In the blog article, we provide an overview of the recent publication and research activities of MBS professors.
This summer, the new anthology “Theories of Change” edited by Karen Wendt was published, to which MBS Professor Dr. Barbara Scheck contributed a chapter on “Social Reporting Standards (SRS): Making Social Impact Visible”. Companies today no longer operate in an environment where only risk return and volatility describe the business environment, but also uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity). This complexity requires new qualities, competencies and frameworks, as well as a new mindset for investments, funding and financing. The collected expert knowledge in the anthology “Theories of Change” offers an introduction to the new approaches to understanding impact investing and sustainable development economics. The authors examine topics such as sustainable finance, impact investing, impact entrepreneurship, alternative currencies, and deep learning. Existing Theories of Change frameworks are analyzed and alternative models are created.
In her contribution, Barbara Scheck examines how non-profit organizations can use the SRS to report in a standardized way on projects, initiatives activities – based on and at the same time differentiating from the Financial Reporting Standard for traditional profit-oriented companies.
The individual chapters as well as the entire anthology can be purchased here.
The renowned scientific journal Frontiers of Psychology recently published “Narcissistic Leaders – Promise or Peril? The Patterns of Narcissistic Leaders’ Behaviors and Their Relation to Team Performance” by MBS Professor Dr. Ellen Schmid. Together with her co-authors Kristin Knipfer and Claudia V. Peus, the winner of the MBS Research Award 2020 deals with the impact of leader narcissism on team performance in a three-part study. The paper was facilitated by funds from the research award.
The first study examines what level of leader narcissism produces the best team performance. The subsequent qualitative interview study analyzed patterns of narcissistic leadership behavior. The goal was to better understand how different behaviors combine into effective versus destructive leadership and what impact this has on team performance. A third, experimental study investigated the relevance of the different leadership patterns associated with specific levels of narcissism across contexts. The results of the study indicate that context tends to play a minor role in understanding the narcissism-leadership-performance puzzle, and that it is much more the extent of narcissism and the behavioral patterns that accompany it that are important.
The article can be read here.
