v10i2 – Junior Management Science

Small but Powerful: The Impact of Shelf Talker Flags on Consumer Shopping Behavior

Günther Gamper, University of Innsbruck (Bachelor thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 334-348

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Unseen is unsold, which means that shoppers can only buy what they see in the store. Therefore, retailers use different in-store marketing techniques to increase visual exposure and stimulate purchases. In this paper, I investigate the effect of shelf talker flags on consumer shopping behavior. In doing so, I hypothesize that shelf talker flags increase the subjectively perceived search ease and purchases of marked products. A field experiment shows that shelf talker flags make products more visible and easier to find at the point of purchase, significantly increasing consumers‘ subjectively perceived search ease. Furthermore, the results suggest that shelf talker flags can influence consumer buying behavior and increase purchases of marked products. However, this result is only marginally significant.

Keywords: in-store marketing; search ease; shelf talker flags; unplanned purchases; visual attention.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp334-348

Unravelling Collective Action Frames Through a Temporal Lens: A Case Study of an Environmental Movement in Germany

Sebastian Lüpnitz, Dresden University of Technology (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 349-368

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Organizing collective action in the face of climate change is one of the grand challenges of our time. Social movements and their approach to framing climate change are pivotal, as they are tasked with the role of challenging and redirecting dominant beliefs and narratives. Recent research suggests that time is at the core of framing and sustainability. However, there is scant research at the intersection of social movements and time. This study responds to this gap by examining how the framing of the environmental movement Letzte Generation in Germany constructs temporality. My findings reveal how the movement frames climate change as a catastrophe, representing itself as a fire alarm to create a shared sense of urgency and advocate for a crisis mode. Temporally, the framing constructs a clear chronology between a dominant past and an undesirable future and aims to redirect the focus to the present. As a result, the movement had to actively orchestrate a balance between disruptive strategies aimed at attention and polarization, and alignment strategies to foster resonance and support. By conceptualizing temporality in framing processes my study illustrates the pivotal role of time in research on social movements and framing. Moreover, it contributes to the discourse on time and sustainability by showing how actors emphasize a present-time perspective.

Keywords: climate crisis; polarization; social movements; strategic framing; time and temporality.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp349-368

Sustainability in the Corporate Sector: A News Textual Analysis Approach to Measuring ESG Performance

Mohammad Izzat Raihan Imron, Technical University of Munich (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 369-401

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Sustainability has become a crucial factor in the financial sector, making the assessment of a company’s sustainability performance essential for informed decision-making. Recognizing the media’s power to shape public perception of corporate sustainability issues, this study examines the use of news analysis to evaluate companies‘ performance against Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. Leveraging OpenAI’s models, this research parses unstructured data within news articles and introduces a machine learning pipeline to score companies‘ ESG performance based on their media representation. The study uncovers several key findings: firstly, it demonstrates that a less costly, fine-tuned model can surpass the zero-shot capabilities of a more expensive model in classifying ESG content. Secondly, it identifies discrepancies in media coverage across industries, leading to unequal assessments of companies. Thirdly, it reveals a media tendency to underreport companies‘ environmental efforts. Finally, the study highlights areas where companies face media criticism, suggesting potential improvements in their ESG practices. These insights contribute to the understanding of how machine learning can assist in the critical evaluation of sustainability in the business domain.

Keywords: ESG; machine learning; natural language processing; NLP; news; sustainability.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp369-401

Understanding Emergent Leadership Across Cultural Levels: A Theoretical Framework

Elif Leman Bilgin, King’s College London (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 402-423

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Emergent leadership literature emphasises identifying and nurturing leaders at all organisational levels to foster team harmony and align efforts toward shared goals. Since past studies focused largely on individual traits predicting leadership emergence, the interplay of different cultural levels, such as national culture, organisational culture and team culture in relation to individuals emerging as emergent leaders remains unexplored. This study extends beyond discussing the antecedents and outcomes of emergent leadership and provides an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon through different cultural levels. It introduces an overarching theoretical framework proposing that a) the unfolding of emergent leadership occurs at four levels, which are organic emergence, non-normative emergence, conditional emergence and non-emergence, based upon the type of interaction between cultural levels and potential emergent leaders, b) for emergent leadership to occur, potential emergent leaders must have or display some of the compatible antecedents, c) the approval of higher-level authority figures at the organisational or national level is a precondition for the occurrence of emergent leadership in stratified teams.

Keywords: emergent leadership; individual traits; national culture; organisational culture; team culture.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp402-423

Analyzing the Retail Gasoline Market in Germany: Impact of Spatial Competition and Market Concentration on Prices

Nicolas Fiedler, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Bachelor thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 424-440

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Given the changing landscape of fuel retailing, this study explores the impact of spatial competition and market concentration on diesel prices in Germany. The question of how population density and gas station density, i.e. the equilibrium pattern of locations of firms, are related is examined. In addition, the impact of gas station density, as a spatial measure of competition, and market concentration on diesel prices is investigated. Based on theory, population density should have a positive impact on gas station density. Gas station density should have a negative and market concentration a positive influence on the diesel price in a district. Using 2022 data on German gas stations and diesel prices, a positive effect of population density and on gas station density, a negative effect of gas station density on diesel price, and a positive effect of market concentration on diesel price were each found at the district level. The effects of gas station density and market concentration, however, were relatively small. The results show that fuel prices at gas stations are influenced by spatial competition and market concentration.

