Forecasting Next Generation Manufacturing / Contributions to Management Science (PDF)

(Germany). As Research Domain Leader in the Cluster of Excellence "Internet of Production" within the German Excellence Initiative he focuses on the usage of industrial data and data spaces in the context of Industry 4.0 and platform-based business ecosystems. In his research, he examines, among other things, which strategies and business models companies must adopt in threatened markets to avoid losing their competitive position to new entrants. He has received several (inter)national awards for his research and teaching activities (e.g., nomination for the Innovation McKinsey Award, AOM Awards, Borchers Plakette, Hauschildt Award of the VHB, Best Lecture of the RWTH Aachen)




Alexander Mertens is head of the Department of Ergonomics and Human-Machine Systems at the Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics (IAW) at RWTH Aachen University (Germany). He has a master's degree in computer science from RWTH and received his Ph.D. in theoretical medicine in 2012 and in engineering two years later. He is the founder and managing director of a company for the transfer of ergonomic findings into industrial practice; heads the Aachener DenkfabrEthik (Germany) as a citizen-oriented platform for an interdisciplinary discourse of ethical, legal, and social implications of technologization; and coordinates the interdisciplinary Research School in the Cluster of Excellence "Internet of Production." His research focuses on the target group-oriented design of mobile information and communication technology as well as telemedical services and systems.



Sebastian Pütz received his bachelor's degree in psychology from RWTH Aachen University (Germany) and his master's degree in human factors engineering and ergonomics from the Technical University of Munich (Germany). He is a research associate and Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Ergonomics and Human-Machine Systems at the Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics (IAW) at RWTH Aachen University. He is also the coordinator of an interdisciplinary workstream within the Cluster of Excellence "Internet of Production", which investigates the human factor in Next Generation Manufacturing. Sebastian's research focuses on the cognitive ergonomics of human-machine interfaces with the goal of optimizing operator workload in socio-technical production systems.



Marc Van Dyck is a research associate at the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) at RWTH Aachen University (Germany). At the institute, he leads the workstream in the Cluster of Excellence "Internet of Production." His research focuses on platform ecosystems in the industrial sector which he has presented at international conferences (e.g., AOM, HICSS, R&D Management). For his studies, he received a doctoral scholarship from the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation for Freedom. In addition, Marc is a visiting research fellow in the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard University (USA). Prior to his doctoral studies, Marc worked as a senior consultant at McKinsey Digital. He holds a bachelor's degree in international business from DHBW Stuttgart and a master's degree in politics and public administration from Zeppelin University, both in Germany.