Zugl.: Osnabrück, Univ., Diss., 2009

Zugl.: Bochum, Univ., Diss., 2007.

Zugl.: Vallendar, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, Diss., 2008

Empirischen Studien zufolge können Patente sich positiv auf den Unternehmenserfolg auswirken. Allerdings wirkt dieser Effekt nicht automatisch, sondern Unternehmen müssen sich um den Aufbau und die gesteuerte Weiterentwicklung eines nachhaltigen und wertvollen Patentportfolios bemühen. Bisher ist jedoch nicht wissenschaftlich untersucht worden, welche Maßnahmen Unternehmen ergreifen können, um die unternehmensinternen Vorraussetzungen für eine erfolgreiche Steuerung von Patentaktivitäten zu schaffen. Um diese betrieblichen Faktoren zu identifizieren und deren Relevanz zu quantifizieren, wurden 2005 in einer breiten empirischen Untersuchung die aktiven Patentanmelder im deutschsprachigen Raum (über 1.000 Unternehmen) mit Hilfe eines standardisierten Fragebogens befragt. Auf der Basis von 325 auswertbaren Fragebögen (Ausschöpfungsquote 36,8 %) konnten zum einen Ergebnisse zum aktuellen Aufgabenspektrum der Patentabteilungen sowie zu deren organisatorischen und personellen Strukturen gewonnen werden. Ebenfalls wurde in dieser Status quo-Analyse der Bekanntheits- und Implementierungsgrad von Methoden und Systemen (z. B. Patentbewertungsmethoden, Patent-IT-Systeme) beleuchtet. Zum anderen wurden die betrieblichen Faktoren herausgestellt, auf die technologieorientierte Unternehmen achten sollten, um das Fundament für eine erfolgreiche Patentsteuerung zu legen. / Empirical studies have shown that patents can have a positive effect on corporate success. However, this effect does not occur by itself. Companies have to make an effort to create and to develop a sustainable patent portfolio. So far, no academic studies have investigated into which actions a company can take to establish the internal conditions for successful patent management. To identify and to quantify the relevance of these internal factors, a study was conducted using a standardized written questionnaire with more than 1,000 patent-oriented companies in the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein). In total, 325 valid questionnaires were included in the analyses; this corresponds to an above-average response rate of 36.8 %. These analyses revealed insights into the current task profile of patent departments and their organizational and personnel structures. This status quo analysis also included the investigation into the awareness and implementation level of used methods and systems (e. g. patent evaluation methods, patent IT systems). Furthermore, the study could expose the internal determinants, which technology-oriented companies should focus on to ensure a successful patent management.

Der Konsument sieht sich im zunehmenden Maße mit einer großen Produktvielfalt, einer allgemeinen Homogenisierung der Produkte und einer ständigen Informationsüberflutung konfrontiert. Zur leichteren Orientierung werden aus dem großen Bündel an Produktinformationen, einzelne "Schlüsselinformationen", verstärkt zur Kaufentscheidung herangezogen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird untersucht, welche Bedeutung die Schlüsselinformation "Country-of-Origin" im Vergleich zu anderen Faktoren, wie Marke oder Preis, auf das Kaufverhalten potentieller PKW-Käufer hat. Spezielles Augenmerk liegt dabei auf dem Wissen der Konsumenten über die Herkunft der Marke. Im Rahmen der empirischen Studie, in Form einer Online-Befragung, wurden 631 Fragebögen in die Analyse aufgenommen. Insgesamt werden 8 Automobilmarken (Chevrolet, Ford, Mazda, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, VW) und 7 Herkunftsländer (China, Deutschland, Frankreich, Japan, Korea, Österreich, USA) untersucht. Die Datenanalyse mittels Strukturgleichungsmodell zeigt bei der Hälfte der untersuchten Marken den stärksten Einfluss vom Markenimage auf die PKW-Kaufabsicht. Bei 2 Marken ist der Einfluss des Herkunftslandes auf die Kaufabsicht im Vergleich zum Markenimage und der Preiswahrnehmung stärker. Bei weiteren 2 Marken zeigt sich der stärkste Einfluss von der Preiswahrnehmung auf die Kaufabsicht. Die Ergebnisse bieten praxisrelevante Erkenntnisse und Empfehlungen für den österreichischen Automobilmarkt, im Speziellen für die Bereiche Kommunikations-, Produkt- und Preispolitik.

