Research focuses

Digital Innovation, Digital Transformation, Innovation Actors, especially Innovation Champions, Digital Technologies: Industrial IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain

Curriculum vitae

• 04/25 – now: Assistant Professor for Digital Transformation and Innovation, University of Cologne
• 2023 – 2025: Postdoctoral Researcher and “akademische Rätin a.Z.”, University of Cologne
• 2020 – 2023: Research Associate, University of Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
• 2018 – 2022: Dr. rer. pol. Information Systems, University of Bamberg (summa cum laude)
• 2017 – 2020: Research Associate, German Graduate School of Management and Law, Heilbronn
• 2015-2017 M.Sc. Information Systems, Goethe University, Frankfurt (Main)
• 2010-2014 B.Sc. Economics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich

Selected publications

• Drechsler, K., Reibenspiess, V., Eckhardt, A. and Wagner, H. -T. (2025) Understanding the Role of Innovation Actors’ Social Network in the Digital Age: A Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 72, pp. 409-425, 2025,
• Chandra Kruse, L., Drechsler, K. (2022) Digitalization of Multisensory Collective Activity: The Case of Virtual Wine Tasting. Journal of Information Technology, 37(4), 341–358.
• Drechsler, K., Grisold, T., Seidel, S. (2022). Evolution of Infrastructures through Digital Options: The Case of the Industrial Internet of Things. Proceedings of the 43rd International Conference on Information Systems, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Reibenspiess, V., Drechsler, K., Eckhardt, A., Wagner, H.‑T. (2022). Tapping into the Wealth of Employees’ Ideas: Design Principles for a Digital Intrapreneurship Platform. Information and Management, 59(3), 103287.
• Drechsler, K., Gregory, R., Wagner, H.‑T., Tumbas, S. (2020). At the Crossroads between Digital Innovation and Digital Transformation. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 47(23), 521–538.
• Drechsler, K., Wagner, H.‑T., Reibenspiess, V. (2019). Risk and Return of Chief Digital Officers’ Appointment – An Event Study. Proceedings of the 40th International Conference on Information Systems, Munich, Germany.