18 October 2024

Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences is pleased to announce the outstanding achievement of its former student Max Schülting. At this year's G-Forum, the largest conference in the German-speaking world on the topics of entrepreneurship and innovation, Max Schülting was awarded the FGF Norbert Szyperski Technology and Innovation Management Award 2024 together with Prof. Dr Lutz Göcke (Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences) and Prof. Dr Matthias Menter (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) for the joint paper "Aligning for Innovation: The Moderating Effect of Person-Organisation Fit on Business Model Innovation and Firm Performance".

In their award-winning article, the authors deal with a central topic for companies in the digital age: business model innovations. These describe the further development of existing or the creation of completely new business models and are considered a decisive success factor for start-ups and established companies alike. In their study, the researchers investigated how companies can promote the development of business model innovations and increase the contribution of these innovations to the company's success.

A key focus of the study was on the importance of "person-organisation fit" - i.e. the alignment of values, norms and goals between employees and the company. Using an extensive data set of over 80 listed companies from various sectors in Germany, which were examined over a period of 16 years (2007 to 2022), the study showed that a high person-organisation fit strengthens the positive effects of dynamic skills on business model innovations and company performance. A low person-organisation fit can even reduce these effects and lead to negative interactions.

"Our results clearly show how important the person-organisation fit as a match between employees and the company is for the emergence and success of business model innovations," explains Professor Göcke. "Companies must not only consider structural innovation factors, but also create a culture in which employees and company goals are in harmony in order to be successful in the long term," Professor Menter continues.

Receiving the prestigious FGF Norbert Szyperski Award emphasises the relevance and quality of this work. It offers both theoretical and practical implications for companies that want to be successful in an increasingly dynamic environment.

Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences congratulates Max Schülting and his supervising professors Prof Dr Matthias Menter and Prof Dr Lutz Göcke on this outstanding success and wishes them continued success for their future academic and professional projects.

About the G-ForumThe G-Forum is the leading scientific conference for entrepreneurship and innovation in the German-speaking world. Every year, researchers, practitioners and young talents meet there to discuss the latest scientific findings and trends. The FGF Norbert Szyperski Technology and Innovation Management Award is presented to outstanding scientific papers that make a significant contribution to research in these fields.