Bachelor-Seminar
SM 452 für Bachelorstudierende (Wirtschaftsinformatik)
Allgemeines
| Verantwortlicher Dozent | Prof. Dr. Armin Heinzl |
|---|---|
| Veranstaltungsart | Seminar |
| Leistungspunkte | 5 ECTS (WI ab HWS 2013), 4 ECTS (WI bis HWS 2013) |
| Sprache | Englisch |
| Prüfungsform und -umfang | Seminarpapier (70%), Presentation (20%), Diskussionsbeitrag (10%) |
| Prüfungstermin | Siehe Infos zur Veranstaltung |
| Infos für Studierende | Registrierung: Bitte beachten Sie unten stehende Informationen! |
Désirée Zercher, M.Sc.
Ansprechpartner Bachelor-Seminar
Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich bitte an Désirée Zercher.
Infos zur Veranstaltung
New Frontiers in Digital Transformation
Kurzbeschreibung
Digitale Technologien und die ständig wachsende Datenmenge verändern unser tägliches Leben und die Wirtschaft radikal. Digitale Technologien, die in den Kern der Produkte, Abläufe und Strategien vieler Unternehmen eingebettet sind, führen in allen Branchen zu einer raschen Umgestaltung bestehender Unternehmen. Rund um die Nutzung dieser digitalen Technologien entstehen neue Marktangebote, Geschäftsprozesse und Geschäftsmodelle, die zu digitalen Innovationen führen1. Die Allgegenwärtigkeit digitaler Technologien verändert unser Verständnis von Informationssystemen (IS) grundlegend, insbesondere im Hinblick auf ihre Entwicklung, Koordination, Nutzung und die Art und Weise, wie wir mit ihnen interagieren. An unserem Lehrstuhl bieten wir ein breites Spektrum an Forschungsthemen im Bereich der Informationssysteme an, wobei wir uns auf neue digitale Technologien wie künstliche Intelligenz (KI) und maschinelles Lernen (ML) konzentrieren. In unserer Forschung nehmen wir die Perspektiven der Mensch-Computer-Interaktion, des Systemdesigns, der Wertschöpfung oder der Organisation ein.
In unserem Seminar werden wir die Gestaltung digitaler Technologien sowie deren Auswirkungen auf Individuen und Organisationen untersuchen. Dabei verknüpfen wir die angebotenen Themen mit unserer laufenden Forschung, die in führenden internationalen Zeitschriften veröffentlicht wurde und wird.
1. Nambisan, S., Lyytinen, K. & Yoo, Y. Handbook of Digital Innovation. 2–12 (2020) doi:10.4337/9781788119986.00008.
Möchten Sie mehr über digitale Innovation erfahren? Werfen Sie einen Blick auf unseren Masterkurs IS 607 (https://www.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/en/heinzl/teaching/digital-innovation/) und/
oder sehen Sie Nambisan, S., Lyytinen, K. & Yoo, Y. Handbook of Digital Innovation, (2020), doi:10.4337/9781788119986. Ziel des Seminars
In diesem Seminar erwerben Sie die Fähigkeit, vorhandene Forschung zu identifizieren, einzuordnen und zu bewerten. Sie lernen, ein eigenes Forschungsprogramm zu entwickeln sowie dieses zu präsentieren und mit den Seminarteilnehmern zu diskutieren. Sie werden in verschiedenen Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens und Schreibens unterrichtet, so dass Sie optimal auf die Konzeption und das Verfassen Ihrer Masterarbeit vorbereitet werden. Wir bieten verschiedene Themenbereiche an, die hoffentlich Ihr Interesse wecken.
HWS 2025
Registrierung
Die Registrierung erfolgt ausschließlich über das Online-Registrierungsportal (erreichbar innerhalb des Uni-Netzwerkes oder über VPN). Während des Registrierungszeitraums können Sie das Seminar im Anmeldeformular auswählen.
Registrierungszeitraum: siehe Termine
Anforderungen:
- Kurzes formloses Motivationsschreiben (maximal 1 Seite):
Bitte wählen Sie ein Thema und begründen Sie Ihre Wahl, z. B. was Sie besonders interessiert und was Sie lernen möchten. Bitte geben Sie auch zwei alternative Themen an.
- Lebenslauf und Studienergebnisse (Notentranskript)
Es werden weder Registrierungen per E-Mail noch unvollständige Formulare im Registrierungstool berücksichtigt.
