Prof. Dr. Paul Drews

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C4.313
Fon +49.4131.677-2206, paul.drews@leuphana.de
Professor*in, Professorship of Information Systems, in particular Digital Transformation and Information Management
Research Center for Digital Transformation

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Vita

Prof. Dr. Paul Drews is Dean of the School of Management and Technology and holds the Professorship for Information Systems, in particular Digital Transformation and Information Management at the Institute of Information Systems, Leuphana University of Lüneburg. Between October 2020 and March 2022 he was the president's delegate for cooperation with practice and entrepreneurship. In this function, he was responsible for the cooperation and start-up service unit and developed the project proposal for a large national tender (9.6 million Euros, programm "innovative university"). He supported the presidential committee in the strategic development of cooperation with practice and in developing a transfer strategy. Since 2017, he is the speaker of the interdisciplinary Research Center for Digital Transformation, which involves 16 professors from six disciplines. He is president-elect of the Special Interest Group Organizational Systems Research (OSRA) of the Association of Information Systems (AIS) and director of the subproject 5G-SePCA in the project USIN5G. Previously, he was deputy director of the "Digital Entrepreneurship" project, which was funded with 1.2 million euros.

His research focuses on the digital transformation of organizations and companies, the development, diffusion and adoption of IT innovations, IT innovation management, digital entrepreneurship, the role of the IT function, enterprise architecture and business ecosystem architecture, strategic IT and information management, the scaled use of agile methods and data-driven business models. In addition, he conducts research in inter- and transdisciplinary projects together with colleagues from business administration, engineering and psychology. His research is characterized by a socio-technical perspective as well as by qualitative and design science methods. Prof. Drews has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles. His articles have been published in Business and Information Systems Engineering, Information and Organization, Information Systems Management, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, IEEE Sensors Journal, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing as well as the proceedings of ICIS, ECIS, HICSS, WI, PACIS, MKWI, AMCIS, AOM, IEEE CBI, IEEE EDOCW and IEEE Sensors. Together with Prof. Böhmann (University of Hamburg), Prof. Drews has published three highly regarded practice-oriented studies since 2015 (Digital Excellence, Data Driven Agility, Digital Platform Management).

Prof. Drews has offered courses at all levels of university education. In addition to core and advanced courses from the curriculum of Business Informatics / Information Systems (Introduction to Business Informatics, Business Process Management, Digital Transformation, Information Management, IT Governance and Management, Enterprise Systems, Open Innovation and IT, Enterprise Architecture Management, Responsible Digital Transformation), he has also taught courses in Computer Science (Computer Supported Design and Modeling of Organizations, Computer Supported Cooperative Work), in Data Science (Data Economy), in Business Administration (Information Systems: Theory & Practice, Information Management in Service) as well as method-oriented and interdisciplinary courses (Qualitative Research Methods, Digitalization, Digital Innovation Lab). He also teaches at the Professional School of Leuphana in professional education programs, among others in the M.Sc. Data Science and the certificate module "Digital Transformation". He is director of the MBA Digital Transformation Management program.

As Conference Chair, Track Chair and Associate Editor, Prof. Drews has played an active role in the information systems community for several years. Together with Prof. Funk, Prof. Niemeyer and Prof. Xie he organized the Multi-Conference on Information Systems (MKWI) at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg in 2018. He acts as a track chair at national and international conferences. As associate editor and reviewer he has worked (among others) for AJIS, BISE, CAIS, CBI, EDOC, EJIS, EM, HMD, ISJ, JIS, JITTA, ICIS, ECIS, HICSS, PACIS, PoEM, WI, MKWI, Conf-IRM, GeNeMe and gmds. Prof Drews received multiple awards for his activities as associate editor and reviewer. In 2017, a Special Issue was published in MISQE on "Digital Business Transformation and the Changing Role of the IT Function", for which he was responsible as Senior Guest Editor together with Nils Urbach (University of Bayreuth) and Jeanne Ross (MIT).

Career:

  • since 2022 Dean, School of Management and Technology
  • sinde 2021 Program Director, MBA Digital Transformation Management
  • since 2020 University professor, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • since 2017 Initiator and speaker of the interdisciplinary Digital Transformation Research Center
  • 2020-2023 President of SIG OSRA, Association of Information Systems
  • 2020-2022 Delegate of the President for Cooperation with Practice and Entrepreneurship
  • 2014-2020 Assistant Professor of Information Systems, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • 2016-2018 Dean of Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics
  • 2015-2018 Program Director Major Business Information Systems
  • 2012-2014 Establishment of the competence center CUDIT (Customer- and User-Driven IT) together with Prof. Böhmann and Prof. Schirmer, Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg
  • 2012-2014 Establishment of EAM-LAB, research and teaching laboratory for enterprise architecture management, Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, together with Prof. Schirmer
  • 2012-2014 PostDoc and Research Coordinator, ITG Group (Prof. Schirmer), University of Hamburg
  • 2012-2014 Visiting Lecturer, Leuphana University Lüneburg and International Business School of Service Management, Hamburg
  • 2008-2012 Research Assistant, ASI Group (Prof. Rolf), University of Hamburg
  • 2012 PhD in Informatics (with distinction, Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg)
  • 2008-2011 Study Program Coordinator and Student Advisor, Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg
  • 1999-2011 Founder and Managing Director of D&F EDV-Beratung und Service and Drews Consulting, self-employed as IT consultant in the health care sector

