Deutsche Version
Die Universität Witten/Herdecke ist durch das NRW-Wissenschaftsministerium unbefristet staatlich anerkannt und wird – sowohl als Institution wie auch für ihre einzelnen Studiengänge – regelmäßig akkreditiert durch:




The Bertelsmann Stiftung has funded the Reinhard Mohn Institute (RMI), which is named after its founder, since its foundation in 2010. With its research , teaching and dialogue , the institute provides substantial national and international impetus for reforming corporate governance theory and practice.
The RMI operates in line with the participative and responsible governance philosophy of Reinhard Mohn, with a solid foundation of organization theory. Its new content conception perceives strategy, management, organization and control increasingly as inter-organizational processes in the sense of cooperative governance in networks.
Instagram: rmi_uwh
Email: rmi@uni-wh.de
09. October 2023, UWH, NB. BEGE.021 and per Zoom.
Julia Grimm from Stockholm University presents research on how common ground among diverging stakeholder groups can be built in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) that tackle social and environmental challenges.
How to you get adversaries to collaborate? Drawing on a complementary case study of the German “Partnership for Sustainable Textiles” and the Swedish “Fossil Free Sweden Initiative”, Dr. Grimm and her collaborators Rebecca Rühle (VU Amsterdam) and Juliane Reinecke (Universität Oxford) show how the divergent agendas of different participants in MSIs tend to jeopardise collaboration. This issue can be addressed, however, by fostering common ground to reach deliberation for substantial collaboration. The research presented and discussed in this hybrid RMI Research Seminar has important practical implications for MSIs and their participants such as companies, trade unions and civil society organisations.
Dr. Julia Grimm is an Assistant Professor in the Management, Organisation and Society Department at Stockholm University, Stockholm Business School. Having a background in organisation and management studies and qualitative research methods, her primary research interests include phenomena such as transnational and collaborative governance, collective action and social movements, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships – all in the context of global supply chains. She works on issues around social and environmental sustainability and mostly draws on framing and paradox theory.
RMI Research Seminars provide a forum for discussing latest findings in research areas matching or complementing those of the Reinhard Mohn Institute of Management at Witten/Herdecke University. Speakers are usually international, early-career and/or interdisciplinary-minded researchers. This hybrid event is open to anyone interested. Please register, indicating if you intend to participate in person on Campus or via Zoom (link will be sent), by email: rmi@uni-wh.de.
The research results of the RMI published in renowned journals are mostly freely available to the public (so-called "Open Access" publication). Here is the overview with the corresponding links: Articles
"How can we save the future?“ was a very challenging topic at this year's annual symposium - Symposiums - on the 07th of September 2022 at the Universität Witten/Herdecke - we tackled this insumountableand complex challenge with the support of our wonderful guests and our key-speakers who provided us with ideas, examples and role models on where the answers may lie.
The initial introduction by the university's president Martin Butzlaff already underscored the need for a new approach: Does the present situation demand a compulsory "make it good again year" for all the damage that mankind has caused?
The politician Wibke Brems received highly critical questions from the audience and demonstrated her dedication and openness to the challenges we face, whilst upholding the need for continued support for industries during this period of necessary transformation within the energy sector and beyond.
The historian Annette Kehnel held a deeply intersting talk considering historical references to the topic of sustainability. It is welcoming to reflect that her her bestselling book, »Wir konnten auch anders. Eine kurze Geschichte der Nachhaltigkeit« (We can do things differently. A Short Story of Sustainability) was inspired during a seminar with students.
During the so called "Future Chat" we asked Tobias Esch, Annette Kehnel, Brigitte Mohn und Katharina Weghmann which individuals served as role models were during these challenging and uncertain timesdifficult times. The choice fell between Mother Teresa and the anti-hero Elon Musk there was certainly no lack of inspiring suggestions.
