Strategy, Marketing & Management Cluster
Welcome to the website of the Strategy, Marketing & Management cluster!
The Strategy, Marketing & Management (SMM) cluster focuses its teaching and research on people and their decisions as a company success factor. This involves people inside and outside organizations such as employees, customers, and other stakeholders. The SMM cluster actively addresses the complexity of human behavior and develops sustainable solutions to the resulting problems.
The goal of strategic management of companies is to ensure sustainable business success. Companies operate in a dynamic environment characterized by social and technological disruptions, in which socio-ecological sustainability is of central importance. In this environment, companies need to properly understand and successfully manage their role in order to deal with the various challenges. In the SMM cluster, relevant theories, methods, and tools are taught to prepare students for these tasks.
Questions and issues
The SMM cluster addresses many different issues in teaching and research: How can global companies act in a socially and ecologically sustainable manner? How can companies meet the challenges of digital transformation? Which insights from behavioral research must be taken into account when designing effective corporate governance? How can companies target their customers? To answer these and other questions, various theories and methods are taught in the SMM cluster.
Solution approaches
The SMM cluster teaches competencies and methods of corporate governance, human resources, and innovation management, marketing, and information systems management. In addition to teaching theoretical contexts and research methods in lectures and seminars, practical modules such as case study seminars and projects are offered in which the knowledge acquired is applied.
Career prospects
Courses of the SMM cluster prepare students for employment in a wide variety of industries. Exciting job opportunities arise in the fields of corporate governance and business development, information systems, innovation, human resources, and marketing. However, students of the cluster are also very well qualified for roles in agencies, market research companies, and management consultancies, or as future company founders. In view of the major challenges of deglobalization, decarbonization, and digitalization that our students will be dealing with in their professional lives, digital transformation and global sustainability are important focal points of studies in the SMM cluster.
Professors and chairs within the cluster
Cluster Assistant
Range of Courses in the SMM cluster
Frequently Asked Questions about studies in the SMM cluster
- Can I write my thesis at a chair where I have not written a seminar paper?
There is no general rule that stipulates that the seminar paper and the thesis must be written at the same chair. However, some chairs require that you have already written your seminar paper at their chair in order to be supervised. However, the chairs' requirements differ. Information on the requirements of the respective chairs can be found on the chairs' websites.
- How often are seminars or other courses offered in the cluster and where can I find relevant information?
Each chair of the cluster offers at least one bachelor seminar each semester, for which you can apply via the cluster's central application process. Theses can usually be written each semester as well. Information on other modules (e.g., master seminars, lectures) or further details on bachelor seminars can be found on the chair's websites or in the module handbooks.
- How do I register my major?
The STURA offers major information sessions at the beginning of each semester. There is no official registration for the major/minor. You decide the major/minor when you register for exams. By registering for exams in the corresponding module group, you determine which major/minor you choose. You can also change module groups for modules that you have already taken, given that the modules are in the respective module group. If you have any questions regarding exam registration, please contact the examination office.
- When I'm registering for exams in STUDIS, I have several options in which module group I can register for the exam, which module group is the right one?
You can find information on how many credits you need in each module group in the examination regulations. If you have any problems, please contact the examination office. If you have registered incorrectly or have changed your mind, you can have your registration changed at the examination office. A module can only belong to one module group.
- How many seminar papers am I allowed to write?
The examination regulations specify that you may and must submit exactly one seminar paper worth 5 ECTS. The seminars in the respective semester can be found in the module handbook. In addition, seminars are presented in the cluster's central information session at the beginning of each semester.
- When do the information sessions on the cluster's bachelor theses and seminars take place?
The central information sessions on the central application process for bachelor theses and seminar papers take place on monday of the first week of lectures. If the chairs hold chair-specific information sessions, these take place during the first week of lectures. The dates are communicated on the cluster's website a few weeks prior to the start of the semester.
- What are the requirements for seminar papers and bachelor theses in the cluster?
The cluster has general requirements that you have to fulfill in order to apply for a seminar or bachelor thesis (a certain number of ECTS and modules in the first study period must have been completed). In addition, the chairs have further individual requirements, for example, which modules you should have successfully completed in order to be able to write a thesis at the respective chair (more details can be found here).
- Can bachelor students of the cluster be sure to get a place for a bachelor theses or seminar paper in the cluster?
If you are a SMM major and you meet the general requirements of the cluster, we guarantee you supervision for your bachelor thesis in the Cluster SMM. However, it cannot be guaranteed that all students will be able to write their thesis at their preferred chair. Therefore, please inform yourself as early as possible about the chairs' requirements for bachelor theses.
