Business administration (IBES)

Methodological and theoretical pluralism is an important characteristic of the research and teaching conducted in the field of business administration at the Faculty. The empirical (‘positive’) and design-based (‘constructive’) analyses of microeconomic processes and structures utilise a variety of market and company theories. For the sake of epistemological pluralism, the researchers avoid limiting themselves to individual, dominant methods and theories preferred in mainstream research. Instead, they deliberately cultivate the academically charged relationship between different methodological and theoretical approaches. Research in business administration at the Essen campus does not focus solely on its inherent object of inquiry. It answers current research issues from a range of perspectives and, in doing so, establishes connections with many disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, computer science, the engineering sciences, medicine, law and economics. Due to these close links with other fields, research results are featured in renowned publications in all those disciplines. The business administration arm of the IBES has secured a large volume of external funding for its research (e.g., from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, German Research Foundation, EU, Fritz Thyssen Foundation, Hans Böckler Foundation etc.). It is one of the most successful of its kind in Germany.