Rosenheim Research Group on Economics and Business
Interdisciplinary exchange, discussion and mutual inspiration are the driving forces behind the initiative of the "Rosenheim Research Group in Economics". Professors and staff from all departments of the Faculty of Business Administration regularly conduct research on current topics such as international accounting, AI and sustainability. Our research is both theoretical and application-oriented and often in cooperation with companies. The results flow into the optimization of courses and project work and are made available to interested parties here. In addition, the scientific exchange with practice is specifically promoted at events, for example, within at the annual Business Administration Day.
If you are interested in or have questions about the research group of business administration, please contact Prof. Dr. Kathrin Rößle kathrin.roessle@th-rosenheim.de.
Business Administration Day
The Business Administration Day offers a platform for exchange between companies and the Faculty of Business Administration, on current issues. In 2022, the day will be dedicated to the topic of sustainable management of companies, a cross-disciplinary focus in research and teaching of the faculty.
How can sustainable corporate governance be achieved? This question was the focus of the 9th Business Management Day at the Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences. Around 180 participants learned about current approaches and recipes for success.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for companies as customer awareness of it grows. It is about ensuring the long-term survival of a company, the long-term preservation of jobs, the optimization of a company's performance under ecological aspects and a company's social commitment.
Prof. Dr. Stephanie Kapitza, Vice President of the Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences, welcomed the guests, who were both online and at the university, before Julia Drexler and Prof. Dr. Bernd Hacker from the Faculty of Business Administration led through the program. The speakers and participants in the panel discussions came from a mix of globally operating conglomerates such as Allianz SE and the major bank HSBC, and regionally successful companies such as Doghammer, Werndl & Partner GmbH and Sparkasse Rosenheim-Bad Aibling. In addition, medium-sized national companies with a connection to Rosenheim were involved, including the tax consultancy WTS and the auditing company BDO.
The first speaker was Evi Weichenrieder, Head of Sustainability Communication at HiPP. She presented the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the well-known baby food manufacturer: protection of terrestrial ecosystems, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, promoting sustainable industrialization and innovation, and ensuring quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. “These goals affect us in many ways directly in the business purpose,” said Weichenrieder.
Severe criticism of greenwashing
Dominique Simon, managing director of the fashion start-up Rock on & Namasté, addressed the topic of greenwashing. This is a critical term for PR methods that aim to give a company an environmentally friendly and responsible image in public without sufficient basis for it. She herself found her way to her sustainable fashion label when she was still a buyer for a large chain in Bangladesh. “We were after every euro we could get from the poor people there. And then I saw what was going on there, how these people had to work and what one euro could mean. The following week, I quit,” Simon recalled.
Maximilian Hundhammer also knows the problems of consistently enforcing sustainability in the supply chain. The founder of Doghammer, a local producer of high-quality shoes, reported on his learning process. “We started in the garage at home when I was still a student at the Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences. We asked ourselves important questions there: Does it have to be vegan? Can we even know every material down to the smallest detail and prove the supply chain? Do we have to compromise on sustainability if the longevity suffers?” They only found some answers while doing business, according to Hundhammer.
Maximilian Werndl from Werndl & Partner spoke on behalf of the construction industry. For him, the reusability of building materials is an essential key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. After all, the construction industry is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gases.
Johannes Wesemann, founder of the non-governmental organization Allrise, formulated one possible way to achieve greater sustainability: “We must take legal action against states that systematically undermine global climate protection efforts.” Wesemann believes that legal action is a suitable means of achieving more – more protection of flora and fauna, of common goods, of the climate and more attention worldwide.
Sustainability has also arrived in the financial sector
Sustainability is also highly relevant in the area of taxation and finance. “Yes, we have also lost business and customers because we have adhered to the internal guidelines for sustainable lending,” said Katarina Wagner of HSBC. It has been accepted that safeguarding the long-term image and thus pursuing sustainable goals are to be given a higher priority than short-term profit-making. According to Wagner, the focus on sustainable values is now of great importance at HSBC and is therefore taken into account in both financing and investment.
In this context, Alexander Korn from the Rosenheim-Bad Aibling savings bank spoke of a significant increase in interest in sustainable and ecological forms of investment. “Although the market still falls well short of investors' expectations, the range of offers is gradually improving,” said Korn. Government regulations are helping to make ESG criteria more visible and comparable. “In this area, more needs to be done to combat misinformation and thus greenwashing,” said the financial expert.