- How are master theses assigned in the cluster?
Master theses are awarded on a decentralized basis. You apply directly to the respective chairs. Find out as early as possible about the requirements and application deadlines of the chairs.
Recognition of Credits Earned Abroad
Basic information and information on the recognition of credits earned abroad can be found on the website of the Center for International Relations
Please contact the following persons to answer cluster-specific questions about recognition:
For BWL Bachelor & Master und GBM Bachelor: Janne Skamel
For GBM Master: Moritz Bruckner
Please provide the following information to quickly process your questions regarding the recognition of credits in the cluster or Major/Minor Strategy, Marketing & Management (former Major/Minor Strategy & Information):
- Study program at the University of Augsburg (Bachelor, Master)
- Name of the host university
- Host country
- Federal state of the host university, if applicable
- Location of the Guest University
- Planned/completed study program at the host university
- Degree of the study program planned/completed abroad (Bachelor, Master, MBA, etc.)
- Subject description of the courses to be recognized (pdf in appendix; possible languages: German, English, Spanish)
Research Seminar of the SMM cluster
The SMM cluster invites national and international researchers to present their work at the research seminar. The aim of the seminar is a cross-institutional scientific exchange.
Faculty members and interested people are invited to attend the lectures. The current dates can be found below.
Referent | Topic | Date |
Prof. Don Kuratko (Indiana University) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Current Trends in Business and Economics Research |
01. December 2023 10 am J 1207 |
Dr. Yusheng Fu (Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
Shaping Employee Green Initiative: The Role of Corporate Entrepreneurship Climate |
10. October 2023 10:30 am J 1207 |
Prof. CB Bhattacharya (University of Pittsburgh) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Business through the Sustainability Lens |
14. July 2023 10:30 am J 2101 |
Prof. Marco Berti (University of Technology Sydney) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
Fighting Rire with Fire: Counteracting Escalation of Commitment in the Management of Paradoxes |
14. July 2023 10 am J 2101 |
Prof. Dr. Mike Russo (University of Oregon) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
Entrepreneurship for the Public Good: A Review |
24. October 2022 10:15 am J 1207 |
Prof. Dr. Marius Lüdicke (City University of London) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Who’s Bad? Sources and Forms of Deviance in Consumer Communities |
30. September 2019 2 pm J 1207 |
Prof. Dr. Alexander Kritikos (DIW Berlin, Universität Potsdam) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Does the Motivation to Start a Business Impact Entrepreneurial Performance in the Long Run? |
10. July 2019 3 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Viswanath Venkatesh (University of Arkansas) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Pursuing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons Learned from a Project in Villages in India |
24. May 2019 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Mari-Klara Stein (Copenhagen Business School) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Urgency and Anticipation: Time Framing in Organizational Transformation with Information Technology |
6. February 2019 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Donald F. Kuratko (Indiana University Bloomington) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
The Future of Entrepreneurship Education |
6. December 2018 2 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Jeroen J.L. Schepers (Eindhoven University of Technology) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
The Solution Selling Paradox: The Imperative of Sales-Service Cooperation for Cross-Selling Outcomes |
18. October 2018 2 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. André Marchand (Universität Köln) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Do Firms Need New Strategic Resources in a Digital Environment? |
21. June 2018 10.30 am J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Jason Thatcher (Clemson University) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Social Media and New Employee Selection: How Does New Technology Change an Old Game? |
12. June 2018 12 pm J 2101 |
Professor Dr. Martin Mende & Professor Dr. Maura Scott (Florida State University) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
How Humanoid Service Robots Influence Consumer Experience and Consumption Cash or Credit? How Consumers Pay Can Influence How Others Judge Them |
14. May 2018 10 am J 2101 |
Professor Dr. Hartmut Höhle (Universität Mannheim) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Design and Evaluation of Auto-ID Enabled Shopping Assistance Artifacts in Customers' Mobile Phones: Two Retail Store Laboratory Experiments |
9. May 2018 12 pm Auditorium ZWW |
Professor Dr. Jorge Lopez Puga (UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
A Bayesian Network Approach to Model Academic Entrepreneurship |
17. April 2018 10.30 am J 1426 |
Professor Dr. Myriam Cloodt (Eindhoven University of Technology) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
Capability-Based Acquisitions: The Complexity of Transferring Regenerative Dynamic Capabilities |
20. March 2018 11 am J 1426 |
Professor Dr. Alexander Kritikos (DIW Berlin, Universität Potsdam) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
What Makes an Employer-Entrepreneur |
13. December 2017 15.30 pm J 2101 |
Professor Dr. Sierk Horn (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
The Role of Language in Shock and Risk Assessment |
7. December 2017 12 pm J 2102 |