Awards (selection):

  • 2025 Best Paper Award, XP 2025
  • 2025 Leuphana Transfer & Impact Award
  • 2022 Best Associaite Editor, ECIS 2022
  • 2021 Best Student Paper Award, IEEE CBI 2021 (as supervisor and co-author)
  • 2021 Best Student Paper Award, International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik 2021 (as supervisor and co-author)
  • 2021 Best Paper Award (Bronze), IEEE ICEIC (as PhD supervisor and co-author)
  • 2019 Best Associate Editor Award, International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik 2019
  • 2019 Teaching Award of the Faculty of Business and Economics for the course "Digital Innovation Lab: Exploring Transdisciplinary Design”
  • 2017 Young Scientist Research Award of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • 2017 Best Reviewer Award, International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik 2017
  • 2012 Best dissertation at the Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, recommended for the Dissertation Award of the German Informatics Society

Current projects (selection):

  • 2023-2027 TrICo - Transformation through Innovation and Cooperation in Communities, project grant in the funding program "Innovative Hochschule" ("Innovative University"), 9.6 Mio. Euros requested funding with 9 Mio. Euros for Leuphana (overall funding), principal investigator and project leader
  • 2025-2026 EVOLVE5G - 5G-based process optimization in SME, 0.5 Mio. Euroa (together with Prof. Heger)
  • 2022-2024 USIN5G - Usage Scenarios for Innovation Networks in 5G (federal funding, BMVI), 3.7 Mio. Euros total, 0.8 Mio. Euros Leuphana, Project manager Leuphana
  • 2021-2024 DigiTal - Digital Transformation Lab for Teaching and Learning, Sub-Project 8: DI-SZENARIO - Responsible Implementation of Digital Innovations in Organizations - A scenario-based approach, 4.6 Mio. Euros budget, 0.4 Mio. Euros budget sub-project, co-lead sub-project with Prof. Trittin-Ulbrich
  • 2021-2022 Sustainable Information Logistics for Digital Contact Tracing, (EU, State of Lower Saxony), 0.5 million Euros, Project manager
  • 2019-2022 Digital Entrepreneurship (EU, State of Lower Saxony), 1.2 million Euros, Co-project manager
  • 2018-2020 Big Data in Auditing (Industry)
  • 2017-2022 Establishment of the Digital Transformation Research Center
  • Supervision of currently 10 PhD projects, including digital innovation, digital transformation, digital entrepreneurship, enterprise architecture, digial leadership, low-code/no-code, product experimentation, data / AI governance, digital entrepreneurship

Projects

  1. 5G basierte Prozessoptimierung in KMU
    Jens Heger (Project manager, academic) , Ole Christian Prüfer (Project staff) , Paul Drews (Project manager, academic) , Kenneth Richter (Project staff)
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    Project: Research

  2. Understanding External and Internal Activities for Digital-Sustainable Co-Transformation
    Markus Philipp Zimmer (Project manager, academic) , Paul Drews (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

  3. Transformation durch Innovation und Kooperation in Communities
    Paul Drews (Project manager, academic) , Andrea Japsen (Coordination)
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    Project: Research

  4. Usage Scenarios for Innovation Networks in 5G im TIP Innovationspark Nordheide - 5G als Treiber von Innovationskooperationen in smarten Gewerbegebieten
    Paul Drews (Project manager, academic) , Jens Heger (Project manager, academic) , Lin Xie (Project manager, academic) , Laurin Luttmann (Project staff) , Ole Christian Prüfer (Project staff) , Kenneth Richter (Project staff) , Nils Johann Tschoppe (Project staff)
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    Project: Research

  5. DigiTaL - Teilprojekt 08: DI-SZENARIO – Verantwortungsvolle Einführung Digitaler Innovationen in Organisationen: Ein Szenario-basierter Ansatz
    Paul Drews (Project manager, academic) , Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich (Project manager, academic) , Nils Johann Tschoppe (Project staff)
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    Project: Teaching

View all projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik 2018: Data driven X — Turning Data into Value
    Paul Drews (Editor) , Burkhardt Funk (Editor) , Peter Niemeyer (Editor) , Lin Xie (Editor) , 2018 Lüneburg , 2094 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Conference proceedings › Research

