Team

Team

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Firk

Chairholder

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Firk

Room:
LB 226a
Phone:
+49 203 37-93108
Email:

Bio:

Sebastian Firk is the holder of the Chair of Management Control since June 2025. His research lies at the intersection of strategy, controlling, and artificial intelligence. He is currently focusing in particular on how the introduction of AI technologies affects companies, executives, employees, and - specifically - the controlling function, and which tools enable the transformation process to be shaped in a targeted manner. Methodologically, his research is quantitatively oriented and utilizes innovative natural language processing techniques for data collection. His work has been published in renowned accounting, business informatics, and management journals, including Accounting, Organizations and Society, Contemporary Accounting Research, European Accounting Review, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Long Range Planning, Management Accounting Research, and Strategic Management Journal. Sebastian Firk regularly serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals and is a member of the editorial boards of Corporate Governance: An International Review, the European Accounting Review, and Management Review Quarterly. In addition, he serves as an associate editor for the Review of Managerial Science.

Curriculum Vitae:

Since June 2025, holder of the Chair in Management Control at the Mercator School of Management at the University of Duisburg-Essen
2024 Appointment offer from Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Chair of Management Accounting (declined)
2024 Appointment offer from ESCP Business School, Chair of Management Control (declined)
2019 – 2025: Associate Professor in the Department of Accounting and Auditing at the University of Groningen (Netherlands)
2017 – 2019: Academic Council at the Chair of Management and Controlling, Georg-August University of Göttingen
2017 Visiting Researcher at the Accounting Department of Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam
2016 Ph.D. (Dr. rer. pol.) from Georg-August University of Göttingen
2013 – 2016 Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Management and Controlling at Georg-August University of Göttingen
2010 – 2013 Master's Program in Business Administration at Georg-August University of Göttingen
2006 – 2010 Bachelor's Degree Program in Business Administration at RWTH Aachen University

Honours and Awards:

  • Best Paper Selection Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) (2023)
  • 5 Most Valued Lecturers der Faculty of Economics and Business der University of Groningen (2023)
  • AIS College of Senior Scholars Best Papers Award for 2021 (2022)
  • Stafford Beer Medal of the Society of Operational Research for 2021 (2022)
  • Second Best Paper Award at the Internationalen Tagung für Wirtschaftsinformatik (2021)
  • Florenz-Sartorius Prize for the Best Dissertation in Economics at Georg-August University of Göttingen (2017)
  • Winner of the AFAANZ Doctoral Symposium Pitching Competition (2016)
  • Best Paper Selection Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) (2016)
  • Best Paper Selection Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) (2015)

Fields of Research:

Management Control

  • Functional and dysfunctional effects of incentive and key performance indicator systems
  • Elements and effects of holistic corporate management systems
  • The interplay of various corporate management elements

Strategic Leadership and Governance

  • The strategic role of the CFO
  • The role of cognitive biases among top management and the board of directors in strategy implementation
  • The role of corporate governance stakeholders in strategy selection

Digitalization and AI

  • Impacts and determinants of digital transformation
  • Management control and corporate governance in the context of digitalization and AI
  • Targeted management of the adoption of AI technologies in companies

Publications:

