Our Team

Our team consists of university professors and project managers with many years of industry experience and proven expertise in methods of applied economic and social research.

Prof. Dr. Marc Kuhn

Director

  • Studied business administration and earned a doctorate at the Universities of Bayreuth and Tübingen.
  • International activity in the automotive industry
  • Since 2006 Professor at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart.
  • Since 2009 scientific director of the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF).

Main areas of expertise
B2B marketing, sales management, pricing, empirical market research

Prof. Dr. Matthias Rehme

Director

  • Studied economics; scientific work and doctorate at the Institute for Marketing and Retailing at the University of Göttingen
  • several years of professional experience with focus on marketing in the publishing industry.

Main areas of expertise
Services marketing, services management, consumer goods marketing

Meike Grimme

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Bachelor studies in Media Economics at the Stuttgart Media University (HdM)
  • Master studies in Communication Management at the University of Hohenheim
  • Several years of professional experience in product management, publishing and content management
  • Since 2019 doctoral candidate in Communication Sciences and Economics
  • Research Assistant at the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF)

Main areas of expertise
Media management, communication management and strategies, market positioning, brand communication, digital content strategies, innovation management

Daniel Grühn

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science at the University of Konstanz
  • Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Konstanz
  • Since 2014 Various activities in (online) marketing
  • Since 2018 research assistant at the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF)

Main areas of expertise
Empirical research with emphasis on qualitative research approaches and Future Expierence Groups.

Marius Huber

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (Industry- and Service Management) at Cooperative State University Baden-Wuerttemberg
  • Master of Science in International Management at Steinbeis University Berlin
  • Master of Business Administration at Faculdade da Indústria in Curitiba, Brazil
  • Since 2017 PhD student at University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy
  • Since 2011 in the IT industry with focus on Internet of Things (Chief of Staff, Service Manager, Consultant for Delivery Partners, Project Manager, Professional Assistance to the CEO, Junior Business Analyst)

Main areas of interest
Smart Products, Innovation Acceptance, Neuromarketing

Prof. Dr. Sabine Korte

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied economics at the University of Hohenheim, doctorate at the institute of Marketing & Business Development (University of Hohenheim)
  • Training as a management assistant in marketing communication, research assistant at the institute of Marketing & Business Development at the University of Hohenheim
  • Several years of professional experience as management consultant with focus on marketing and sales
  • Several years of professional experience as business coach for marketing and sales in a global corporation in the chemical industry
  • Teaching positions at various universities, including UCL in Mons, Aalen University and DHBW Stuttgart
  • Since 2017 Professor for Marketing at the DHBW Stuttgart
  • Since 2018 Head of the degree course Digital Business Management at DHWB Stuttgart

Main areas of expertise
Digital economy, digital marketing, customer experience management, buyer behaviour and market research, industrial goods marketing, services marketing, sales management, scientific work

Kerstin Kron

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Diploma for psychology at the Julius-Maximillians-University Würzburg
  • Several years of experience in project management of international market research projects for various industries. Among others for Siemens AG, PHOENIX pharmaceutical trade and DHBW Stuttgart

Main areas of expertise
Qualitative and quantitative customer satisfaction research

Anne Köpsel

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Basic studies of business informatics at the TU-Ilmenau
  • Study of media systems at the Bauhaus University Weimar
  • Research assistant at the University of Ulm, Institute for Psychology and Education, Department of General Psychology
  • Since 2010 doctoral studies at University of Ulm
  • Since 2017 research assistant at the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF)

Main areas of expertise
Empirical research with focus on quantitative research approaches, usability evaluations

Prof. Dr. Maren Lay

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied economics; scientific work and earned a doctorate at the Institute for Marketing and Management at the University of Hohenheim
  • Several years of experience in university management, management consultancy and HR management
  • Since 2017 Professor for Personnel and Organizational Development at Heilbronn University

Main areas of expertise
Sustainable HR and change management, leadership and team development

