-determination theory (SDT), we develop a framework comprising the core motivational factors inherent in the design of industry projects and individual determinants which...

The Covid‐19 crisis has hit SMEs particularly hard. Numerous business models (BM) have been limited or rendered downright impossible due to decreased social contact. SMEs can respond to this exogenous crisis via temporary business model innovation (BMI). This empirical study investigates these temporary BMs using a multiple case study approach base...

This study investigates the relationship between supplier dependence and product innovation at the buyer firm level. Based on the absorptive capacity and the exploration-exploitation perspectives, this study hypothesizes that (1) supplier dependence is negatively related to the buyer firms’ product innovation (BFPI) and (2) the negative supplier de...

Acquisitions involve high levels of uncertainty because resources are committed to risky acquisition activities even before the actual performance outcomes of these investments are known. In this study we examine the likelihood of using minority acquisitions as a risk reducing mechanism by family firms. Based on an analysis of a panel dataset of S&...

Portfolio innovativeness has been indicated as a crucial aspect of a firm’s innovation efforts. However, research traditionally applies a firm-centric conceptualization of portfolio innova-tiveness, neglecting its signaling effect to consumers. Taking a different route, this study ap-plies a consumer-centric approach to investigate consumer percept...

Acquisitions involve high levels of uncertainty, as resources are committed to risky acquisition activities even before the actual performance outcomes of these investments are known. In this study we examine the likelihood of using minority acquisitions as a risk reducing mechanism by family firms. Based on an analysis of a panel dataset of U.S S&...

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has over the past decades transformed from a philanthropic attribute to something compulsory. It has become the imperative duty of organisations, irrespective of their size, nature of business and age. However, because of poor financial capabilities and lack of support, newly established ventures too often fail...

How your procurement team perceives your suppliers— and their capabilities—can have a profound impact on the performance of your supply chain. Those can be managed.

The literature argues that a real digital transformation of firms requires holistic changes of the business model. Despite knowledge about this ambitious goal, understanding of how digital business model transformation can be achieved is still very limited. In this study, we explore how firms achieve digital business model transformation. We apply...

Recent digital transformation initiatives facilitate the access to platform-based business models on the demand side as well as enabling the necessary proximity to potential customers on the supply side. Due to this network connectivity between people, organizations, resources and entire industries, value and economic growth can be generated within...

Digital technologies fuel technological change that generates substantial uncertainty and complexity. Corporate actors rely on their technological frames to cope with these challenges. Technological frames determine how actors interpret, assess, and shape a technology’s development, usage, and trajectory. However, the research fails to provide insi...

As a recent technological innovation of great relevance to SMEs, this study focuses on the adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). We develop an extended SaaS adoption model that includes strategic orientations as antecedents of the key adoption drivers. Drawing on arguments from strategic IT alignment, we propose that CEOs’ extended SaaS adoptio...

Die Digitalisierung stellt Unternehmen nahezu aller Branchen vor die Herausforderung, Geschäftsmodelle an sich verändernde Marktbedingungen anzupassen. Sie bietet zum einen unternehmensseitig Chancen zur Veränderung, birgt zum anderen aber auch Gefahren, da Wettbewerber mit ganzheitlich digital gestalteten Geschäftsmodellen auftreten. Zahlreichen S...

CfP for Book Chapers: see PDF

Manche Firmen reagieren sehr kreativ auf den Leidensdruck in der Krise. Was Innovation in der Pandemie treibt - und was nicht.

Motivated by the social and environmental challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this research examines the influence of the “big five” personality traits; extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism on sustainable social responsibility with a mediating role of bricolage. We collected empirical evidence from...

Despite the increasing interest in business model innovation, literature still lacks empirical understanding of the consequences of business model innovation over time. Recent research called for more profound empirical investigations that assess the performance outcomes of business model innovation through longitudinal research designs. We address...

This study investigates how the circular economy and business models are related in the current business and management literature. Based on bibliometric analytical procedures, 253 articles were retrieved from the Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect scientific databases. The articles were analyzed according to network analysis principles, and...

