A numbers person who models behaviour


Stephan Leitner realized at an early stage that he is a numbers person among the business and economics specialists, someone who feels more comfortable with the quantitative subjects than with the “softer” subjects. Today, following his recent habilitation, the newly minted associate professor pursues his research at the Department of Management Control and Strategic Management, where he is working on models that calculate the decision-making behaviour in companies as well as the effects of decisions, taking into account the behavioural sciences.

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Is a team composed of the best always the best team?

At the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014, Russia’s ice hockey “dream team”, programmed for gold, lost to Finland during the quarter finals following a series of disappointing games. They were eliminated even though the team was effectively comprised entirely of superstars, the most powerful individual players from all of the nation’s teams. Was it a simple coincidence, or is there a systematic explanation?

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Why do people go to work despite being ill?


“Presenteeism” is the term used to refer to the behaviour of people in employment who go to work despite being ill. This widespread phenomenon has far-reaching consequences, not just for the individuals concerned, but also for the companies and for the entire economy. Heiko Breitsohl is working to create a greater awareness of this tricky issue.

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Packages delivered by air: Drones as delivery service

What has travelled by road to reach us until now could be delivered by drones in the future. This has many advantages: Poor rural transport infrastructure or persistent congestion in large cities can be bypassed. In 2013, Amazon was among the first to announce the intention to deliver goods using small autonomous drones. But when might this technology truly become part of our daily lives? Drone researcher Pasquale Grippa provides some answers.

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