Julia Lepthin

Project Manager

  • Studies of business administration at the Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg
  • Sales controlling for an international automotive supplier
  • Several years of consultancy work in the field of mergers & acquisitions

Main areas of expertise
Sales controlling, company analyses, development of continuation concepts

Prof. Dr. Thomas Meyer

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied social work at the Stuttgart University of Cooperative Education
  • Studied sociology, psychology and political science at Tübingen University
  • Doctorate at Ludwigsburg University of Education
  • Professional activity, labour market and organisational consulting as well as accompanying and implementation research at university-related research institutes
  • Since 2018 Professor for field research in social work at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart
  • Scientific management of the Master’s program in Social Planning at the Center for Advanced Studis (CAS)

Main areas of expertise

Evaluations and scientific monitoring, social planning, conceptual and organisational development in social services, inclusion research, labour market and qualification research

Prof. Dr. Christoph Neef

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied business education; scientific work and doctorate at the Institute for Vocational and Business Education at the University of Hohenheim
  • Several years of working experience with focus on logistics and controlling at Robert Bosch GmbH
  • Since 2011 Professor at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University.

Main areas of expertise
Logistics, business process management, controlling

Benjamin Österle

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Bachelor of Engineering and Master in Business Management at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart
  • Four years in sales functions of a German power tool manufacturer
  • PhD from the University of Twente, NL
  • Invited Professor for International Marketing and Strategic Marketing at HEC Liège, BE (2019/2020)
  • Since 2019 Professor of Business Administration with a focus on Management in Commerce/Retail/Wholesale at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart

Main areas of Expertise
(B2B-)Marketing, Market Research, Retail Management, Wholesale Management, Sales

Vanessa Reit

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied sociology, history, art and media studies at the University of Konstanz
  • Since 2009 head of the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF) at the Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg Stuttgart

Main areas of expertise
Empirical economic and social research with emphasis on quantitative research approaches

Maximilian Schwing

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Bachelor of Science in Business Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
  • Master of Science in Management & Technology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM)
  • Several years of experience in the fields of strategy and organizational development in various industries
  • Since 2019 research assistant in the external funded project Urban Mobility Lab of the Schools of Engineering & Business of the DHBW Stuttgart as well as at the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF)
  • Since 2019 cooperative doctoral studies at the Toulouse School of Management (TSM)

Main areas of expertise
Strategy and organizational development, methods of project management

Prof. Dr. Thomas Seemann

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied industrial engineering (Dipl. Wi.-Ing.) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Portland State University, USA and doctorate at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg.
  • 2003-2010 Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), project manager with focus on industrial goods, technology and automotive industries
  • Since 2010 Professor at Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg
  • Since 2017 Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at DHBW Center for Advanced Studies

Main areas of expertise
Strategic management, decision-making processes, technology and innovation management

Dr. Sarah Selinka

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Studied sociology and business administration at the University of Tübingen and Mannheim.
  • 2012-2015 research assistant at the Institute for Sustainable Management at the University of Ulm and doctorate on the topic “Carsharing and the Society of Tomorrow – An Environmentally Conscious Approach to Automobility?
  • Since 2016 research assistant at the Center for Empirical Research (ZEF) at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart

Main areas of expertise
Empirical social research with emphasis on quantitative research approaches

Gabriel I. Yuras Zúñiga

External Project Manager and Cooperation Partner

  • Sciences Bachellor (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), Marine Biology major und Master in Oceanography Universidad de Concepción, Chile.
  • Research Assistant at the Universidad de Concepcion (Chile), Faculty of  Biology and Oceanography, Department of Oceanography.
  • Researcher at the Universidad de Concepcion (Chile), Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Department of Geophysics.
  • Research Assistant at the Universität Ulm, Institut for Psychologie und Pedagogic, Department of General  psychology
  • Since 2019 Laboratory engineer at the Zentrum für Empirische Forschung (ZEF), DHBW Stuttgart

Main areas of expertise
Empirical research with a focus on quantitative research approaches, analysis of large amounts of data, programming, hardware integration in experimental situations.