"We are not just theoretical, because we deal with the economic management of companies."

Professor Dr Peter Witt and the tasks of the Chair of Technology and Innovation Management at the University of Wuppertal

How do you bring business and science together better, and what actually makes a successful founder? These are some of the questions that occupy the Chair of Technology and Innovation Management, Professor Dr Peter Witt, who has been researching and teaching at the University of Wuppertal since 2010.
"Knowledge transfer is an important topic for us," says Peter Witt right at the outset, explaining that his chair initially sought to find out what the university could do for the business community through a kind of customer perspective in order to ensure meaningful collaboration in the long term. "You try to get closer to each other. This is relatively easy with some companies, as they are open to university contacts. Other, medium-sized companies, however, show a certain reluctance because they often don't know exactly what we do." Witt therefore approaches the companies directly and invites them to his events. "We invite company representatives who either come from innovative companies or are involved in innovation management and technology management. This has the advantage for our students that they get to know these companies."

From Knipex to EON

And the range of local company contacts is impressive. Starting with the Wuppertal municipal utilities - the economists in the Master's programme in Energy of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Information Technology and Media Technology work closely together - through the energy giants EON and RWE to globally networked Bergisch companies such as Vaillant, Knipex, Schmersal, EDE and Vorwerk, there are good, regular contacts. Openness is the key word and we are slowly getting to know each other. The Bonn native sees a helpful and meaningful reciprocal relationship in the arrangement of internships and the joint supervision of final theses. "The companies need well-trained people and our students can get to know the company, see if they like it during an internship and get to know potential employers," explains the scientist. "From our point of view, this is a very positive thing. Final theses in collaboration with companies benefit both sides."

Research focus on family businesses

In recent months, major family businesses have been the focus of the press. The Schlecker bankruptcy and the adoption dispute involving coffee patriarch Darboven are examples that are also being followed by researchers. "There is a great deal of research that shows that these family businesses have advantages and disadvantages compared to non-family businesses," says Witt. "One of the main problems is succession," because of course everything should remain in the hands of the family. However, Witt knows from experience that thinking about this often only starts shortly before retirement. And in the scientist's eyes, that is the biggest mistake.
"There's a joke," smiles the 52-year-old, "that says that at 50 you realise that your strength is waning, at 60 the others notice it too and at 70 only the others notice it." Observations show that the handover often takes place too late. A succession to one's own children often fails due to their unwillingness or the simple fact that the next generation is unsuitable. "And then these family businesses have to open up to what we call external management. Vaillant, for example, is run entirely by external managers; the family is only represented on the shareholders' committee and advisory board. Mr Putsch from Knipex is another example of an owner-managed family business. He is the fourth generation owner, majority shareholder and managing director. The management is in the hands of the family."

Corporate venturing activities

Another area of his chair deals with supporting international companies in corporate venturing activities. These are collaborations with start-ups that benefit both sides. "This is unusual for a large company at first, because they have their own business. But the typical case is that I want to develop new products, but I realise that I can't do it all with my own research and development and I then look for external partners," explains Witt. "A typical case of corporate venturing (venture capital) would be me investing in start-ups." Another form is direct cooperation with a university. "And that brings us right back to our topic. I cooperate with a university and actually develop processes or products together. From the university's perspective, these are third-party funded projects; from the entrepreneur's perspective, it's corporate venturing." And there is also a third, much more modern variant. Some companies form small, separate units under the heading of incubators or accelerators. "You bring in creative people and say, now you're going to develop something outside of our regular business." As an example, he cites Vaillant, a company that for a long time only ever improved existing products in research and development. "And they are now considering forming a separate unit to unleash more creativity." More innovative ideas, without the constant controlling, the classic innovation report, give rise to new company ideas.

What makes a successful manager?

Professor Witt sees leadership development as an important but difficult topic, but one that some universities are already addressing. "The largest provider in this field is the ESMT (European School of Management and Technology)," says Witt. Founded by companies, it is a key pillar in management training. Another example - among banks - is the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, which has also grown very strongly and offers executive development alongside traditional degree programmes.
When asked to describe a good manager, the academic says: "The classic task is what we call leadership, i.e. motivating, inspiring, setting visions, delegating and managing people in the true sense of the word!" But that alone is no longer enough today. "Managers are now expected to be innovative, agile and disruptive," continues Witt, who also recognises the difficulties. "From their traditional understanding as managers, they do what their job description says. They are not trained to spend an hour a day developing a completely new business on the side." And this is where leadership development topics that deal with a culture of innovation come in. Seminars are offered on change management, which deal with the idea of a faster, less bureaucratic and changing approach. "The third big classic is always strategy," explains the expert, "that's where the McKinseys of the world are at work, but also business schools such as London Business School, Harvard Business School or WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management. They do executive development, especially in the area of strategy."

