Research Summary Despite a plethora of studies, the moderating effects of contingency factors regarding the relationship between corporate planning (CP) and organizational performance (OP) remain open to discussion. Our meta-analysis analyzes 183 independent study samples, 84 of which are examined for the first time. We expand on previous meta-analyses by correcting for measurement error and dichotomization, and we use moderation analyses and meta-analytical regressions to explain heterogeneity in these studies. We find evidence for the moderating effects of task interdependence and uncertainty avoidance as contingency factors. Unexpectedly, we identify an interaction of the measurements of OP and CP with uncertainty avoidance. Our results provide new insights into the relationship between CP and OP. Management Summary Managers who may doubt whether planning is still fruitful in turbulent times obtain a clear answer from our study: Yes, it is. CP is definitely correlated with OP. The effect sizes are stable over time and for different types of planning. However, the effect of CP on performance depends on the organizational context. Manufacturing firms benefit more than nonmanufacturing firms, and larger firms benefit more than smaller firms. Organizations in countries with high uncertainty avoidance show larger effects in relation to those in countries with low uncertainty avoidance. Finally, organizations facing high environmental uncertainty show higher effects of CP than organizations in more stable environments. However, the identified effects are conditional on the type of measurement of performance and CP.

Over the past two decades, work relations have changed dramatically. New phenomena like “gig-economy” or “crowd work” not only constitute precarious working conditions but also contradict with our social esteem of work resulting from the social theories of the classical economy of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The central focus of classical economists on building an educated and disciplined workforce provided not only the base for the upcoming industrial society but also resulted in a work-based society where “being employed” became the precondition for social security and social participation. It is the aim of this contribution to show how our positive attitudes towards work, established by the political economic theories of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, are jeopardized by the social changes in post-industrialized societies, due to the effects of globalized economies, digitalization and changed industrial relations. This has also far-reaching consequences for managerial theories based on conceptions like meaningful work or discussions about social responsibilities vis-à-vis employees as primary stakeholder groups.

Die kompetenzzellenbasierte Vernetzung stellt für die kooperative Zusammenarbeit von elementaren Leistungseinheiten einen neuartigen wissenschaftlichen Ansatz zur Gewährleistung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit dar. Die Wertschöpfung in der Produktentwicklung, erfordert die vollständige wissenschaftliche Durchdringung und Systematisierung der Planung und Gestaltung kompetenzzellenbasierter Produktentwicklungsprozesse. Die Arbeit beschreibt den konzeptionellen Aufbau des Partialmodells der Produktentwicklung als Beschreibungs- und Suchalgorithmus für Fach- und Methodenkompetenzen und deren softwaretechnischen Umsetzung im Kompetenz-Agenten. Das Modell in Verbindung mit der Bewertung von Kompetenzpotenzialen, bildet somit die Grundlage für die Struktur von Produktentwicklungskompetenzzellen als Engineering-Dienstleister. Darauf basierend können kompetenzzellenbasierte Produktentwicklungsprozesse generiert werden. Die Verifikation der entwickelten Modelle, Methoden und Konzepte erfolgt an den Beispielen der mechatronischen Produkte Sonderschleifmaschine und Baugruppe Motorspindel.

Im Auftrag des Sächsischen Staatsministeriums für Soziales und Verbraucherschutz erarbeitete die TU Dresden einen Handlungsleitfaden, der Unternehmen dabei helfen soll, Beschäftigte im Unternehmen zu halten – auch wenn sie durch Krankheit oder Unfall plötzlich mit einem Handicap leben: »Arbeiten ohne Hindernisse – Sächsische Unternehmen zeigen gelungene Inklusion«. Dieser enthält Erfahrungsberichte und Tipps von Unternehmen, die bereits Arbeitnehmer und Arbeitnehmerinnen mit Behinderungen erfolgreich integriert haben. Zudem finden sich in ihm Unterstützungsangebote für Unternehmen. Der Handlungsleitfaden ist eine Maßnahme des Aktionsplans der Sächsischen Staatsregierung zur Umsetzung der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention sowie der Allianz Arbeit + Behinderung zur Beschäftigungsförderung von Menschen mit Behinderung. Die Publikation ist Teil der Kampagne 'Behindern verhindern – Zeit für barrierefreies Handeln“, die das Sozialministerium im August 2016 gestartet hat. Redaktionsschluss: 17.09.2018

Financial sustainability is underrepresented in both the research on and practice of sustainability management and reporting. This article proposes a conceptual measure of financial sustainability and examines its association with capital market returns. The measure is positioned at the intersection of sustainability management, risk management and risk governance. Financial sustainability is regarded as a crucial control parameter complementing shareholder value and can be viewed by riskaverse investors as a secondary condition of investment decisions. It reduces refinancing and insolvency risks, leading to risk-adjusted excess returns in an imperfect capital market with financing restrictions and insolvency costs. We propose measuring a firm’s financial sustainability in terms of four conditions: (1) firm growth, (2) the company’s ability to survive, (3) an acceptable overall level of earnings risk exposure, and (4) an attractive earnings risk profile. We show that the application of a conditions-based investment strategy to European firms with high financial sustainability (i.e., firms fulfilling all four conditions) over the period from July 1990 to June 2019 results in monthly excess returns of 0.39%. This portfolio’s risk is lower than the risk of market investment. We find that the excess returns increase when incrementally adding each of the four conditions to the investment strategy.

