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In the light of incremental environmental degradation, social awareness and resource depletion along with high and volatile resource prices, food packaging manufacturers in Germany increasingly perceive pressure towards the implementation of circular business models. However, there does not exist any data neither about the current deployment of circular business models nor about the active efforts dedicated by manufacturers in the German food packaging industry while in many cases there is lacking expertise of how to implement circular business models. This thesis is going to close this gap by conducting a systematic observation of 41 food packaging manufacturers’ product portfolio and company policy in order to identify the current state of deployment and active efforts dedicated to the implementation. Moreover, the most applicable measures will be analysed in order to capture the level of circularity in the focal industry, while providing a step-by-step guidance of how to implement circular business models. There was found that the German food packaging industry is characterised by an open-loop approach since manufacturers focus on circular inputs but neglect the reuse and recycling of packaging materials. Besides, there could be identified six highly applicable metrics, which measure a range of different fundamental aspects of the circular economy. Finally, there was found that the process of implementing circular business models can be structured into four phases, whereas a set of key enablers permits food packaging manufacturers to overcome certain barriers and facilitates the implementation of circular business models. The conclusion was drawn that food packaging manufacturers in Germany still show noticeable potential for enhancement in order to increase circularity, especially by launching circular product designs, the reuse of certain types of food packaging and implementing a more holistic approach of circular business models.
This research examines the impact of social media on consumer behavior, focusing on how consumer behavior and habits change after the use of social media by German and Chinese young consumers. A comparison of the differences between the two groups is also conducted. The study was conducted based on theoretical background and terminology, followed by six hypotheses. Then this research determined the scope, target population, and sample size before using focus groups and online questionnaires as survey methods. While analyzing the questionnaire data, the research tested the hypotheses and demonstrated the effects between the variables. The results indicated partial agreement with existing studies. Browsing time positively correlates with the purchase journey. The duration of online discounts negatively correlates with transaction speed. Young consumers' demand increases with the amount of time they spend browsing product advertisements. However, some findings ran counter to previous investigations. The impact of SMM on young consumers has no adverse effect on the time spent browsing products. Moreover, only in some cases, young consumers' purchase intentions are positively correlated with demand.
Keywords: Young consumers, Social media marketing, Consumer behavior, Purchase journey, Purchase intention, Online time-limited discounts, Demand
Plastic packaging and its waste are known to have a negative impact on the environment and on human health. This study aims to determine effective government measures for the management of plastic packaging in Germany. Specifically, the effectiveness and acceptance of possible environmental incentive and restriction policies are analyzed based on the objectives of reduction, reuse, and recycling. Therefore, the policies of a plastic packaging tax, tax differentiation, bans, and concentration limits of chemical additives, as well as restrictions on packaging design, are investigated.
In order to examine the consumer acceptance of the policies, an online survey was conducted with 272 students. This study further contributed to the analysis of effectiveness as consumption effects were measured. Accordingly, the expected policy effectiveness was examined based on literature research and quantitative insights from the field study.
The results - which are only representative for German consumers with an academic background between 18 and 29 years of age - revealed that most respondents accepted the policies, although acceptance was higher for restriction policies than for incentives. Furthermore, problem awareness was found to slightly correlate with policy acceptance in most cases. In terms of expected policy effectiveness, several factors indicate effectiveness for all policies. However, multiple prerequisites for the achievement of policy effectiveness were identified, whereas the requirements for restrictions on chemical additives were most complex.
Due to changes in the labour market, the share of atypical employment in Germany has risen substantially. This has implications on the old-age provision of the persons concerned, since the German pension framework has been primarily developed for persons under standard employment. The analysis shows that the statutory pension insurance discriminates against the self employed, since their entry into the system is only provided in an atypical manner. Marginally and part time employed often fail to accumulate entitlements and thus their risk of old-age poverty is high. Moreover, the quantitative assessment of the statutory pension framework unveils that independent retirement planning is in conflict with the statutory basic income provision as it undermines individual efforts. In the light of a changing work environment and the rise of the digital economy, future trends are posing challenge on the German system. Those require reforms, in order to ensure a higher accessibility of more flexible employment forms into the statutory pension insurance as well as other types of state-subsidised retirement plans.
Vehicles powered by electricity are the future of mobility in Germany. At the present
time, electromobility is rather hesitantly implemented in Germany, particularly due to
concerns regarding charging infrastructure and battery power/technology.
The purpose of this research project is to forecast – by using scenario planning techniques - how electromobility will influence the way we move in Germany by 2035. The outcome are three distinct scenarios that reflect the possible shift towards E-Mobility in Germany, especially taking into consideration the charging infrastructure, different battery technology and type of electric vehicle. In order to generate scientifically significant scenarios, input factors (Descriptors) were designed in accordance with the newest research findings from literature. Additionally, special ratios between all possible manifestations of input factors were defined, compared and evaluated.
This study aims to ascertain whether share-repurchasing companies in Germany observe long-term abnormal returns, a phenomenon that has been extensively discussed in literature over the past decades. Germany is an especially interesting market for this analysis, as share-repurchases were only legalized in 1998 and are subject to sterner regulations compared to markets where repurchasing has had a long tradition. The event sample consists of 169 announcements made between June 2008 and May 2013. Each event is observed for three years following the announcement. To calculate abnormal returns, this study employs the Return Across Time and Securities, Calendar-Time Portfolio, and Buy-and-Hold Abnormal Return approaches, which yield statistically significant abnormal returns after three years of 23.72%, 22.81%, and 57.77%, respectively. The results further indicate most of the price adjustment occurs in the 15 months following the announcement, with only minor corrections thereafter. Overall, the findings of this study suggest the existence of long-term abnormal returns for German repurchasing companies.
How will the future of business schools in Germany look like in 2035? Scenario Planning with INKA 4
(2019)
Business schools have been largely successful in attracting students and producing publications in the last few decades. Nevertheless, this success has raised several concerns. With many variables influencing business schools, it is useful to predict how the future of business schools might look like. Hence, this paper aims to detect current trends in order to forecast and examine the future of German business schools by the year 2035. With the help of the scenario software INKA 4, future scenarios were generated. In order to develop these scenarios, various areas of influence, e.g. Environment, Supply, Demand, Pedagogy, and Technology were identified and conceptualized with regard to current research and literature. The final result consists of four distinct scenarios, which reflect the potential pathway of German business schools in the future.
Germany has a long history in the car sector. However, today’s car industry is drastically changing, triggered by the accelerated rise of new technologies, sustainability policies and changing consumer preferences. The purpose of this research project is to forecast, by using the scenario planning software INKA 4, the future of cars in Germany in 2035. The research project focused mainly on cars based on internal combustion engines (ICE), fuel cell vehicles (FCV), battery electric vehicles (BEV) and Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and their charging infrastructure in Germany. Also, the future of autonomous driving vehicles, public transportation and carsharing in Germany were taken into consideration. Considering these factors following four areas of influence were chosen: Technology, Economics, Politics and Social. Within these areas of influence thirteen input factors (descriptors) were defined by research on current literature. The results show three distinct scenarios that reflect a possible shift towards electric mobility, autonomous driving, and an increase in the use of car sharing.
Key findings
The future of cars in Germany is affected by four areas of influence: Technology, Economics, Politics and Social. Among those four areas, a total of thirteen descriptors were selected as an input for the scenario building.
With the software INKA 4 five different scenarios were generated. Three distinctive scenarios were chosen and described to outline the future of cars in Germany in 2035.
It is highly probable that the future cars will be electrified and autonomous and that shared mobility will increase. The extent of the aforementioned change until 2035 depends highly on the German government and customer preferences.