Filter:
  • Hennig, J. C.; Firk, S.; Harrison, J. S.; Meyer, H.; Wolff, M.: The Price of Prominence: How CEO Extraversion Influences Board Attributions and the Dismissal-Performance Sensitivity. In: Journal of Management Studies (2026), p. 1-35. doi:10.1111/joms.70122CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Gehrke, Y.; Meier, J.; Wolff, M.: Fooled by the hype? The influence of technology hype on acquisition premiums in digital M&As. In: Long Range Planning, Vol 58 (2025) No 6. doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2025.102589CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Hennig, S.; C., J.; Meier, J.; Wolff, M.: Institutional Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation: The Role of Outsider CEOs. In: Strategic Organization, Vol 23 (2025) No 3. doi:10.1177/14761270241242905CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Gehrke, Y.; Richter, S.; Wolff, M.: CFO Career Concerns and Strategic Decisions: An Empirical Analysis of M&As. In: European Accounting Review, Vol 34 (2025) No 2, p. 487-518. doi:10.1080/09638180.2023.2291405CitationDetails
  • Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.; Zapadka, P.; Oehmichen, J.: Artificial intelligence boundary resources: a relational view on leveraging “AI-as-a-Service”. In: European Journal of Information Systems (2025). doi:10.1080/0960085X.2025.2473952CitationDetails
  • Hennig, J. C.; Firk, S.; Wolff, M.: Credibility Signals from Soft Information: Evidence from Investor Reactions to Tone in Earnings Conference Calls. In: European Accounting Review, Vol 34 (2025) No 1, p. 153-185. CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Detzen, N.; Hennig, J. C.; Wolff, M.: Strengthening the CEO–CFO interplay: The role of regulatory focus and similar compensation plans. In: Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol 113 (2024). doi:10.1016/j.aos.2024.101563CitationDetails
  • van Slooten, A.; Dirks, P.; Firk, S.: Digitalization and management accountants’ role conflict and ambiguity: A double-edged sword for the profession. In: British Accounting Review (2024). doi:10.1016/j.bar.2024.101460CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Gehrke, Y.; Wolff, M.: Digital Anxiety in the Finance Function: Consequences and Mitigating Factors. In: Journal of Management Accounting Research, Vol 36 (2024) No 1, p. 95-118. doi:10.2308/JMAR-2021-056CitationDetails
  • Hennig, J. C.; Firk, S.; Wolff, M.; Coskun, H.: Environmental management control systems: Exploring the economic motivation behind their implementation. In: Journal of Business Research, Vol 169 (2023). doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114283CitationDetails
  • Broekhuizen, T.; Dekker, H.; de Faria, P.; Firk, S.; Nguyen, D. K.; Sofka, W.: AI for managing open innovation: Opportunities, challenges, and a research agenda. In: Journal of Business Research, Vol 167 (2023). doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114196CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Hennig, J. C.; Meyer, H.; Wolff, M.: When Personality Backfires - CEO Personality and Dismissal-performance Sensitivity. In: Academy of Management (2023) No 1. doi:10.5465/AMPROC.2023.239bpCitationDetails
  • Fabian, N.; Weck, M.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.; Oehmichen, J.; Bhattacharya, A.: Many Roads Lead to Digital Transformation: A Configurational Perspective on Digital Competence Elements. In: ICIS 2022 Proceedings (2022), p. 1-9. CitationDetails
  • Schumm, M.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.: Digital Innovation Units: An Empirical Investigation of Performance Implications. In: ICIS 2022 Proceedings (2022), p. 1-17. CitationDetails
  • van Slooten, A.; Van Veen-Dirks, P.; Firk, S.: De digitale transformatie van finance & control: een analyse van de gevolgen voor controllers. In: Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, Vol 96 (2022) No 9/10, p. 285-297. doi:10.5117/mab.96.86391CitationDetails
  • Oehmichen, J.; Firk, S.; Haas, V.; Wolff, M.: Board experience and value creation in cross-border acquisitions: The role of acquirer and target country institutions. In: International Business Review, Vol 31 (2022) No 4. doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101966CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Gehrke, Y.; Hanelt, A.; Wolff, M: Top management team characteristics and digital innovation: Exploring digital knowledge and TMT interfaces. In: Long Range Planning, Vol 55 (2022) No 3. doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2021.102166CitationDetails