Professor Dr. Ana Ortiz de Guinea Lopez de Arana (École des Hautes Études commerciales Montréal) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Digital Ecodynamic Configurations for Performance in Industrial Service SMEs: An Exploratory Investigation |
14. November 2017 2 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Christy Cheung (Hong Kong Baptist University) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Societal Impacts of ICT Use: Understanding Bystanders’ Proactive Reporting Responses to Online Harassment |
11. October 2017 2 pm J 2101 |
Professor Dr. Elisa Ughetto (Politecnico di Torino) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Security Interest Releases on US Collateralized Patents in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis |
21. June 2017 3 pm J 2101 |
Professor Dr. Markus Groth (University of New South Wales) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Why Our Presentations Suck, and What We Can Do About It: An Evidence-Based Approach |
29. May 2017 2 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Ola Henfridsson (University of Warwick) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Recombination in the Open-Ended Value Landscape of Digital Innovation |
10. May 2017 1.30 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Stephan Ludwig (University of Surrey) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
What Happens in Vegas Stays on TripAdvisor? Automatic Assessment of Narrativity in Big Data and Consumer Responses |
12. Januaryy 2017 3.45 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Donald Kuratko (Indiana University) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Corporate Entrepreneurship – How Theoretical Research Shapes the Field |
5. December 2016 2 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Steve Elliot (University of Sydney) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Managing Business for Sustainability |
4. October 2016 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Sabine Kuester (Universität Mannheim) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Is There No Time Like the Present? An Investigation of On Hold Decisions in the Innovation Process |
23. September 2016 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Dennis Leyden (University of North Carolina - Greensboro) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
The Legacy and Promise of Vannevar Bush |
21. June 2016 10 am J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Laurent Bibard (ESSEC Business School) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
On Ethics, from Norms to Vigilance |
3. June 2016 09.30 am J 2101 |
Professor Dr. Dwayne D. Gremler (Bowling Green State University) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Employee Emotional Competence: Measure Development and Construct Application |
11. May 2016 3.45 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Alexander Benlian (Technische Universität Darmstadt) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
The Implications of Relaxing Input Control for Software Platform Ecosystems — Evidence from a Natural Experiment on Kickstarter |
18. April 2016 3 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. James Cunningham (Newcastle Business School) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Publicly Funded Principal Investigators as Boundary Spanners, Scientific and Market Shapers |
29. February 2016 10 am J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Chee-Wee Tan (Copenhagen Business School) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Understanding Electronic Service Failures: Formation, Impact and Recovery |
27. January 2016 12.15 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Till Talaulicar (Universität Erfurt) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
Organisationale Veränderungsfähigkeit und strategisches Personalmanagement: Ein ressourcenbasierter Untersuchungsansatz |
21. January 2016 10.30 am J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Caroline Wiertz (City University London) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Advertising to Early Trend Propagators: Evidence from Twitter |
19. November 2015 2 pm J 1207 |
Dr. Maoliang Bu (Nanjing University) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Wagner |
Environmental Regulation and the Relocation of Polluting Plants in China: Differences between Foreign and Domestic Firms |
21. July 2015 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Dennis Leyden (University of North Carolina - Greensboro) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Universities as RJV Partners |
16. June 2015 10 am J 1207 |
Dr. Stefan Worm (HEC Paris) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Why Marketing Matters in the Boardroom: Firm Performance Outcomes of Top-Management-Team Marketing Attention |
11. June 2015 3.45 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Jane Webster (Queens University) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Encouraging Sustainable Energy Use in the Workplace |
21. January 2015 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) Invited by: Professor Dr. M. Paul |
Human Brands in the Digital Age |
9. December 2014 10 am J 2102 |
Professor Dr. Christoph Zott (Universidad de Nevarra) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Towards an Institutional Perspective on Business Model Innovation: How Entrepreneurs Achieve Robust Business Model Design |
28. November 2014 12 pm J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Dennis Leyden (University of North Carolina - Greensboro) Invited by: Professor Dr. E. Lehmann |
Toward a Theory of the Entrepreneurial Process |
11. June 2014 10 am J 1207 |
Professor Dr. Richard Watson (University of Georgia) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Effective IS Research |
6. June 2014 5.30 pm J 2102 |
Professor Dr. Gerard J. Tellis (University of Southern California) Invited by: Professor Dr. D. Veit |
Talent or Learning? Crowdsourcing Ideas for Innovation |
19. May 2014 11.30 am J 2102 |