HSBA Whitepaper
Output from our students' study and research projectsHSBA stands for duality and application-orientated research; we combine challenging theoretical studies with practical professional experience. We encourage our students to take up problems from practice in their study and research projects, to work on them in a well-founded manner on the basis of the current state of the literature and their own research, and then to present them to the interested public. The HSBA white paper is one such output. It is a "work in progress" to provide inspiration and to enter into discussion with you.
In our Master's programme Digital Transformation & Sustainability, we combine the future topics of digitalisation and sustainability. Students conduct application-orientated research based on real projects in order to provide fresh answers to current issues.
Enhancing Acceptance of Digital Transformation in Public Administration through Neuro-Management Approaches
Digital transformation can only succeed if employees embrace change. Based on neurobiological mechanisms such as oxytocin, dopamine, BDNF, and cortisol, targeted approaches can be developed to increase acceptance and successfully drive the modernization of public administration.
Electricity. Location. Standards.
Why Germany Needs a More Nuanced Approach to Accounting.
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, which is also applied in the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), requires that emissions from a company’s electricity consumption be calculated using the most suitable, accurate, and high-quality emission factors available. In Germany, a single nationwide factor is currently used for this purpose. This, however, fails to reflect the existing regional differences in electricity generation resulting from the country’s diverse power plant landscape. As a result, some companies are disadvantaged in their CO₂ accounting, while others benefit from a more favorable average.
This leads to the core argument that electricity generation – and therefore the resulting energy mix – within Germany is so heterogeneous that a differentiated, subnational approach would better meet the level of accuracy required by the GHG Protocol. The methodology, calculations, and significance of subnational emission factors as a location-based competitiveness factor within Germany are summarized in this paper.
Twin Transformation Tendencies
What divides and unites generations in terms of sustainability and digitalisation
The challenges of the 21st century require new approaches – especially at the interface between sustainability and digitalisation. Under the term ‘twin transformation,’ this connection is seen as a beneficial symbiosis. However, there is a lack of knowledge about individual attitudes and behaviours with regard to sustainability and digitalisation – the so-called twin transformation tendencies. Are members of Generations Y and Z really as digitally savvy as is often assumed in society? Do members of Generation X and older generations behave more sustainably than their predecessors? Answering these questions is a prerequisite for individual acceptance, progress and ultimately the success of the twin transformation.
Talk the Walk
How to go the extra mile
There is still a large gap between consumers' attitudes towards sustainability and their actual behaviour. There are numerous factors that explain this discrepancy. Those who understand their mechanisms of action can use responsible marketing as a key to changing behaviour and thus establish sustainable consumption patterns in the long term.