TITLE:
Forecast of Changes in Business Administration Driven by Digitalization
AUTHORS:
Susann Wieczorek, Sven Ludwig, Lars Büttner, Mathias R. Bauer, Peter Markovič
KEYWORDS:
Forecasting, Digitalization, Industry 4.0, Business Process Management, Higher Education, Digital Innovation, Business Administration
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.9 No.4,
July
13,
2021
ABSTRACT: This paper on hand deals with a research gap, since there were no sources
on the topic of changes in business administration studies induced by Industry
4.0 until the year 2018. For this reason, a document analysis was used to
examine essential studies from the years 2010 to 2016. This was followed by twenty interviews with experts from universities
and companies. Furthermore, a total of 71 people took part in a
subsequent online survey. With digitization,
the requirements for business administration graduates are also changing
from technical competence to methodological and digital competence.
Digitization has an impact on all areas, politics, society and the economy. The
higher education sector is not unaffected by this either, because universities
are forerunners in the transfer of knowledge. For this reason, there is a need
to reform and at the same time strengthen the education system. Educational
institutions should focus on effective learning and relevant learning content.
Thus, the present research deals with the changes at university (especially business
studies) and company level induced by Industry 4.0, focusing on the demands on
business economists coupled with the entrepreneurial changes of tomorrow. Using
the mixed-method approach, a qualitative and a quantitative research approach
was carried out. This was based on a three-step sequential research approach:
1) document analysis, 2) expert interviews and 3) online surveys. As a result,
the majority of the experts that have participated in the survey confirmed a
strong impact of digitalization on the working environment. This change of the
workplace requires an adaption by the employees as well as a revision of
academic curriculars. Traditional education in business administration is not obsolete, however, requires a stronger
link with topics of information technologies. Business administration in
higher education must be subject to the following changes: 1) adaptation of
curricula with regard to current trends business analytics, blockchain,
artificial intelligence, 2) adaptation of IT infrastructure and resources in
knowledge transfer such as blogs, online lectures, etc. as well as 3) stronger
cooperation between business, science and education.