The sharing economy gives rise to numerous new business models. A prominent novel one relates to coworking-spaces, where independent individuals and teams share spaces and amenities and engage in social interaction and information exchange. Yet the business models of such spaces are not well known. Our qualitative study identifies four types of bus...

The hospitality industry worldwide is among the hardest-hit industries from the COVID-19 lockdowns. Initial theoretical and practical observations in the hospitality industry indicate that business model innovation (BMI) might be a solution to recover from and successfully cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Interestingly, some firms in the hospitality...

Attaining competitive advantage is especially crucial for innovative firms. Due to increased competition, firms employ various types of innovation activities to position themselves against their competitors. Ambidexterity and strategic agility have been found to strengthen this position. Whereas scholars analyzed strategic agility’s and ambidexteri...

Die COVID-19-Krise hat deutliche Auswirkungen auf den Alltag von Unternehmen; nur wenige bleiben verschont. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt, wie Familienunternehmen in sechs Handlungsfeldern Entscheidungen treffen können, um die Krise bestmöglich zu überstehen.

Die Studie fasst empirische Ergebnisse zum Umgang von Familienunternehmen mit der Covid-19-Krise zusammen.

This study investigates how the circular economy and business models are related in the current business and management literature. Based on bibliometric analytical procedures, 253 articles were retrieved from the Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect scientific databases. The articles were analyzed according to network analysis principles, and...

Purpose Within a very short period of time, the worldwide pandemic triggered by the novel coronavirus has not only claimed numerous lives but also caused severe limitations to daily private as well as business life. Just about every company has been affected in one way or another. This first empirical study on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on...

New ventures are often based on new ideas and innovation. For creating and improving the innovation new ventures can draw on internal and external resources, to which they often have limited access. Our study analyses how new ventures can improve their innovation search by entering collaborative workspaces, so-called co-working spaces. In our quali...

In today's business environment with fast growing communication and information technologies, knowledge management (KM) capabilities are a valuable source for innovation. However, little is known about the particular KM capabilities that lead to business model innovation (BMI) and whether their effect is dependent upon the firm's orientation toward...

In this study, we examine the interplays among coopetition, conflicts, trust, and efficiency process innovation in vertical business-to-business (B2B) relationships. We posit that, in vertical B2B relationships, coopetition is positively associated with efficiency process innovation. Such association is also mediated by conflicts (i.e., affective a...

Attributes of suppliers such as capabilities are considered important aspects of successful buyer-supplier relationships. Previous research relates supplier attributes largely to intraorganizational supply chain practices, such as supplier selection and evaluation, and assumes that supplier attributes can be objectively assessed independent of the...

Within the last few years, the concepts of entrepreneurial and engaged universities have been receiving increased attention, both from a scientific and a practical point of view. Yet, surprisingly, these two concepts have largely been treated separately so far, although they obviously bear similarities, overlapping contents and synergy potential. M...

Platform-based business models have become such an essential pillar of today’s economy that the term ‘sharing economy’ is now frequently used to describe the new status quo. The success of platforms such as Airbnb, Blablacar or Shpock is evidence of a seismic shift from an ownership society to a sharing society. However, only very few platforms are...

Despite the robust literature on the nature of business models and their implications for firm performance, research on the organizational antecedents of business model innovations (BMIs) is still evolving. In this paper, we empirically examine the extent to which firm-level strategic agility predicts the adoption of three (value creation, value ca...

The rising use of crowdfunding makes it important for project initiators to know how they can increase the likelihood of success of their crowdfunding campaign. The effects of using social media, although relatively easy to do via most crowdfunding platforms, have not yet been analysed in greater detail in scientific research. We address this resea...

Business models for sustainability (BMFS) explicitly consider, jointly, economic with social and/or ecological value contributions. Thus, managing BMFS requires that one should combine multiple institutional logics, consider different stakeholders, and integrate distinct value dimensions. While research into BMFS has proposed frameworks and tools t...