View all publications

Journal contributions

  1. IT Outsourcing Relationships in the Context of Digital Transformation: From Transactional Relationships to Ecosystem Partnerships
    Lennart Gratzke (Author) , Markus Philipp Zimmer (Author) , Paul Drews (Author) , 01.01.2026 , in: Information Systems Management, 43, 1 , p. 65-84 , 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Digital leadership routines: Understanding the role of artifacts in digital leadership development
    Julia Katharina Eberl (Author) , Markus Philipp Zimmer (Author) , Paul Drews (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Information and Organization, 35, 4 , 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. Value-Sensitive Digital Social Innovations for Marginalized Individuals: Towards a Research Agenda
    Paul Drews (Author) , Larissa Gebken (Author) , Ingrid Schirmer (Author) , Judith Simon (Author) , 01.08.2024 , in: Academy of Management Proceedings, 2024, 1

    Research output: Journal contributions › Conference abstract in journal › Research › peer-review

  4. Digitale Kompetenzen im Wandel: Eine Neubewertung digitaler Kompetenzen in der IT-Funktion eines Automobilunternehmens
    Paul Drews (Author) , Svenja Pieczurczyk (Author) , 01.02.2024 , in: HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik, 61, 1 , p. 78-99 , 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Value-sensitive Action Design Research: Improving the Consideration and Traceability of Values in Design Decisions
    Paul Drews (Author) , Larissa Gebken (Author) , Matthis Jacobs (Author) , Ingrid Schirmer (Author) , Andreas Drechsler (Author) , 01.01.2024 , in: Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, 36, 2 , p. 5-36 , 32 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Aligning Experimentation with Product Operations: A Taxonomy for Structuring Experimentation Teams
    Paul Drews (Author) , Nils Stotz (Author) , Ben Labay (Author) , Lukas Vermeer (Author) , 01.01.2026 Cham , p. 23-38 , 16 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review

  2. AI-Enhanced Literature Reviews: Connecting Emerging Phenomena and Bodies of Knowledge
    Syed Asad Ali Naqvi (Author) , Markus Philipp Zimmer (Author) , Martin Kauschinger (Author) , Paul Drews (Author) , Rahul C. Basole (Author) , 01.01.2026 Honolulu , p. 7233-7242 , 10 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review

  3. In-House Experimentation Platforms Motivations, Implementation Characteristics and Challenges: Motivation, Implementation Characteristics and Challenges
    Nils Stotz (Author) , Paul Drews (Author) , 01.01.2026 Cham , p. 36-51 , 16 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review

  4. Conveying the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in K–12 and Academia: A Systematic Review of Teaching Methods
    Nils Johann Tschoppe (Author) , Johannes Wilhelm Katsarov (Author) , Paul Drews (Author) , Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich (Author) , 07.01.2025 Honolulu , p. 4744-4753 , 10 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review

  5. Overcoming Multi-legacy Application Challenges through Building Dynamic Capabilities for Low-Code Adoption
    Markus Philipp Zimmer (Author) , Paul Drews (Author) , Syed Asad Ali Naqvi (Author) , Syed Rehan (Author) , Rahul C. Basole (Author) , 07.01.2025 Honolulu , p. 7503-7512 , 10 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Activities

  1. Kompetenzen im Wandel: Skill-basierte Ansätze im Kontext von IT-Transformation und AI-Adoption
    Svenja Pieczurczyk (Speaker) , Paul Drews (Speaker)

    Activity: talk or presentation in privat or public events › Transfer

  2. Best-Practice-Beispiel IHS-Projekt „TrICo“
    Paul Drews (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Transfer

  3. From Projects and Formats to Communities
    Paul Drews (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Transfer

  4. Digitalisierungsstrategien – Von der Umfeldanalyse zur Umsetzung
    Paul Drews (Speaker)

    Activity: talk or presentation in privat or public events › Transfer

  5. Agile Portfolio Management Patterns - A Research Design
    Bettina Horlach (Speaker) , Ingrid Schirmer (Coauthor) , Tilo Böhmann (Coauthor) , Paul Drews (Coauthor)
    →

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

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Press / Media

  1. 5G-Zukunft in Buchholz: Innovationsprojekt USIN5G setzt Meilenstein
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  2. Landkreis Harburg feiert Erfolge des Projekts USIN5G
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  3. KI in der BWL: Macht künstliche Intelligenz Betriebswirtschaftslehre überflüssig?
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  4. Pandemie-Hilfe von der Leuphana
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  5. Mehr Erfolg für datengetriebene Geschäftsmodelle
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

View all press/media coverage

Prizes

  1. Best Paper Award XP 2025
    Paul Drews (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  2. Leuphana Transfer & Impact Award
    Paul Drews (Recipient) ,

    Prize: Leuphana internal Prize, Scholaships, distinctions, appointments › Transfer

  3. Best Paper Nominee in Software Technology Track
    Markus Philipp Zimmer (Recipient) Paul Drews (Recipient) Kristina Lemmer (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  4. AACSB Innovations that Inspire
    Johannes Wilhelm Katsarov (Recipient) Paul Drews (Recipient) Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Education

  5. Best Associate Editor Award at ECIS 2022
    Paul Drews (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

View all prizes

Courses