Master's thesis receives best thesis award

The Scientific Commission of the Erich-Gutenberg-Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. (EGA) awards the master’s thesis of Ms. Lynn Schreckenberg, supervised by the TIM Chair, as best thesis 2024. The master's thesis entitled “The Impact of Past Events on Firm Innovativeness: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Firms” deals with the question of how historical events - such as internal or external crises - influence the innovative capacity of companies. 

The thesis revealed that even negative events can have positive long-term effects on a company's ability to innovate. Family businesses react differently than non-family businesses, which offers important strategic implications for managers. By combining the so-called “imprinting theory” with the path dependency approach, Ms. Schreckenberg opens up new perspectives that both enrich the academic discussion and offer practical recommendations for action. Her work thus not only provides theoretical insights, but also offers clear and actionable recommendations for practice. Companies can use her findings to incorporate historical experience into innovation strategies and increase their competitiveness.

The Erich-Gutenberg-Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. promotes the exchange between science and practice in the field of business administration and recognizes outstanding scientific achievements. The award for theses is presented annually and includes prize money in addition to recognition. The award ceremony took place on November 30, 2024 as part of the annual conference of the Erich-Gutenberg-Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. at the Excelsior Hotel in Cologne. 

We congratulate Ms. Schreckenberg and her work for this excellent achievement and wish her all the best for the future.