Previous studies often assume that business model innovation (BMI) is reflected in an entrepreneurial business model design. We assume that business model reconfiguration (BMR) takes place in more nuanced types and does not always lead to (radical) BMI. By undertaking a mixed methods study with 213 respectively 16 SMEs from the electronic industry,...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents and the conditions of coopetition at the inter-organizational level. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on survey research methodology and analyzes the data from 138 companies regarding the antecedents and the conditions of their coopetition. Findings – The result...

Buyer-supplier alliances require certain governance mechanisms to be successfully controlled and coordinated. However, relatively little is known about how power differentials between the actors affect the applicability of those governance mechanisms. This paper follows the assumption that different sources of social power among firms directly infl...

This study aims to examine the drivers and conditions of coopetition. The results show that both interdependence and opportunism have a positive effect on coopetition. In addition, technology uncertainty moderates these relationships. The level of coopetition is highest when all three, interdependence, opportunism and technology uncertainty, are hi...

Research on the entrepreneurial university has been receiving increased attention in recent years. The growing literature stock has been leading to a rather unstructured research status quo, characterised by foci on particular elements and actors of the entrepreneurial university. Hence, our paper aims to systematically integrate the fragmented lit...

Hybrid organizational forms that combine commercial and welfare institutional logics play an increasingly important role in addressing the grand societal challenges we face today. Building on the literatures on hybrid organizations and social business models, we explore the characteristics of social businesses from a business model perspective. Thi...

his study examines how supplier dependence influences buyer firms’ product innovation (BFPI), using content-analytic case study and survey research methods. The content-analytic case study was conducted for theory-building purposes. The case study findings suggest two theoretical propositions regarding (1) the BFPI-inhibiting effect of supplier dep...

Business exchange and industrial marketing literature has long investigated determinants of long-term buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs). Anecdotes of BSR dissolutions may suggest that long-term relationships are potentially fragile as circumstances can shift and undermine such relationships, leading to buyers discarding their long-term suppliers....

Both researchers and practitioners have been focusing extensively on business model innovation, as it was shown to exert positive effects on business performance. Although the effect of business model innovativeness on customer behavior might be an important mediator between business model innovation and business performance, it has not yet been an...

Crowdfunding plays an important role as an alternative funding source for technology ventures. No earlier studies particularly investigated the importance of social interactions during such crowdfunding campaigns. Hence, we particularly take the interaction between the project owner and the community as well as among community members into account....

Collaboration activities in innovation networks enable actors to gain access to and share specialised knowledge. However, successful knowledge sharing requires specific mechanisms and interventions from managers. To study both the antecedents and effects of sharing ambidextrous knowledge in innovation networks, we conducted a survey among 100 mecha...

Die Digitalisierung stellt Unternehmen nahezu aller Branchen vor die Herausforderung, Geschäftsmodelle digital zu gestalten. Sie bietet zum einen unternehmensseitig Chancen zur Veränderung, birgt zum anderen aber auch Gefahren, da Wettbewerber mit ganzheitlich digital gestalteten Geschäftsmodellen auftreten. Sowohl das Konzept der Digitalisierung,...

1Editorial: Quo vadis entrepreneurial university? The need for multi-levels of analysis Thomas Clauss, Tobias Kesting, Kristel Miller and Arno Meerman 9 Entrepreneurial academics and academic entrepreneurs: a systematic literature review Kristel Miller, Allen Alexander, James A. Cunningham and Ekaterina Albats 38 University coworking-spaces: mechan...

In this study, we examine the role of plural governance, namely the combination of transactional and relational governance mechanisms, in influencing product innovation performance of buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs). This study posits three core arguments. First, we content that, due to their separate governing attributes, transactional and rel...

When analyzing capabilities that enable business model innovation, the influence of knowledge and knowledge management has been rarely considered, despite the fact that a firm´s knowledge management capabilities of maintaining and leveraging knowledge have been referred to being a key resource for innovation. Further, the integration of a firm´s ri...