Themen
Die Studierenden werden gebeten, ein formloses Motivationsschreiben (maximal 1 Seite) zu verfassen, in dem Sie dieThemenauswahl darlegen und kurz begründen.Dieses Motivationsschreiben stellt neben dem Lebenslauf und dem Notentranskript eine wichtige Referenz für die Seminarzulassung dar.
Themengebiet Beschreibung Betreuer mobile health technologies Mobile health technologies (mHealth) are becoming increasingly important tools for digital healthcare delivery and have been a recurring focus in Information Systems (IS) research for several years. In this seminar thesis, students are expected to conduct a structured literature review of mHealth-related studies published in major IS journals (specifically those included in the AIS Senior Scholars' „Basket of 11“). The task involves synthesizing and analyzing the identified literature to provide a comprehensive overview of key topic areas, research contexts, research methodologies, and methods applied. The thesis should also identify gaps and propose directions for future research, with the overall goal of assessing the current state and future trajectory of the mHealth literature stream within IS research. An introductory overview is provided by: Fürstenau, D., Gersch, M., & Schreiter, S. (2023). Digital Therapeutics (DTx). Business & Information Systems Engineering, 65(3), 349–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-023-00804-z Mechthild Pieper Computationally Intensive Theory Constructions Computationally intensive theory development is a novel and increasingly adopted approach in Information Systems (IS) research, enabling the generation and advancement of theory from large-scale digital trace data by combining computational methods with rigorous interpretive analysis. In this seminar thesis, students are expected to review literature on how this methodology has been applied in IS. This includes outlining its methodological foundations and approach, identifying all relevant studies (including earlier work that aligns with the approach) that draw on this approach, analyzing the types of data, contexts, and methods used in those studies, and providing recommendations for future research using this methodology. Good starting points are: Berente, N., Seidel, S., & Safadi, H. (2019). Research Commentary—Data-Driven Computationally Intensive Theory Development. Information Systems Research, 30(1), 50–64. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0774 Miranda, S., Berente, N., Seidel, S., Safadi, H., & Burton-Jones, A. (2022). Computationally Intensive Theory Construction: A Primer for Authors and Reviewers. MIS Quarterly, 46(2), iii–xviii. Mechthild Pieper Generative AI, agency, socio-materiality This seminar thesis investigates the concept of socio-material agency by reviewing interdisciplinary literature on material agency, technological agency, and computational agency. The study examines how agency is ascribed to non-human entities—such as artifacts, systems, and algorithms—and explores whether such forms of agency can exist independently of human intention, cognition, or interaction. The thesis aims to synthesize theoretical and empirical perspectives on how agency emerges at the intersection of human and non-human actors. Building on this foundation, the thesis will conceptualize the agency of generative AI systems, particularly large language models (LLMs) and large vision models (LVMs), evaluating the extent to which these systems exhibit autonomous, emergent, or hybrid forms of agency. Ultimately, the thesis seeks to contribute a nuanced understanding of AI agency within socio-material assemblages and proposes frameworks for analyzing its implications across social, organizational, and ethical contexts. A good starting point is the review of socio-materiality provided in: Zhang, Z., Yoo, Y., Lyytinen, K., & Lindberg, A. (2021). The Unknowability of Autonomous Tools and the Liminal Experience of Their Use. Information Systems Research, 32(4), 1192–1213. Deborah Mateja AI generated avatars, affordances of new technologies This seminar thesis investigates the affordances of avatars and AI-generated avatars through a structured literature review. While the thesis should consider AI-generated avatars broadly, special emphasis is placed on life-sized embodiments. The thesis should synthesize relevant research primarily from the AIS Senior Scholars' „Basket of 11“ journals, complemented by high-quality publications from related disciplines where appropriate. It should examine key affordances and challenges in the use of AI-generated and AI-controlled avatars. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape, identify gaps, and propose directions for future work on avatars and AI-generated and controlled avatars. Possible starting points are: Seymour, M., Yuan, L. I., Dennis, A., & Riemer, K. (2021). Have we crossed the uncanny valley? Understanding affinity, trustworthiness, and preference for realistic digital humans in immersive environments. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 22(3), 9. Vallis, C., Wilson, S., Gozman, D. et al. Student Perceptions of AI-Generated Avatars in Teaching Business Ethics: We Might not be Impressed. Postdigit Sci Educ 6, 537–555 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-023-00407-7 Steffen, Jacob Heaton et al. „Framework of Affordances for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.“ Journal of Management Information Systems 36 (2019): 683 – 729. Bastian Schieck human computer interaction The Uncanny Valley has significantly impacted the understanding of digital representations in human-computer interaction, particularly with avatars and other virtual entities. The Uncanny Valley refers to the unsettling emotional response that occurs when a digital entity appears almost human, but not quite, evoking feelings of eeriness or discomfort. From robots, digital assistants to avatars in video games and e-commerce platforms, nearly humanlike representations elicit complex emotional responses, including eeriness and discomfort. As the use of such avatars becomes more prevalent, it is essential to explore how the Uncanny Valley is conceptualised, measured, and applied in various digital contexts. While research has highlighted the potential impact of the Uncanny Valley on emotional reactions, there remains a lack of clarity on how humanlikeness can be operationalised and manipulated. Methods to measure and quantify uncanny experiences are varied, and little is understood about the antecedents, moderators, and consequences that influence these emotional reactions across different digital environments. This bachelor thesis aims to fill these gaps by conducting a structured literature review on the Uncanny Valley and its operationalisations and theorising. The student will investigate the various approaches used to manipulate humanlikeness and examine the factors that influence emotional responses to avatars and digital characters. By critically reviewing existing studies, the thesis will provide valuable insights into the theoretical foundations, practical applications, and implications of the Uncanny Valley in contemporary digital Rosa Holtzwart Platform Governance Digital platforms implement various governance structures to manage ecosystem innovation and control ecosystem dynamics. These governance frameworks consist of rules, policies, and control mechanisms that platforms use to coordinate innovation activities and regulate ecosystem evolution between different participant groups. While strategic management literature frequently examines network brokering concepts and applies resource dependence theory to understand how platforms manage innovation dependencies and ecosystem dynamics between network participants, in the digital platform literature it surprisingly has evaded scrutiny. This seminar thesis will conduct a literature review of platform governance research with specific focus on network brokering concepts and resource dependence theory. Tobias Maier Explainable AI, Learning, Human-AI Collaboration While explainable AI has traditionally focused on individual decision-making, XAI's potential lies in repeated interactions that enable users to learn about both the task domain and AI system behavior through explanations. However, research on XAI as a learning tool remains scarce. This thesis should investigate how human learning can be supported by different XAI approaches and which explanation methods are especially useful for fostering domain expertise and AI understanding. Students are expected to conduct a structured literature review examining the educational potential of various XAI techniques and identify research gaps in this emerging area. Furthermore, if time permits, students can develop an experimental design and conduct a small-scale experiment testing how different explanation types affect learning outcomes, measuring both task knowledge acquisition and AI system comprehension. Ellenrieder, Sara; Kallina, Emma Marlene; Pumplun, Luisa; Gawlitza, Joshua Felix; Ziegelmayer, Sebastian; and Buxmann, Peter, „Promoting Learning Through Explainable Artificial Intelligence: An Experimental Study in Radiology“ (2023). ICIS 2023 Proceedings. 3. Florian Rüffer Graph Neural Networks, Patient Similarity, Explainable AI Providing similar examples with comparable or contrasting outcomes represents a promising strategy for explaining healthcare AI decisions. However, finding similar patients is inherently difficult due to challenges in defining meaningful similarity and black-box model behavior. Graph Neural Networks can be utilized to learn patient relationships and extract meaningful similarity representations for generating interpretable example-based explanations. This thesis should review how GNNs are applied for patient similarity computation and example-based explanations in healthcare AI. Students should analyze different GNN approaches, similarity learning methods, and identify research gaps in this emerging area. If time permits, students can implement a small prototype demonstrating GNN-based patient similarity for explanation generation. Basic coding skills