Professor Christoph Hienerth
Chair of Entrepreneurship and Creativity

Chairholder
+49 (0)261 6509 261
christoph.hienerth(at)whu.edu
Professor Christoph Hienerth was appointed to the Chair of Entrepreneurship and New Business Development at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in June 2012. He holds a doctoral degree (equivalent to a PhD) from WU Vienna, where he also completed his post-doctoral degree (Habilitation) as an assistant professor at the Department for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. From 2006 to 2012 he held a tenured position as Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, Department for Innovation and Organizational Economics. Professor Hienerth had various research visits and fellowships at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard Business School (HBS), McGill University, and George Washington University.
His research has been published in leading international and national refereed journals such as Research Policy, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Long Range Planning, Journal of Organizational Design, Family Business Review, Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft (ZfB). His work, both in research as well as in teaching has won several awards. Professor Hienerth has gained expertise in corporate entrepreneurship through several industry projects with international companies such as Schindler, Deutsche Telekom, Palfinger, Bayer, MAN, LEGO, Fujitsu, Siemens VDO, SAS, Grundfos and Coloplast. He has given keynotes and was scientific advisor for governmental institutions in several countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland, UK, Czech Republic.
Research Focus
- Identification and development of opportunities
- Entrepreneurship in open and user innovation settings
- Entrepreneurial risk and uncertainty
- Corporate Entrepreneurship
- Business ecosystems and new business models
- Social Entrepreneurship
Publications
Digital due diligence activities and goal setting in equity crowdfunding: exploring the differences between novice and experienced investors
Riar, F., Hienerth, C., Berg Jensen, M. (2021), International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Vol. 13 (1), pp. 1-26
Guest editorial: special issue - Managing open and user innovation by projects: sensing, seizing and transforming
Keinz, P., Hienerth, C., Gemünden, H., Killen, C., Sicotte, H. (2021), International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 39 (2), pp. 97-101
Call for papers: special issue - Managing open and user innovation by projects: sensing, seizing and transforming
Keinz, P., Hienerth, C., Gemünden, H., Killen, C., Sicotte, H. (2018), International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 36 (8), pp. 1109-1111
Perspective: understanding the nature and measurement of the lead user construct
Hienerth, C., Lettl, C. (2017), Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 34, pp. 3-12
Forecasting the commercial attractiveness of user-generated designs using online data: an empirical study within the LEGO user community
Berg Jensen, M., Hienerth, C., Lettl, C. (2014), Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 31, pp. 75-93
Synergies among producer firms, lead users, and user communities: the case of the LEGO producer-user ecosystem
Hienerth, C., Lettl, C., Keinz, P. (2014), Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 31, pp. 846-866
User community vs. producer innovation development efficiency: a first empirical study
Hienerth, C., Hippel, E., Berg Jensen, M. (2014), Research Policy, Vol. 43, pp. 190-201
Designing the organization for user innovation
Keinz, P., Hienerth, C., Lettl, C. (2012), Journal of Organization Design, Vol. 1, pp. 20-36
Exploring how peer communities enable lead user innovations to become standard equipment in the industry: community pull effects
Hienerth, C., Lettl, C. (2011), Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 28, pp. 175-195
Exploring the nature and implementation process of user-centric business models
Hienerth, C., Keinz, P., Lettl, C. (2011), Long Range Planning, Vol. 44 (2018), pp. 344-374
Exploring how lead users develop radical innovation: opportunity recognition and exploitation in the field of medical equipment technology
Lettl, C., Hienerth, C., Gemünden, H. (2008), IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 55, pp. 219-233