Keywords: diesel prices; gas station density; market concentration; retail gasoline market; spatial competition.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp424-440

The Role of Hierarchical Differentiation for the Effectiveness of Soccer Teams

Sebestyén András Huszár, Freie Universität Berlin (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 441-461

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The impact of hierarchical differentiation on team effectiveness is heavily discussed in scientific research with strong arguments lined up on both the pro and the contra sides. To contribute to this debate, I investigated the relationship between a specific facet of hierarchical differentiation, pay dispersion, and team effectiveness. I collected data from five seasons of Premier League and conducted a regression analysis to study the effect of pay dispersion on team performance, cooperation and aggressivity. The empirical results show that pay dispersion is positively and directly associated with aggressivity, whilst its relation with team performance and cooperation is moderated through the financial might of teams. The significant interaction effect for team performance means that pay dispersion has a significant negative effect for high financial might teams, and a weak positive effect for low financial might teams. For cooperation the interaction shows a significant positive effect for the low financial might teams and a weak negative effect for the high financial might teams. Thus, I conclude that pay dispersion indeed affects team effectiveness, however the economic power standing behind the teams needs to be considered.

Keywords: hierarchical differentiation; pay dispersion; Premier League; sports data; team performance.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp441-461

Waiting Time Estimation for Ride-Hailing Fleets Using Graph Neural Networks

Hashmatullah Sadid, Technical University of Munich (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 462-490

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Ride-hailing services are part of intermodal transport systems, allowing passengers to use various transport modes for their trip. The optimal choice for a request in the intermodal system depends on the passenger’s waiting time for the ride-hailing service. Estimating this waiting time is crucial for efficient system operation. The prediction of waiting time depends on the spatial dependency of the transport network and traffic flow elements. Graph neural network (GNN) approaches have gained attention for capturing spatial dependencies in various applications, though less attention has been given to ride-hailing waiting time prediction. The aim of this master thesis is to implement a GNN-based method to predict waiting time for ride-hailing requests in the network. Simulation-based waiting time data is used for model training and validation. MATSim is chosen for generating waiting time data under different demand and supply scenarios. Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) and Gated Attention Network (GAT) are used as prediction models. Regression and MLP methods are used as baselines to compare model performance. Results show GCN outperforms regression by 15%, while GAT performs 14% better than regression.

Keywords: graph convolutional network; ride-hailing service; waiting time estimation.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp462-490

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Gone, Space Gone – Non-Territorial Workplace Models in the Context of Hybrid Working From the Employees‘ Perspective

Licia Reckersdrees, Paderborn University (Master thesis)
Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 491-521

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This study examines the effect of a non-territorial & hybrid workplace model on employees’ preferences and marginal willingness to pay compared to territorial & non-hybrid, territorial & hybrid and non-territorial & non-hybrid work. A vignette study is used to evaluate individual preferences concerning various job offers which differ in terms of workplace model and salary. The correlation is analyzed using a chi-square test and a rank ordered logit regression. Possible underlying mechanisms are investigated by asking about the influence of workplace models on the working conditions of territoriality, privacy, collaboration and autonomy. The data is analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s test. The results show a significant influence of workplace models on preference and willingness to pay. Employees prefer territorial & hybrid working and would forego an average of €2,175 compared to territorial & non-hybrid working. All four working conditions are influenced by the workplace models and can act as mechanisms. Overall, the conditions are rated best for territorial & hybrid working.

Keywords: hybrid working; marginal willingness to pay; non-territorial working; vignette study; working conditions.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp491-521

Exploring Discrepancies in Energy Performance Certificates: Analyzing Energy Efficiency Premiums for Buildings Based on Theoretical Energy Requirements Versus Actual Energy Consumption

Timo Andreas Deller, Technical University of Munich (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 10(2), 2025, 522-560

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The building sector is lagging its needed decarbonization pathway. This paper examines EPC policy impacts on building economics in the Rhein-Main Region in Germany. Energy efficiency premiums for rents and sales prices and the effects of the EPC type are investigated using data from 01/2015- 06/2023 (N = 212 167 rent sample; N = 159 573 sales sample) and hedonic price models. Energy efficiency premiums are present and range up to 7.0%, 4.6% and 6.9% for cold and warm rents and sales prices, respectively, when comparing an A+ to a D rated building. Consumption certificates reflect warm rents better but have a limited sales price impact. Results are rent efficiency premiums of up to 7.1% (A+), no rent discounts for energy inefficiency and a general sales price discount of about 3%. Requirement certificates are viewed as objective, yet less consumption-indicative, especially in the sales market. Rent efficiency premiums of up to 8.8% (A+) and no rent discounts for energy inefficiency are estimated for a building with a requirement certificate. Sales price efficiency premiums of up to 7.4% (A+) and sales price inefficiency discounts of up to -10.2% (H) exist. Overall, current German EPC policy does not address imperfect information, and it is recommended to revise its implementation.

Keywords: energy efficiency; energy performance certificate; EPC; hedonic price model; real estate investments; real estate valuation.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.5282/jums/v10i2pp522-560