  • Zapadka, P.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.: Digital at the edge – antecedents and performance effects of boundary resource deployment. In: Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol 31 (2022) No 1. doi:10.1016/j.jsis.2022.101708CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Hanelt, A.; Oehmichen, J.; Wolff, M: Chief digital officers: An analysis of the presence of a centralized digital transformation role. In: Journal of Management Studies, Vol 58 (2021) No 7, p. 1800-1831. doi:10.1111/joms.12718CitationDetails
  • Biedebach, M.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.: Inter-Ecosystem Migration of IT-actors in the Era of Digital Innovation: An Empirical Investigation. In: ICIS 2021 Proceedings (2021), p. 1-17. CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Richter, S.; Wolff, M.: Does value-based management facilitate managerial decision-making? An analysis of divestiture decisions. In: Management Accounting Research, Vol 51 (2021). doi:10.1016/j.mar.2021.100736CitationDetails
  • Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.; Hildebrandt, B.; Kolbe, L. M.: Digital M&A, digital innovation, and firm performance: an empirical investigation. In: European Journal of Information Systems, Vol 30 (2021) No 1, p. 3-26. doi:10.1080/0960085X.2020.1747365CitationDetails
  • Oehmichen, J.; Firk, S.; Wolff, M.; Maybuechen, F.: Standing out from the crowd: Dedicated institutional investors and strategy uniqueness. In: Strategic Management Journal, Vol 42 (2021) No 6, p. 1083-1108. doi:10.1002/smj.3269CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Hennig, J. C.; Wolff, M.: Conference Calls aktiv gestalten. In: Controlling & Management Review, Vol 65 (2021) No 1, p. 30-38. doi:10.1007/s12176-020-0350-9CitationDetails
  • Zapadka, P.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.; Oehmichen, J.: Leveraging “AI-as-a-Service” – Antecedents and Consequences of Using Artificial Intelligence Boundary Resources. In: ICIS 2020 Proceedings (2020), p. 1-17. CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Wolff, M.; Holst, M.: Die Wirkung von Clawback-Klauseln: Ein Überblick über aktuelle empirische Ergebnisse. In: Der Aufsichtsrat, Vol 2020 (2020) No 10, p. 144-145. CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Schmidt, T.; Wolff, M.: CFO emphasis on value-based management: Performance implications and the challenge of CFO succession. In: Management Accounting Research, Vol 44 (2019), p. 26-43. doi:10.1016/j.mar.2018.11.001CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Maybuechen, F.; Oehmichen, J.; Wolff, M.: Value-based Management and Merger & Acquisition Returns: A Multi-level Contingency Model. In: European Accounting Review, Vol 28 (2019) No 3, p. 451-482. doi:10.1080/09638180.2018.1492947CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Schmidt, T.; Wolff, M.: Exploring Value-Based Management Sophistication: The Role of Potential Economic Benefits and Institutional Influence. In: Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol 36 (2019) No 1, p. 418-450. doi:10.1111/1911-3846.12402CitationDetails
  • Hildebrandt, B.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.: Sharing Yet Caring: Mitigating Moral Hazard in Access-Based Consumption through IS-Enabled Value Co-Capturing with Consumer. In: Business & Information Systems Engineering, Vol 60 (2018) No 3, p. 227-241. doi:10.1007/s12599-018-0532-6CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Wolff, M.: Wertorientierung kann sich lohnen. In: Controlling & Management Review, Vol 62 (2018) No 2, p. 52-57. doi:10.1007/s12176-017-0140-1CitationDetails
  • Firk, S.; Schrapp, S.; Wolff, M.: Drivers of value creation—The role of value-based management and underlying institutions. In: Management Accounting Research, Vol 33 (2016), p. 42-60. doi:10.1016/j.mar.2016.04.002CitationDetails
  • Hildebrandt, B.; Hanelt, A.; Firk, S.; Kolbe, L.: Entering the Digital Era – The Impact of Digital Technology–related M&As on Business Model Innovations of Automobile OEMs. In: ICIS 2015 Proceedings (2015), p. 1-21. CitationDetails

Courses:

Lectures: 

  • Grundlagen der Unternehmenssteuerung (Bachelor's course)
  • Planung & Organisation (Bachelor's course)
  • Wertorientierte Unternehmensführung (Master's course)
  • Strategisches Controlling (Master's course)

Seminars: 

  • Sustainable Business Management