Previous research has considered entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty and as a chance to foster economic growth. Moreover, specifically start-ups headed by women have played an important role in the economic development and it has been argued that gender-related issues, amongst others, play a significant role for the performance of a country or region. Against this background, this qualitative study explores desires, reluctances and constraints toward entrepreneurial activities of a comparably homogenous group ...

Managers are still floundering when they have to decide on the optimal level of feedback frequency; either when they consider themselves as a source of feedback, but also when they shape the feedback environment of their employees, e.g., by allowing more (or less) frequent customer feedback. Furthermore, given that feedback is a time-consuming task, managers might be reluctant to provide feedback frequently, foregoing a potentially powerful lever for increasing employee creativity. Ultimately, clarifying the ambiguities ...

In the contemporary business world, the real competition is not among individual businesses but rather between supply chains. Companies, which are part of efficient supply chains, are considered destined to outperform their competitors being part of inefficient supply chains. Moreover, performance has been a matter of concern for researchers for decades and is the primary aim of any firm’s existence. The definition of performance includes the performance measurement (PM) concept and further supports the notion that ...

This dissertation analyzes supply chain risk management (SCRM) and sustainability performance in the context of circular supply chains (CSCs). The implementation of circular economy (CE) thinking in firms and supply chains has a crucial role in fostering innovative and efficient ways of producing and consuming. However, CE implementation is not a straightforward process, begetting risks and uncertainties that can impact the overall sustainability performance of CSCs. Therefore, managers need to adopt appropriate ...

Embedded in an introductory and a concluding chapter, the thesis comprises six distinct but related scientific articles. All articles contribute to a more holistic understanding of drivers and barriers of a successful energy transition. In the first part of the thesis, four articles address energy and economic efficiency in the electricity sector. These articles provide guidance for efficient regulatory policies and analyse measures seeking to increase preferences for dynamic electricity tariffs. The two articles in ...

Based on micro-econometric analyses of survey data, this thesis extends existing research on the determinants of climate-friendly behavior in the energy sector with a special focus on economic preferences and social identity. It contains an overarching introduction and conclusion including a discussion of the policy implications of the results and avenues for future research. The main body of the thesis contains six research articles, organized in two subsections containing three articles each. All six research ...

The thesis at hand analyzes sustainability prerequisites, practices, risk and performance in textile and apparel (T&A) supply chains (SCs). Given the growing awareness of sustainability risks by various stakeholders, T&A firms are required to implement and adapt sustainability practices along their SCs, while at the same time measuring their performance to counteract the (re)emergence of risks. Appropriate management strategies are therefore needed to ensure sustainable transformation in T&A SCs. While the state of ...

This thesis contributes to the discussion of the utilization of network-supportive flexibility, in particular in the context of local flexibility markets (LFM). The thesis comprises five articles that are methodologically related but can be read independently. The focus of the investigations is on economic aspects and short- and medium-term market processes. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the topic including the definition of the most important terms. Chapter 2 includes the paper, “Design of regional flexibility ...

Using a survey experiment among a special sample composed of art house cinema visitors, we investigate whether spatial climate messages increase subjects’ willingness to pay for an inclusion of public transport fares in cinema tickets as well as their willingness to use public transport in case such a combined ticket is introduced. Based on previous findings, we expect emphasizing the positive impact of public transport usage on the local level to have a greater effect on subjects’ preferences for public transport ...

This dissertation deals with the institutional environment surrounding the private sector in the various emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) worldwide where most of the global population lives. Its primary purpose is to identify and combine theoretical aspects of new (sociological) institutionalism/neo-institutionalism to better understand the role of institutional environments in shaping business impacts on sustainable development. Institutions shape the behaviour of individuals as well as entire groups ...