Best Thesis Award: What do we need for digital teamwork?

The award is presented each year to students who hand in a particularly innovative and well-researched thesis. For Strategic Marketing Management student Clara, the interest in the topic was sparked by her own experience of working in a marketing department: "I noticed how big the difference between face-to-face teamwork and virtual teamwork is and found it exciting to find out how creative teamwork is affected by the pandemic."

Virtual can be personal

One key finding: remote work needs to be organized differently than face-to-face work. Among other things, coordination within the team takes on greater importance, as well as individual support for employees by managers.

At the same time, elements from face-to-face communication should be transferred to digital exchanges: "Among colleagues, it is necessary to consciously interact personally, such as via chat or through the use of emojis." Some of the results were also surprising to Clara: "The participants in my study were very good at defining teamwork as a theoretical concept. In practice, however, it became clear that there was a lack of shared team awareness and team pride."

Clara is now already able to put the findings from her thesis into practice. After completing her Master's degree, she started her working life as a personnel consultant: "A great mix of communication, marketing & sales!"

Our other Best Thesis Award winners are Luisa De Alzaga Achter, Isabelle Gauger, Sabrina Heinritz, Isabella Michel and Alena Martha Schneider. They received cash prizes as well as discounts for a Master's degree at ISM or a doctorate.