In a study looking for risk factors of atherosclerosis in families with combined hyperlipidemia and hypertension, clinical and biochemical data of 1,149 persons were analyzed to develop two hypothetical multivariate scores concerning the degree to which a patient is affected by the metabolic syndrome. The scores are based on a structural model for low-density cholesterol (LDL) and high-density cholesterol (HDL), triglycerides, uric acid, creatinine, glucose, insulin, systolic blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio. Age, gender and body mass index were used for adjusting all variables. In segregation analyses of 42 pedigrees without using genotype information, estimations of the heritabilities and environmentally caused variance and covariance components were computed for the individual score values of the two latent factors. The first score shows a heritability of 42%; the environment component disappeared. The score mainly reflects the HDL, LDL and triglyceride levels. The second score shows a heritability of 16% with an environment component of 7%. It includes mainly insulin, uric acid and creatinine. In the search for genetic causes, both scores could be a basis for further phenotypic classification of the metabolic syndrome. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Measurement problems in terms of different understanding of the meaning, concepts and implications of survey questions as well as tendencies to different response-sets (e.g. acquiescence or social desirability) are reoccurring problems in comparative migration research. Cultural factors, time-varying effects and survey design lead to response biases. It could be shown that depending on the region of origin, migrants tend to extreme or centred responding behaviour. Macroscale changes in attitudes towards disclosure of personal information influence acquiescent biases. Therefore, the question arises whether the presence of measurement equivalence can be assumed, especially within instruments regarding subjective feelings, when comparing migrant and native populations. The aim of the study is to test for intercultural and longitudinal equivalence of the Health Short Form 12 - items scale (SF -12), trying to answer the question whether this instrument is useful to compare health of migrants and native Germans over time. The study contributes to the ongoing discussion on measurement equivalence of the SF -12 by including variables concerning integration and assimilation, employment, family status and varying types of migration and years since migration to the analysis. Using a Multiple Group Structural Equation Modelling approach analyzing longitudinal data of the German Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP), we test the validity and measurement equivalence (configural, metric and scalar invariance) of the latent construct ‘health’ over time and between (non-)migration groups. In addition, different item functioning can be detected for a series of covariates. The study concludes in recommending a reduced version of the SF-12 to improve the avoidance of measurement artefacts when comparing the health of migrants and native Germans.

This dissertation is composed of three research papers that deal with the topic of “accounting and innovation” and provide evidence for the area of innovation from two accounting perspectives, i.e., the external disclosure perspective and the internal management control system perspective. The disclosure perspective is addressed in the first paper. Using content analysis, it examines the innovation capital disclosure characteristics, i.e., disclosure quantity and quality, in intellectual capital statements of 51 European for-profit firms. Additionally, the relationship between innovation capital disclosure characteristics and industry, firm size, region of domicile, and disclosure guidelines adopted are analyzed. The second and third paper address the management control system perspective. The second paper contributes to the research on management control systems in product development by exploring the performance effects and the interplay of the levers of control, i.e., interactive, diagnostic, beliefs, and boundary control systems, based on data from a survey of 468 senior managers from the manufacturing industry. Therefore, I compare by structural equation modeling a base model of unrelated levers of control (additive model) with (a) a model of mutual association of levers of control (interdependence model), (b) a model of joint use of levers of control (interaction model), and (c) a combined model of mutual association and joint use of levers of control (combined interdependence/interaction model). The best fitting and most parsimonious model is analyzed in terms of the performance effects of the levers of control. Based on the sample of the second paper, the third paper contributes to the recent literature on the relationship between management control systems and innovation by considering how the four levers of control are used as “packages” in product development. I employ cluster analysis to determine how the levers of control are combined, depending on the type of strategy formation (i.e., intended or emergent) and the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, I explore which of these combinations are equifinal in terms of product development and organizational performance.

In a study looking for risk factors of atherosclerosis in families with combined hyperlipidemia and hypertension, clinical and biochemical data of 1,149 persons were analyzed to develop two hypothetical multivariate scores concerning the degree to which a patient is affected by the metabolic syndrome. The scores are based on a structural model for low-density cholesterol (LDL) and high-density cholesterol (HDL), triglycerides, uric acid, creatinine, glucose, insulin, systolic blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio. Age, gender and body mass index were used for adjusting all variables. In segregation analyses of 42 pedigrees without using genotype information, estimations of the heritabilities and environmentally caused variance and covariance components were computed for the individual score values of the two latent factors. The first score shows a heritability of 42%; the environment component disappeared. The score mainly reflects the HDL, LDL and triglyceride levels. The second score shows a heritability of 16% with an environment component of 7%. It includes mainly insulin, uric acid and creatinine. In the search for genetic causes, both scores could be a basis for further phenotypic classification of the metabolic syndrome. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

This dissertation is composed of three research papers that deal with the topic of “accounting and innovation” and provide evidence for the area of innovation from two accounting perspectives, i.e., the external disclosure perspective and the internal management control system perspective. The disclosure perspective is addressed in the first paper. Using content analysis, it examines the innovation capital disclosure characteristics, i.e., disclosure quantity and quality, in intellectual capital statements of 51 European for-profit firms. Additionally, the relationship between innovation capital disclosure characteristics and industry, firm size, region of domicile, and disclosure guidelines adopted are analyzed. The second and third paper address the management control system perspective. The second paper contributes to the research on management control systems in product development by exploring the performance effects and the interplay of the levers of control, i.e., interactive, diagnostic, beliefs, and boundary control systems, based on data from a survey of 468 senior managers from the manufacturing industry. Therefore, I compare by structural equation modeling a base model of unrelated levers of control (additive model) with (a) a model of mutual association of levers of control (interdependence model), (b) a model of joint use of levers of control (interaction model), and (c) a combined model of mutual association and joint use of levers of control (combined interdependence/interaction model). The best fitting and most parsimonious model is analyzed in terms of the performance effects of the levers of control. Based on the sample of the second paper, the third paper contributes to the recent literature on the relationship between management control systems and innovation by considering how the four levers of control are used as “packages” in product development. I employ cluster analysis to determine how the levers of control are combined, depending on the type of strategy formation (i.e., intended or emergent) and the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, I explore which of these combinations are equifinal in terms of product development and organizational performance.