The following Master's theses from different cohorts of the LIO program received the LIO Netural, opens an external URL in a new window Master's Thesis Award. The award is presented to theses in recognition of outstanding contributions to research on leadership, innovation and/or organization, and providing insight for decision-makers.

Award Winners 2021/22

The award for first place was presented to Mario Stich for his thesis on the recently emerged hybrid work phenomenon.

Making Hybrid Work Work - A systematic literature review on hybrid working teams, opens an external URL in a new window, Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elke Schüßler, Linz 2022

Hybrid work has emerged as a new way of post-pandemic working and combines remote and in-person work. While virtual team management and classical face-to-face management settings are heavily researched, literature on hybrid working teams is scarce. Given the recency of the hybrid work phenomenon, this master thesis uses recently published work trend publications to identify the main problems of hybrid teamwork and reveals gaps in the currently available academic literature. Simultaneously it serves as a professional guide for managers in order to sustain a high-performing hybrid workforce. This could be reached by the development of a new IPO (input-process-output) model for hybrid teams.

Overall, the thesis has shown, that the field of hybrid work is a highly interesting research field with much potential for future research. Especially for managers it shows, that hybridity brings a lot of differences compared to classical face-to-face or fully virtual teams. In concrete, this thesis demonstrates that managers should pay special attention to team member inclusiveness in hybrid work environments since several social problems occur in certain team settings. Leading hybrid teams is all about transparency, supporting employees in their autonomy, flexibility, and freedom in order to thrive.

Second place was awarded to Michael Bräuer and Hannah Schneller for their thesis on virtual teams.

Developing effective virtual teams - A cross-team analysis based on the IPO model, opens a file, Supervisor: Assoz. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Barbara Müller-Christensen, Linz 2022

Virtual teams are no longer just a fad in the workplace. Advanced technology, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in an explosive interest in research of virtual teams, as well as in utilization of them. Organizations have been increasingly pushed to increase the level of virtuality in teams to ensure competitiveness. The presented IPO model for virtual teams provides a framework illustrating not only relevant factors of different levels but also the intercorrelation of input factors and team processes to targeted outcomes.

The model further allows for determining the maturity level of virtual teams by utilizing it as a guide to elaborate on the implemented input factors and team processes. However, applying the IPO model in this function during the research demonstrates the importance of moderator virtuality. The developed IPO model is most effective when applying it to entirely virtual teams or teams with a high level of virtuality.

Moreover, this scientific area lacks empirical research. To address this literary gap, we conducted an empirical study consisting of interviews and a survey. We gathered empirical data from three different teams of an organization and conducted a cross-team comparison to better understand to what extent the different factors vary across different team contexts. The results of the study indicate that trust and transparency are valid additional moderators that contribute to virtual team effectiveness as well as virtual maturity.

Award Winners 2020/21

This year, Kateryna Hunko was presented with the first place award. Her thesis explored how a person's hobbies influences their opportunities when applying for a job.

Expert or Person: Does it Matter for Recruiters Who We Are? The Role of Hobbies in a CV, opens a file, Supervisor: Univ.  Prof. Dr. Matthias Fink, Linz 2021

This year, Sophia Kapl wond second place for her thesis focusing on how to motivate participants in leadership development programs.

Participant Motivation in Leadership Development programs, opens a file, Supervisor: Assoz. Univ. Prof. Dr. Barbara Müller, Linz 2021

This year, third place goes to Lukas Hammerich for his thesis discussing the role of culture during the change process and in support of digital transformation.

The Digital Transformation: The role of Culture in the DT Change Process, opens a file, Supervisor: Dr. Stefan Konlechner, Linz 2021

Award Winners 2019/20

Awards were presented to two equally outstanding theses. Marcella Krawinkler is the of one of the awards for her thesis focusing on identifying core elements and driving factors in support of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Facilitating Sustainable Entrepreneurship, opens an external URL in a new window, Supervisor: Univ. Prof. Dr. Robert Breitenecker, Linz 2020

Maximilian Kuchenbauer, Nico Mang, and Samuel Scherzinger jointly wrote the second award-winning thesis.  They developed a scale to measure how migrant entrepreneurs relate to their environment.

The Concept of Mixed Embeddedness: A Scale Construction, opens an external URL in a new window, Supervisor: Univ. Prof. Dr. Matthias Fink, Linz 2020