are advantageous. Florian Rüffer Software platforms, Platform governance, Generative AI, AI Agents Software platforms are fundamentally structured according to a core-periphery model and follow a modular, app-based logic. According to this logic, users engage with discrete applications predominantly developed by third-party providers, which are distributed through centralized distribution channels governed by the platform owner (e.g., Apple's App Store, Google Play Store). This app-centric logic has not only shaped the design of user interfaces and interactions but has also deeply influenced platform governance and ecosystem value creation. Recent technological advancements, most notably the emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), are beginning to influence this established logic. Rather than navigating between individual apps, users may interact with AI agents that mediate tasks across different modules. As such, established platform owners integrate GenAI functionality into their platform core. A more radical development was showcased in 2024, when Deutsche Telekom unveiled a prototype of an „app-less phone“, which replaces traditional app-based interfaces with an AI-driven assistant as primary mode of access to functionalities. In a seminar thesis within this topic area, students are expected to review extant research on platform ecosystems and AI agents and critically assess the evolving role of GenAI and its transformational impact on digital platforms. André Halckenhäußer Healthcare robotics, revenue models Medical robotic systems hold considerable promise for enhancing the efficiency and quality of care in financially constrained healthcare settings. Their advantages include streamlined procedures, improved clinical outcomes, and reduced personnel costs. However, the high up-front investment often deters adoption, making viable revenue models essential for market success. One such system is the medical robot guidoo, developed by a German SME in collaboration with the research campus M²OLIE (Forschungscampus M²OLIE) at the University Hospital Mannheim. Guidoo supports needle-based cancer interventions such as biopsies and ablations. To facilitate its market entry, this seminar thesis will explore appropriate revenue models—specifically, a servitization strategy or bundling with third-party medical devices. The thesis will review academic literature on revenue models in healthcare robotics, analyze comparable market examples, and incorporate insights from the product owner. The objective is to inform the commercialization strategy for guidoo in a way that is both academically grounded and practically applicable. This topic offers students the opportunity to engage with a real-world challenge of significant impact. It is especially suitable for students of high motivation and ambition. Michael Sternberg Kursüberblick und -termine
Event Zeitraum / Deadline Arbeitsergebnisse Registrierungszeitraum 25.08. – 28.08.2025 (23:59) Registrierung über das Online-Tool – Fügen Sie Ihren Lebenslauf, das Notentranskript und Ihr Motivations¬schreiben an Versand der Bestätigungen 04.09.2025 (mittags) Deadline zum Rücktritt 05.09.2025 (mittags) Kick-Off Meeting 09.09.2025, 15:00 pm – 15:45 pm Room: A001, L 15, 1–6 Teilnahme an der Kick-Off-Einführungsveranstaltung
Kontakt und Treffen mit Ihrem Betreuer1. Meilenstein 23.09.2025 Ersten Entwurf bei Ihrem Betreuer einreichen: – Detaillierte Gliederung – Literaturverzeichnis 2. Meilenstein 21.10.2025 Zweiten Entwurf bei Ihrem Betreuer einreichen: – Inhaltsverzeichnis – Einführung: vollständig formuliert – Methodik: vollständig formuliert – Ergebnisse: strukturierter Entwurf – Diskussion: strukturierter Entwurf Abgabe der Arbeit 04.11.2025 (mittags) Die Seminararbeit ist am Abgabetag in digitaler und gedruckter Form einzureichen. Senden Sie die PDF-Version bis spätestens 12:00 Uhr per E-Mail an Désirée Zercher (zercher@uni-mannheim.de) und setzen Sie dabei das Sekretariat des Lehrstuhls (wifo1@uni-mannheim.de) sowie Ihren *Betreuerin* in CC. Zusätzlich sind am selben Tag zwei gedruckte Exemplare beim Sekretariat abzugeben. Die Abgabe gilt nur dann als vollständig, wenn alle drei Schritte fristgerecht erfolgt sind. Abgabe der Präsentation 13.11.2025 (mittags) Optional: Bitten Sie Ihren Betreuer vorab um Feedback zur Präsentation – Senden Sie Ihre Präsentation im PDF-Format per E-Mail an Désirée Zercher Präsentation 18.11.2025 & ggf. 19.11.2025 Room: Experience Lab Besuchen Sie das Seminar und beteiligen Sie sich aktiv an der Diskussion am Seminartag – Präsentieren und diskutieren Sie Ihre Seminararbeit im gemeinsamen Workshop – Diskussion und Feedback für mindestens eine Seminararbeit der anderen Studierenden Literatur
- Webster, J., & Watson, R. (2002). Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), XIII-XXIII.
- Leidner, D. E. (2018). Review and theory symbiosis: An introspective retrospective. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 19(6), 1. (PDF)
Für den Zugriff auf die Literatur müssen Sie sich im VPN der Universität Mannheim befinden.