DFG and FWF support Frankfurt School research

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) and the Austrian Science Fund (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, FWF) support the research group “Consumer Preferences, Consumer Mistakes, and Firms‘ Response“ with several million EUR. Three Frankfurt School faculty members belong to this group: Professor Andreas Grunewald and Professor Heiko Karle are Professors of Microeconomics. Professor Markus Reisinger is Professor for Industrial Organisation and Microeconomics and Head of the Economics Department.

Corporate strategies that make use of consumers’ mistakes for profit growth are a key research topic. Examples are complex or opaque procedures to terminate contracts or consciously holding back product information. Furthermore, the researchers want to examine if and to which extent regulation can effectively prevent the implementation of such strategies. Frankfurt School professors will analyse corporate strategies of huge digital platforms. They will also address how companies increase their profits when their clients are careless. Many consumers, for example, tend to not terminate long-term contracts and thereby miss opportunities to save (for example utilities, energy, telecommunication). The professors want to learn which forces matter in this context.

The research group consists of twelve members. In addition to Frankfurt School, they work at Heinrich-Heine-Universität in Düsseldorf, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, ESMT in Berlin, Universität Heidelberg and Vienna University.

“Our faculty conducts world-class research and addresses topics with high relevance for business, society or politics. The DFG and FWF funding once again indicates our research excellence”, says Frankfurt School President and CEO Professor Nils Stieglitz and congratulates the three scientists of the Economics Department.