Der Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutz bei vorwiegend informationsverarbeitenden, geistigen Erwerbstätigkeiten – zunehmend mit digitalen Arbeitsmitteln und künstlicher Intelligenz – erfordert das Verwirklichen der Merkmale menschenzentrierter Arbeitsgestaltung (DIN EN ISO 6385/2016). Der Beitrag betrifft das menschzentrierte Gestalten des Arbeitsprozesses, nicht der Arbeitsmittel. Das Erfüllen dieser Merkmale soll nicht nur physische und psychische Beeinträchtigungen der Arbeitenden verhindern, sondern auch ihre Kompetenzen erhalten und erweitern sowie das gesundheitliche Wohlbefinden und die Arbeitsleistung fördern. Es werden übertragbare (generische) Vorschläge an die präventive, bedingungszentrierte und partizipative Gestaltung, insbesondere die Funktionsteilung zwischen Menschen und Technik und die Arbeitsorganisation/-teilung bei informationsverarbeitenden Tätigkeiten abgeleitet, die helfen, die Merkmale menschzentrierter Gestaltung zu erfüllen. Arbeitsschritte zur praktischen Verwirklichung sind skizziert. Eine Schwierigkeit beim Anwenden der Vorschläge ist ihre allgemeingültige Form. Sie erfordert das Übertragen auf die vielfältigen informationsverarbeitenden Arbeitstätigkeiten. Eine Hilfe bei ihrer Übertragung sind bewährte duale, partizipative und iterative Strategien der Automatisierung. Das Hauptanliegen ist zu verdeutlichen, dass und in welcher Hinsicht menschenzentrierte Arbeitsgestaltung auch bei vorwiegend informationsverarbeitenden, geistigen Erwerbstätigkeiten unerlässlich ist, und dass Digitalisierung diese präventive menschzentrierte Gestaltung nicht ersetzt, sondern voraussetzt. / Safety and occupational health in mainly information-processing mental work—increasingly with digital means and artificial intelligence—requires to implement the criteria of human-centered job design (EN ISO 6385/2016). This contribution regards human- centered design of the working process, not of its digital working means. Meeting the requirements mentioned is not restricted on the prevention of physical and mental disturbances, but considers the preservation and improvement of employees’ competencies, and enhances their well-being and performance, too. Generic requirements of preventive, condition-centered, and participative design of the allocation of functions between man and technology and of work organization are deduced, which meet the requirements of human-centered job design. Steps of the implementation process are outlined. A limitation in applying the offered suggestions on job design is their generic kind, necessary in view of the manifold information-processing working tasks. However, the required and well-tried participative, dual and iterative strategy of design will assist the transformation of the generic criteria. The central aim is to stress, that human-centered job design is inevitable in digitalized information-processing jobs, too: Digitalization cannot displace preventive human-centered job design, but does require it.

Fachbereichs-IT, Schatten-IT, Business-managed IT. All diese Begriffe beschreiben IT, die neben den eigentlichen, regulären IT-Systemen oder -Prozessen in Unternehmen existieren und von Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern der Fachbereiche genutzt werden. Im Fall von „Schatten-IT“ handelt es sich um IT-Systeme und -Prozesse (IT-Instanzen), die sich ohne Kenntnis der IT-Verantwortlichen etabliert haben; im Fall von „Business-managed IT“ entstehen die IT-Systeme und -Prozesse in Kenntnis der bzw. in Abstimmung mit den IT-Verantwortlichen im Unternehmen. „Fachbereichs-IT“ subsumiert Schatten-IT und Business-managed IT. Welche Ursachen führen zu solchen IT-Instanzen, welche Potenziale und Risiken haben diese IT-Instanzen und wie lassen sie sich steuern?

This study assesses the status quo of sustainability reporting by German healthcare companies. First, content analysis was conducted based on eight sustainability reports. Second, we developed case studies for three of those firms by investigating the further reporting environment. The results indicate that the specific business sector of a company does not influence its sustainability reporting level. Moreover, the case studies show a differentiated picture in regards to the sustainability activities of those companies. Most companies recognise sustainability as a subordinate part of their company values and often integrate substantial sustainability schemes. Only one company emphasises that sustainability has always been at the core of the company’s philosophy. To ensure a more transparent and sustainable development, this outcome indicates that new laws should not only require the creation of a sustainability report, but also regulate the formalities of it to derive a common standard.

Renewable liquid fuels produced from biomass, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide play an important role in reaching climate neutrality in the transportation sector. For large-scale deployment, production facilities and corresponding logistics have to be established. However, the implementation of such a large-scale renewable fuel production network requires acceptance by citizens. To gain insights into the structure of efficient and socially accepted renewable fuel production networks, we propose a bi-objective mixed-integer programming model. In addition to an economic objective function, we consider social acceptance as a second objective function. We use results from a conjoint analysis study on the acceptance and preference of renewable fuel production networks, considering the regional topography, facility size, production pathway, and raw material transportation to model social acceptance. We find significant trade-offs between the economic and social acceptance objective. The most favorable solution from a social acceptance perspective is almost twice as expensive as the most efficient economical solution. However, it is possible to strongly increase acceptance at a moderate expense by carefully selecting sites with preferred regional topography.

The new generation of three roll mills is able to monitor occurring process loads while dispersion. This paper focuses on the interpretation of the gathered data to find criteria quantifying the dispersion state online. The aim is process time reduction. We used impedance spectroscopy to identify the dispersion state and correlated it with the occurring process loads. The dispersion process of a wide spectrum of carbon based nano particles, namely carbon black, single walled carbon nanotubes, multi walled carbon nanotubes, a few-layer graphene powder, electrochemically exfoliated graphite and a functionalized electrochemically exfoliated graphite was investigated. The filler content was varied along the material’s electrical percolation threshold. The criteria found led to a reduction of processing time and revealed the prevalent mechanisms during dispersion.