Tobias Esch presernted the concept of generativity: It is an important aspect of our social well-being and overall contentment when we believe that we have something that is a worthy of passing on.
We are interested to know what left a lasting impression on our participants. What provided them with a lasting sense of inspiration? Which thoughts and ideas did you take with you? What thoughts are generated when we consider the future perspectives?
We will continue this dialogue and the next opportunity is already at the upcoming event "RMI Distinguished Lecture" held by Professor Mark Ebers (University of Cologne) on the 12. Oktober 2022, at 18:00 at the University of Witten/Herdecke in our university's new audotorium - Unternehmensführung unter VUCA Bedingungen: Erstens kommt es anders, und zweitens als man denkt“ "Corporate Management according to VUCA conditions: It's always different than anticipated"
Wibke Brems MdL Faction Leader for the GRÜNEN in the State Parliament of NRW. She has a degree in electrical engineering with a focus on renewable energy. She is an expert in climate change and energy politics and as a politcitan has experience in mining, economics and digital technologies, and town planing. She is a member of various advisory boards in tertiary education, associations and companies..
Prof. Dr. med. Tobias Esch is a medic and health scientist with a focus on neurology. He heads the "Institut für Integrative Gesundheitsversorgung und Gesundheitsförderung" (Institution for Integrative Medicine and Well-being) at the University of Witten/Herdecke. He studied and received his PhD in Göttingen, and works as a senior doctor for gerneral practice and integrative medicine, he has also researched at the Harvard Medical School. He is well known as the 'happiness researcher' and is the author of books such as »Mehr nichts!« and »Die bessere Hälfte«.
Prof. Dr. Annette Kehnel has held the Chair of Medieval History at the University of Mannheim since 2005. After completing her doctoral studies at Trinity College Dublin (PhD 1995), she taught and researched at the TU Dresden, where she habilitated in 2004, before being appointed to Mannheim. Her bestseller "Wir konnten auch anders. A Short History of Sustainability" was awarded the NDR Non-Fiction Book Prize in 2021.
Dr. Brigitte Mohn is a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board and the supervisory boards of the Bertelsmann Group and a shareholder in Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. She studied political science, art history and German literature in Bamberg, Münster and Augsburg, earned her doctorate at UW/H in 1993 and is a member of the RMI Board of Trustees. Topics close to her heart include health, community affairs, civil society and entrepreneurship.
Katharina Weghmann is a Partner and Global ESG Forensics Leader at Ernst & Young (EY). She holds a PhD from Columbia University in New York and is an expert in business ethics and systems learning. Capital named her one of the "Top 40 under 40" in 2018. In addition to her consulting work for many well-known companies, she has held international teaching positions and is a member of the Supervisory Board of UW/H and the RMI Board of Trustees.
The RMI Debate on May 18, 2022, the Reinhard Mohn Institute brought one of the current controversial issues in business research to the University of Witten/Herdecke: Can facts and assumptions be separated in management research along the lines of Evidence-Based Medicine, as the term Evidence-Based Management suggests?
Strategic decisions such as the market entry of the company, the choice of a management concept for the design of work processes in the company, or the question of which team is best suited for which task are often difficult decisions for managers. This is because the data and facts that make such a decision easier or even possible are often lacking. It is therefore not surprising that managers' (and management researchers') eyes turn toward medicine and the hard criteria of evidence-based medicine: Randomized controlled trials with large groups of patients show whether a treatment helps or not. Evidence-based medicine - the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of the current best external, scientific evidence to make medical care decisions for individual patients - in practice means integrating individual clinical expertise with the external evidence from systematic research. There is no doubt that evidence-based medicine saves lives.
Evidence-based management aims to follow this example. Research in this tradition examines whether, for example, specific entrepreneurship training has a positive effect on indicators of business success. In many countries, such interventions can have a positive influence on the ability of individuals to ensure the survival of their families.
