|
|
|
|
|
Dear readers,
An eventful year full of intensive research, new ideas, and insights is coming to an end. We would like to thank you very much for your interest in our work.
2025 was a very special year for us, with one major challenge: the Institute’s move to a landmark building in the heart of Munich, which has been completely redesigned to be both historic and functional, and has combined established structures with a modern research environment – an exciting process! Now, for the first time, our Christmas tree adorns our new location at Karlsplatz/Stachus.
We wish you a happy and restful holiday season and an energetic start to a successful new year in 2026 – full of health, happiness, and fulfilling moments!
Josef Drexl and Dietmar Harhoff
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In June 2024, all employees of the Max Planck Society and the Fraunhofer Society were invited to take part in an anonymous survey on their use of AI tools for their work. The replies also included 6,215 complete responses from researchers who are largely representative of the two research organizations.
More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Whether in agriculture or urban life, reliable information on emissions, land use, and the flow of resources can make the difference between effective climate policy and hollow promises. A project by the Institute addresses this issue and examines how data governance can be used to achieve the United Nations’ climate goals in Brazil – as detailed in the recently published report. More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Max Planck Society is planning to appoint three new Directors to the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich. Together, they will define the future direction of innovation and competition studies within the Society. To identify suitable candidates for these positions, the Society is inviting nominations, including self-nominations. We seek scholars that will pioneer high-impact research programs and lead corresponding departments.
More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of 1 January 2026, Dietmar Harhoff, head of the economics department “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research”, assumes the role of Managing Director of the Institute through biennial rotation. More
|
|
|
|
|
|
In Brief
Funding + + + The Fritz Thyssen Foundation is funding the project “Foundations of German Innovation: Digitizing the Catalog of German Patents until 1945” by Michael E. Rose with €10,000 for twelve months. The aim is to digitize the patent records of the former Patent Office of the German Reich from 1877 to 1945 in tabular form. This includes information on applications, grants, and transfers, along with the names of applicants, titles, classes, and dates. The resulting data, which has previously only been available selectively or at considerable expense for this particularly interesting period, fills a gap in innovation research. Digitization is carried out using text recognition of the scans in Transkribus and subsequent tabular processing using GPT, supplemented by manual quality controls.
Funding + + + Junior Research Fellow Elisabeth Hofmeister has received an Add-on Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Science and Transfer worth €15,000 from the Joachim Herz Stiftung. The fellowship supports outstanding researchers in the early stages of their careers who are working on interdisciplinary research topics of social relevance in the field of “Resources of the Future”. She is researching the determinants of R&D productivity in research-intensive industries, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Podcast + + + Dietmar Harhoff talks about the economic outlook for Germany and Europe on detektor.fm’s Forschungsquartett podcast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Event Preview
The next Munich Summer Institute will take place from 20 to 22 May 2026. The call for papers will be published at the beginning of the year. All information and further details about the event will be available soon on the MSI Website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Event Report
The 8th edition of our annual Research in Innovation, Science, and Entrepreneurship (RISE) workshop, now a cherished pre-Christmas tradition, took place on 15/16 December 2025. Organized by young researchers at our Institute, the workshop serves as a platform for early-career scholars dedicated to the study of innovation.
More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In his recently published book, written during his time at the Institute, Heiko Richter investigates the legal framework governing the sharing of public sector data in Germany, illustrated through the example of the Hamburg public enterprise group. The study examines the legal basis, scope, and interplay of the German Data Re-Use Act (DNG), the Data Governance Act, and the Data Act, and assesses their implications for data governance within public authorities and enterprises. Beyond its substantive analysis of EU and national data-sharing provisions, the book also explores practical scenarios and provides concrete recommendations for public sector actors. Moreover, Heiko Richter contextualizes his findings within the broader frameworks of competition law, public procurement law, and state aid law.
Heiko Richter
Daten-Governance für urbane Innovation
De Gruyter (2026)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The study examines the patenting activities of leading R&D investors and finds that between 2012 and 2019, around 67 % of all internationally relevant high-quality green patents were held by these top firms, particularly in information and communication technologies and transport. Despite the importance of innovation for achieving climate targets, there was no clear increase in patenting after the 2015 Paris Agreement. Specialization in green technologies varies considerably across sectors and regions. A stable and predictable regulatory framework is crucial to align corporate innovation efforts with climate policy. The author completed her doctorate at the Institute, including research on this topic, and is now affiliated with the LMU‑ifo Economics & Business Data Center.
Cristina Rujan
Who Drives Green Tech? − Patenting Trends of Top R&D Firms
EconPol Forum, 2025 (4), 82–88.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
