Serafin Research Award 2025: Witten/Herdecke University students honoured for their practical research

The two students Niklas Kaminski and Nicolas Schweer from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) were honoured with the Serafin Research Award this year. The prize, endowed with 2,500 euros each, honours a Bachelor's and a Master's thesis that shed light on a current problem from an entrepreneurial perspective.

Effects of state intervention on the financial markets

Niklas Kaminski's bachelor's thesis in the Management (B. Sc.) degree programme looked at the consequences of short-selling bans, such as those introduced in France during the coronavirus crisis. Short selling involves investors betting on falling share prices - a practice that is often criticised in times of crisis. The comparison between France, where the ban applied, and Germany, where there was no ban, shows that The measure did not bring the hoped-for stability. On the contrary, the ban in France did more harm than good to the market. The study thus provides valuable insights into the question of how state intervention in financial markets works.

Corporate social responsibility: Aspiration and reality

In his Master's thesis for the Strategy & Organization (M. Sc.) degree programme, Nicolas Schweer investigated why companies in the automotive industry deal with their social responsibility - known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) - in such different ways. He analysed the annual and sustainability reports of VW, BMW and Daimler over a period of twelve years and was able to show that CSR strategies are usually slow to change. Although companies react to crises or pressure from customers and politicians with additional measures, economic self-interest often remains the decisive factor. Ethical motives are often emphasised, but rarely lead to concrete action. The work makes it clear: companies are increasing their commitment, but social well-being is usually not given equivalence alongside financial goals.

When science provides impetus for practice

This is the 13th time that the Munich-based Serafin Group has presented its award.

"The work of Niklas Kaminski and Nicolas Schweer impressively demonstrates how diverse entrepreneurial issues can be - from the stability of international financial markets to the social responsibility of large companies. It is precisely this combination of scientific depth and practical relevance that we want to promote with the Serafin Research Award," says Philipp Haindl, founder of the Serafin Group.

"The award-winning work exemplifies what is important to us at the UW/H: research that is both academically sound and provides impetus for practical application," says Prof Dr Dirk Sauerland, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society at the UW/H. "Our students learn to look at economic dynamics not in isolation, but in the context of social responsibility - which is exactly what the two award-winning projects reflect."