Prof. Dr. Nicole Skoetz (Universitätsklinik Köln) introduced the approach of evidence-based medicine as a physician and computer scientist. Her presentation "Evidence-based Medicine in the context of COVID-19: from hopes to facts" used the example of different treatment options for COVID-19 to show how evidence-based guidelines are developed on the basis of numerous studies.
Prof. Dr. Michael Frese (Leuphana Universität Lüneburg und Asia School of Management, in Zusammenarbeit mit MIT Sloan Management) asked in his presentation, "Evidence based - What else?" and showed how randomized controlled trials in management research create evidence on the effectiveness of training.
Prof. Dr. Alfred Kieser (Universität Mannheim and long-time associate professor at RMI) took a critical position towards such evidence-based management. In his presentation, he raised the question "Does evidence-based management actually improve the quality of management research and thus management?".
Prof. Dr. Hendrik Wilhelm (RMI) moderated the debate, which focused not only on the constraints on the feasibility of randomized controlled trials but also on the challenges of implementing evidence. The 50 or so participants present, a colorful mix from business, medicine and science, repeatedly took the opportunity to ask questions and join in the discussion - and were then able to exchange ideas more intensively in person at a small reception following the event.
To mark the 100th anniversary of Reinhard Mohn's birth, the institute named after him invited people to a dialog between academia and business to reflect on topics that were close to Mohn's heart and that continue to move executives, researchers and society today. For the "RMI Corporate Management Day 2021," the RMI also published in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation (BSt) the book (Buch) - title: „Was heißt unternehmerische Verantwortung heute? Reflexionen zum 100. Geburtstag Reinhard Mohns“ erschienen (ISBN 978-3-86793-940-9).
In terms of content, the symposium was structured according to Reinhard Mohn's four principles: Lead Participatively; Develop Corporate Culture; Contribute to Performance; Move People. For each of these, there was an overarching discussion question as a stimulus (see program ). Each program item was introduced with a short impulse, which was then followed by a moderated discussion among the respective speakers and with the audience.
The speakers were: Martin Butzlaff (UW/H), Annette Gebauer (ICL GmbH), Guido Möllering (UW/H), Brigitte Mohn (BSt), Liz Mohn (BVG), Birgit Riess (BSt), Martin Spilker (BSt), Thomas Voigt (Otto Group), Christiana Weber (University of Hanover), Jürgen Weibler (FernUniversität Hagen), Silvia Wiesner (Unilever) and Hendrik Wilhelm (UW/H).
The event took place as a hybrid event, where the speakers and some officials were on site in the Audimax of the UW/H and about 50-60 guests participated interactively online via Zoom. For each program point after the greetings, there was the possibility to actively contribute to the discussion with requests to speak or in the chat.
For those interested the zoom recording of the event: https://youtu.be/3UBoqnYkv38
On the topic of "How strong are diverse corporate cultures?", top-class speakers exchanged views with around 80 guests from business and academia at the "RMI Corporate Management Day 2020" in the UW/H Audimax on March 5.
Introduction (Grußworte und ersten inhaltlichen Impulse) from Dr. Heike Schütter (UW/H) und Martin Spilker (Bertelsmann Foundation) was followed by the keynote address by Prof. Sonja Sackmann, PhD (University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich), a pioneer of research on the topic. She highlighted the challenges but also the opportunities of cultural diversity and complexity, as well as the possibilities of dealing with them strategically and organizationally. During the first coffee break, the guests were able to discuss further how good communication can make the potential for conflict productive. Link to the presentation: Link zum Vortrag von Sonja Sackmann
Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Guido Möllering from the RMI presented five central theses of his new: Publikation „Vielfalt in Unternehmenskulturen“ in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The guests exchanged views on this intensively in marble breaks and in the plenary session, and a common understanding was developed that managers should understand culture as a versatile "toolbox" and take on a mediating role. Link to the presentation: Link zum Vortrag von G. Möllering
After a midday snack, Dr. Immanuel Hermreck, Chief Human Resources Officer of Bertelsmann SE and member of the RMI Board of Trustees, presented the guests with his particularly exciting presentation:Vortrag „Verbindendes bei aller Vielfalt“ the perspective of a group that attaches great importance to its "essentials" of creativity and entrepreneurship and at the same time needs diversity as an essential prerequisite for this.