Failure is not a stigma: start-up experience always helps

A completely different target group for university education are young founders who want to bring a good idea to the market.
Witt comments: "There used to be the assumption that you have to gain years of management experience in order to successfully run a company. According to the results of our study, this is not necessary." However, technology experience does help. "If you have already worked with technology, it helps when starting a company." Experience from previous start-ups is just as important. "There are serial founders," Witt reports, "where you realise that those who have already done it once do significantly better in further start-ups. They can practically learn something from the mistakes they have made. They have already established networks, they know financiers, they have experienced more." And the scientist does not see any social stigma in possible failure. "Great founders have always completely wrecked one, two or even three companies, and only then did they succeed," he assures us.

Involving customers in marketing

In order to successfully sell a good product to men and women, skilful marketing is required. "One thing that makes marketing easier is if I have already spoken to customers during the development process," says Witt, "then I have a better understanding of their needs. Ideally, I've also involved them in the development process. Then it is much more likely that they will buy what comes out of it." The customer's actual profit or benefit should take centre stage. "Someone who does this very well," explains Witt, "is the Wuppertal-based company Vorwerk. They always have such great products like the vacuum wiper, the Thermomix and the new tea maker. What they're good at is direct sales. They do personal selling. A sales consultant explains the innovation in your home, on your carpet."
And the brand is also crucial. Once the customer has confidence in it, selling a new product is much easier. "Apple is a good example. We never know exactly what the new Apple product will do, but we buy it anyway because the Apple brand is so strong. We think they will have done it well somehow."

Lone fighters or founding teams?

"Teams are more successful than individual start-ups," Witt states unequivocally and explains why. "As a team, they simply have more manpower. We always observe in the start-up process that individual founders lose interest, while others realise that it's more work than they thought. If you have a team, the company is more stable. Teams are better because they naturally have a better social network. Each individual knows three or four others. And they get capital more easily." Bringing together complementary skills in a team convinces financiers. "There's always someone in the team who is good at marketing, but I also need to get someone else to keep an eye on the finances, for example. And then I might also need a technician who is very good at developing products. The likelihood of one person being good at all three is low," argues Witt.

Enjoying teaching and a sense of responsibility for students

Peter Witt has already won several teaching awards himself. "I think teaching is an important part of our job," he says, "and the basic requirement is that you enjoy it." Before each semester, when he lectures in the university's largest lecture hall with a capacity of 800, he motivates himself anew. "I think the biggest challenge is interaction. We have very large lectures here. Introduction to Economics, there are 600 to 700 people there. You have to be careful that it doesn't turn into a cinema effect, where they're just being fed and there's no interaction. I have to try and manage that every year. What always helps is topicality and practical relevance. It's easier to get students interested in a subject if you don't just argue theoretically, but always give them something illustrative or an example as early as possible." The scientist also likes to fall back on tried and tested methods. "My didactic tool is that I like to write things down, either the old-fashioned way on the blackboard or on these presenters. If you write something yourself, the students can follow it better, because they can write about as fast as I can."
Witt's teaching is practical. He brings students together with companies at an early stage and encourages them to spend time abroad. "I see business studies as an applied discipline. We are not just theoretical, because we deal with the economic management of companies. And then it only makes sense for me to talk about companies from time to time." Not only Bill Gates has a successful start-up story behind him, companies in Wuppertal also serve him as prime examples of successful entrepreneurship. "That's what all the research shows," he summarises, "I need clarity, a role model, I need to raise awareness and I need to present it as a career option. We give people the tools of the trade. Business studies, a bit of accounting and the third is active support for people who want to start up. Wuppertal is well positioned here."

Rupert Murdoch once said: "There are still worlds out there to conquer." With the right tools, a clever lecturer, innovative companies and the right amount of luck, the University of Wuppertal is working on it.

Uwe Blass (interview from 12/09/2018)

Peter Witt studied economics at the University of Bonn and completed his doctorate in 1996 under Professor Albach at WHU with a thesis on "Planning operational transformation processes". After his habilitation at the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was also supervised by Mr Albach and completed in July 2002 on the subject of "Corporate Governance Systems in Competition", he took over the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Business Start-ups at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar on 1 August 2002. On 1 October 2006, Mr Witt moved to the Technical University of Dortmund, where he took over the Chair of Innovation and Start-up Management. Since 1 November 2010, he has held the Chair of Technology and Innovation Management at the University of Wuppertal.