Afterwards, Dr. Hermreck continued the discussion with many guests at one of the discussion booths that were set up this year for the coffee breaks. At the other booths, topics were discussed that had been suggested by the guests in the run-up to the event, such as the implications of cultural diversity for HR work.
Prof. Dr. Günther Ortmann and Clemens Wagner also spoke about new, agile ways of working in an automotive company, which encountered a firmly established bureaucracy. The case study is also included in the publication by Prof. Möllering presented in the morning and shows how new cultural elements can enter a company through the back door, as it were, disrupt things, but can be used together with established elements. Link: Link zum Vortrag von Prof. Ortmann und Clemens Wagner
The afternoon was rounded off by a methodological outlook by RMI Prof. Dr. Hendrik Wilhelm on the topic of "Capturing Corporate Culture Better „Unternehmenskulturen besser erfassen“, who showed how important it is, when analyzing culture, to first clarify the epistemic interest and then to go in sufficiently broad and deep.
After Prof. Dr. Möllering's closing remarks and words of thanks, all guests had another opportunity to exchange ideas and make contacts with each other and with the speakers at the closing reception. There was lively communication around the event on Twitter and LinkedIn. There was a live streaming via the YouTube channel of the UW/H and the recording of the entire event is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYt6fApfw8 .
Some 30 international scientists discussed the topic on November 21 and 22, 2019, during a conference organized by Simone Schiller-Merkens (RMI) and Philip Balsiger (Université de Neuchatel). RMI-Workshops alternative forms of organization in the economy.
Keynote presentations by three renowned scientists framed the discussions.
Ignasi Martí Lanuza (ESADE, Barcelona) referred to the persistence of institutions of injustice and critically discussed the extent to which marginalized people have the possibility of resistance, and finally addressed possibilities for social restoration.
Francesca Forno (Universidade di Trento) spoke about the rise of local forms of mobilization following the global justice movement and the attempts of so-called "sustainable community movement organizations" to develop alternative ways of organizing economic exchange at the local level.
Tim Bartley (Washington University in St. Louis) reflected on the difficulties in regulating global supply chains, both publicly and privately, and reminded us of the limits in the "hope for transcendence" that these regulations are supposed to provide.
Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Guido Möllering
Fakultät für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft (Department für Management und Unternehmertum)
Reinhard-Mohn-Institut für Unternehmensführung
Direktor
Phone: +49 2302 / 926-501
E-Mail: Guido.Moellering@uni-wh.de
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Phone: +49 (0)2302 / 926-502 (Institute Office)
Email: rmi@uni-wh.de
The Board of Trustees of the Reinhard Mohn Institute serves as advisory, shaping and supervisory body. Members of the Board of Trustees:
Dr. Ralph Heck (Chairman), CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung
Prof. Dr. med. Martin Butzlaff (Vice Chairman), President, Witten/Herdecke University
Dr. Immanuel Hermreck, Chief Human Resources Officer, Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
Dr. Brigitte Mohn, Member of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung
Liz Mohn, Vice Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung
Dr. Monika Olivo, Managing Director, Faculty of Management, Economics and Society, Witten/Herdecke University
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dirk Sauerland, Dean, Faculty of Management, Economics and Society, Witten/Herdecke University
Katharina Weghmann, Partner by EY Forensic & Integrity Services, Head of Integrity
Die Universität Witten/Herdecke ist durch das NRW-Wissenschaftsministerium unbefristet staatlich anerkannt und wird – sowohl als Institution wie auch für ihre einzelnen Studiengänge – regelmäßig akkreditiert durch: