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Department of Socioeconomics
Departmentof Socioeconomics

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International Visiting Scholars

International visiting scholars are frequently joining the Department of Socioeconomics for longer periods. On the following pages, you will find information about the current and former international visiting scholars at the Department. The Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty provides information on support when applying for international visiting scholars on its website.

International Visiting Scholars 2025

  • Prof. George Mengov, PhD
    In November 2025, Prof. George Mengov will be visiting our Department of Social Economics. He is Professor of Decision Sciences in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. Prof. Dr. George Mengov has published numerous articles on his main areas of research in books and (international) journals.He completed his Ph.D. in Applied Cybernetics at Technical University of Sofia in 2001. During 2001–2004 he was a Research Associate at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Previously, he was IT consultant in Unisys Corporation (1995–2000) working on projects for financial software development in the City of London, Leeds, Sofia, and St. Petersburg. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Swiss Innovation Valley, an IT business incubator.
    Prof. Dr. George Mengov's stay with us is part of the DAAD's “Eastern Partnerships” funding program and is supported by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Fritsche. November 11, 2025: Lecture by visiting scholar Prof. Dr. George Mengov.

  • Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber
    Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber has been an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at University of Groningen (Netherlands) since 2020. Her research focuses on the investigation of controlling systems, in particular their design and use by management and their perception by employees. She also conducts research at the interface between internal and external accounting. Finally, she investigates the validity of measuring approaches in these research areas. She has been a visiting scholar with us since April 2020, initially at the invitation of Prof. Schiemann, and since 2022 at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Dominik Vogel, with the aim of further developing the joint research project "Measuring and Managing Performance and Risk in the Public Sector".
  • Dr. Senan Abid
    Dr. Senan Abid from the Damaskus University, Syria, will be working as a guest researcher at the Center for Economic and Sociological Studies (ZÖSS) in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Arne Heise from July 2024 - July 2025. During this period, he will address the question of how military expenditures affect the economic and political stability of Syria.
  • Dr. Ufuk Pala
    Ufuk Pala received his Ph.D. degree in Marketing from Anadolu University, Turkey, after having completed his thesis on “Comparison of the effects of market and relationship orientation on customer loyalty and business performance by meta-analysis”. He studied Business Administration (BA) and Business Information Management (Master’s Degree). Ufuk Pala is an academic member of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Giresun University, Turkey. He has various publications in academic journals and conference papers in the area of marketing.
    Ufuk Pala’s research interests include digital marketing, marketing strategies, consumer behavior, and marketing research methods.
    Ufuk Pala will again join the professorship of Management & Digital Markets (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Späth) as visiting scholar from February 2024 until the end of January 2025.

International Visiting Scholars 2024

  • Hanna Kaitandzhian
    Hanna Kaitandzhian is a guest researcher at the Chair of Public Management. Hanna is continuing her doctoral studies, which she is pursuing in collaboration between Odesa Mechnikov National University (Ukraine) and the University of Granada (Spain). Her research focuses on topics such as motivation and commitment in healthcare systems under the influence of military conflicts.
  • Dr. Ufuk Pala
    Ufuk Pala received his Ph.D. degree in Marketing from Anadolu University, Turkey, after having completed his thesis on “Comparison of the effects of market and relationship orientation on customer loyalty and business performance by meta-analysis”. He studied Business Administration (BA) and Business Information Management (Master’s Degree). Ufuk Pala is an academic member of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Giresun University, Turkey. He has various publications in academic journals and conference papers in the area of marketing.
    Ufuk Pala’s research interests include digital marketing, marketing strategies, consumer behavior, and marketing research methods.
    Ufuk Pala will again join the professorship of Management & Digital Markets (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Späth) as visiting scholar from February 2024 until the end of January 2025.
  • Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber
    Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber has been an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at University of Groningen (Netherlands) since 2020. Her research focuses on the investigation of controlling systems, in particular their design and use by management and their perception by employees. She also conducts research at the interface between internal and external accounting. Finally, she investigates the validity of measuring approaches in these research areas. She has been a visiting scholar with us since April 2020, initially at the invitation of Prof. Schiemann, and since 2022 at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Dominik Vogel, with the aim of further developing the joint research project "Measuring and Managing Performance and Risk in the Public Sector".
  • Prof. Dr. Kim Schumacher
    Prof. Dr. Kim Schumacher from Kyushu University will again be at the Department of Socioeconomics from June 2024 until the end of May 2025 to work on joint projects with Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen. His research area is Sustainable Finance and ESG.
  • Neeharika Kakunuri
    Neeharika Kakanuri will be staying as a guest researcher at the Department of Socioeconomics from April - September 2024. She is currently in the second year of the Ph.D. program in Economics at the University College Dublin and has been invited to the Universität Hamburg by Prof. Miriam Beblo.
    Neeharika’s research interest is development with a focus on gender-related issues, especially gender-based violence, stereotypes, norms, and fertility.
  • Dr. Senan Abid
    Dr. Senan Abid from the Damaskus University, Syria, will be working as a guest researcher at the Center for Economic and Sociological Studies (ZÖSS) in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Arne Heise from July 2024 - July 2025. During this period, he will address the question of how military expenditures affect the economic and political stability of Syria.

International Visiting Scholars 2023

  • Hanna Kaitandzhian
    Hanna Kaitandzhian is a guest researcher at the Chair of Public Management. Hanna is continuing her doctoral studies, which she is pursuing in collaboration between Odesa Mechnikov National University (Ukraine) and the University of Granada (Spain). Her research focuses on topics such as motivation and commitment in healthcare systems under the influence of military conflicts.
  • Nikolaj Grauslund Kristensen
    Nikolaj Grauslund Kristensen joins the Department of Socioeconomics as a visiting scholar as part of his PhD studies from November 2022 until January 2023. He holds a master's degree in Social Sciences and works in the field of urban sociology and geography at the Department of Planning at Aalborg University in Copenhagen. Mobilities, sociospatial inequalities and imagined geographies are key subjects in his research. His current research investigates social inequality in cities focusing on differences in mobilities between urban neighbourhoods. He has been invited to come to Universität Hamburg by Prof. Katharina Manderscheid.
  • Dr. Ufuk Pala
    Ufuk Pala received his Ph.D. degree in Marketing from Anadolu University, Turkey, after having completed his thesis on “Comparison of the effects of market and relationship orientation on customer loyalty and business performance by meta-analysis”. He studied Business Administration (BA) and Business Information Management (Master’s Degree). Ufuk Pala is an academic member of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Giresun University, Turkey. He has various publications in academic journals and conference papers in the area of marketing.
    Ufuk Pala’s research interests include digital marketing, marketing strategies, consumer behavior, and marketing research methods.
    Ufuk Pala will join the professorship of Management & Digital Markets (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Späth) as visiting scholar from October 2022 until the end of September 2023.
  • Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber
    Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber has been an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at University of Groningen (Netherlands) since 2020. Her research focuses on the investigation of controlling systems, in particular their design and use by management and their perception by employees. She also conducts research at the interface between internal and external accounting. Finally, she investigates the validity of measuring approaches in these research areas. She has been a visiting scholar with us since April 2020, initially at the invitation of Prof. Schiemann, and since 2022 at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Dominik Vogel, with the aim of further developing the joint research project "Measuring and Managing Performance and Risk in the Public Sector".
  • Prof. Dr. Kim Schumacher
    Prof. Dr. Kim Schumacher from Kyushu University will spend a two-week research stay at the Department of Socioeconomics in March 2023 to work on joint projects with Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen. His research area is Sustainable Finance and ESG.

International Visiting Scholars 2022

  • Nikolaj Grauslund Kristensen
    Nikolaj Grauslund Kristensen joins the Department of Socioeconomics as a visiting scholar as part of his PhD studies from November 2022 until January 2023. He holds a master's degree in Social Sciences and works in the field of urban sociology and geography at the Department of Planning at Aalborg University in Copenhagen. Mobilities, sociospatial inequalities and imagined geographies are key subjects in his research. His current research investigates social inequality in cities focusing on differences in mobilities between urban neighbourhoods. He has been invited to come to Universität Hamburg by Prof. Katharina Manderscheid.
  • Dr. Ufuk Pala
    Ufuk Pala received his Ph.D. degree in Marketing from Anadolu University, Turkey, after having completed his thesis on “Comparison of the effects of market and relationship orientation on customer loyalty and business performance by meta-analysis”. He studied Business Administration (BA) and Business Information Management (Master’s Degree). Ufuk Pala is an academic member of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Giresun University, Turkey. He has various publications in academic journals and conference papers in the area of marketing.
    Ufuk Pala’s research interests include digital marketing, marketing strategies, consumer behavior, and marketing research methods.
    Ufuk Pala will join the professorship of Management & Digital Markets (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Späth) as visiting scholar from October 2022 until the end of September 2023.
  • Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber
    Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber has been an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at University of Groningen (Netherlands) since 2020. Her research focuses on the investigation of controlling systems, in particular their design and use by management and their perception by employees. She also conducts research at the interface between internal and external accounting. Finally, she investigates the validity of measuring approaches in these research areas. She has been a visiting scholar with us since April 2020, initially at the invitation of Prof. Schiemann, and since 2022 at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Dominik Vogel, with the aim of further developing the joint research project "Measuring and Managing Performance and Risk in the Public Sector".

International Visiting Scholars 2021

  • Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber
    Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber has been an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at University of Groningen (Netherlands) since 2020. Her research focuses on the investigation of controlling systems, in particular their design and use by management and their perception by employees. She also conducts research at the interface between internal and external accounting. Finally, she investigates the validity of measuring approaches in these research areas. She will join our Department as visiting scholar from April 2020 (until the end of 2021). Together with Prof. Dr. Schiemann she will work on the project "Management Accounting System Quality and Disclosure Quality", among other things, which investigates reporting on corporate sustainability at the interface of internal and external accounting.
  • Dr. Songül Çınaroğlu
    Dr. Songül Çınaroğlu (Associate Professor at Hacettepe University, Ankara) will be visiting the HCHE from June through August 2021. Her research interests and activities are primarily empirical (i.a. reform analyses, inequality studies).

International Visiting Scholars 2020

  • Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber
    Prof. Dr. Lucia Bellora-Bienengräber has been an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at University of Groningen (Netherlands) since 2020. Her research focuses on the investigation of controlling systems, in particular their design and use by management and their perception by employees. She also conducts research at the interface between internal and external accounting. Finally, she investigates the validity of measuring approaches in these research areas. She will join our Department as visiting scholar from April 2020 (until the end of 2021). Together with Prof. Dr. Schiemann she will work on the project "Management Accounting System Quality and Disclosure Quality", among other things, which investigates reporting on corporate sustainability at the interface of internal and external accounting.
  • Dr. Hendrik Bruns
    Dr. Hendrik Bruns from the "Competence Center on Behavioral Insights" of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (Brussels) will join the Department as visiting scholar from January to December 2020. He has accepted Prof. Dr. Perino’s invitation to work on joint publications and projects in the field of Behavioral Public Policy. Among other things, they will analyze how 'soft' interventions affect the willingness to make a voluntary contribution to climate protection.
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Kaspereit
    Prof. Dr. Thomas Kaspereit, associate professor at University of Luxembourg, will join the Chair of Business Administration, in particular external accounting, auditing and sustainability, as visiting scholar from November 2019 to February 2020following the invitation by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Lopatta. While spending a research period at University of Hamburg, Prof. Dr. Kaspereit will, among other things, work on a revision of the research project "The Effect of Dual Holdings on the Level of Accounting Conservatism" (together with Kerstin Lopatta and Mario Gloger) and will also supervise and support other research projects.
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner
    Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner from ICMA Centre of Henley Business School (University of Reading, England) will extend his research period in the field of Financial Data Science at the Department of Social Economics until 2021. His research focuses on sustainable financial products, analyzed from a Financial Data Science perspective. During his research period, Prof. Dr. Hoepner will assist with third-party funded projects in the field of "Sustainable Finance". The research period was initiated by Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen. Prof. Dr. Hoepner will be in Hamburg for several shorter periods until the end of 2021.

International Visiting Scholars 2019

  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Kaspereit
    Prof. Dr. Thomas Kaspereit, associate professor at University of Luxembourg, will join the Chair of Business Administration, in particular external accounting, auditing and sustainability, as visiting scholar from November 2019 to February 2020following the invitation by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Lopatta. While spending a research period at University of Hamburg, Prof. Dr. Kaspereit will, among other things, work on a revision of the research project "The Effect of Dual Holdings on the Level of Accounting Conservatism" (together with Kerstin Lopatta and Mario Gloger) and will also supervise and support other research projects.
  • Prof. Dr. Hakan Yetkiner
    Prof. Dr. Hakan Yetkiner from Izmir Economics University (Turkey) joined the Department of Socioeconomics as visiting scholar in June and July 2019. Prof. Dr. Yetkiner worked at the Center for Economic and Sociological Studies, where in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Arne Heise he conducted a research project on the socioeconomic relationship between psychosocial health problems and criminal acts.
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner
    Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner from ICMA Centre of Henley Business School (University of Reading, England) will extend his research period in the field of Financial Data Science at the Department of Social Economics until 2021. His research focuses on sustainable financial products, analyzed from a Financial Data Science perspective. During his research period, Prof. Dr. Hoepner will assist with third-party funded projects in the field of "Sustainable Finance". The research period was initiated by Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen. Prof. Dr. Hoepner will be in Hamburg for several shorter periods until the end of 2021.
  • Prof. Dr. Valentin Cojanu
    Prof. Dr. Valentin Cojanu from the Academy of Economic Studies of Bucharest (Romania) stayed as visiting scholar at the Department of Socioeconomics in October 2019. Prof. Dr. Cojanu is among other things editor of the Journal of Philosophical Economics. Prof. Dr. Cojanu had accepted an invitation by Prof. Dr. Arne Heise to work on joint research projects (with the ZöSS). In addition, Prof. Dr. Cojanu gave lectures in the context of courses, so that he also enriched the degree programs. His research period was funded by the Erasmus mobility program.

International Visiting Scholars 2018

  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Lechler
    Prof. Dr. Thomas Lechler from the Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, USA) stayed as visiting scholar at the Chair of Marketing & Innovation of Prof. Dr. Teichert for a few weeks in January/February 2018. Together with Prof. Dr. Teichert he worked on applications of implicit cognition research for innovation management.
  • Prof. Dr. Erol Katircioglu
    Until his retirement, Prof. Dr. Erol Katircioglu worked at Marmara University and Istanbul Bilgi University in Turkey, among others. In Hamburg, together with Prof. Dr. Heise he worked on the further development and application of the (economic) market conditions approach.
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner
    Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner from the ICMA Centre of Henley Business School (University of Reading, England) joined the Department of Socioeconomics as visiting scholar in the field of Financial Data Science in January 2017. His research focuses on sustainable financial products, analyzed from a Financial Data Science perspective. His research period is intended to train doctoral researchers in Financial Data Science and to intensify cooperation in connection with sustainability projects such as "EU Climate KIC" (external link), "Climpax" (external link) or "MISTRA financial systems". The research period was initiated by Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen. Several times, Andreas Hoepner was in Hamburg for several shorter periods until the end of 2018.
  • Ali Aslam Gümüsay
    Ali Aslam Gümüsay has been working at the professorship of Daniel Geiger since 1 October 2016 within the framework of the P.R.I.M.E. (Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience) funding by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In the first year of funding, he worked at Vienna University of Economics and Business, and then joined University of Hamburg (from October 2017). He was born in Germany, but pursued his studies and obtained a doctorate in Warwick and Oxford in the past few years. His research focuses on the relationship between organization and religion in the context of institutionalist theories.

International Visiting Scholars 2017

  • Prof. Vincent Pohl, PhD
    Prof. Dr. Vincent Pohl from the Department of Economics of University of Georgia (USA) joined the Department of Socioeconomics from September until December 2017. His research focuses on health economics, labor market theory and applied econometrics. During his research period initiated by Prof. Dr. Mathias Kifmann, he supported in particular the Hamburg Center for Health Economics (HCHE).
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner 
    Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoepner from the ICMA Centre of Henley Business School (University of Reading, England) joined the Department of Socioeconomics as visiting scholar in the field of Financial Data Science in January 2017. His research focuses on sustainable financial products, analyzed from a Financial Data Science perspective. His research period is intended to train doctoral researchers in Financial Data Science and to intensify cooperation in connection with sustainability projects such as "EU Climate KIC" (external link), "Climpax" (external link) or "MISTRA financial systems". The research period was initiated by Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen. Several times, Andreas Hoepner was in Hamburg for several shorter periods until the end of 2018.
  • Ali Aslam Gümüsay
    Ali Aslam Gümüsay has been working at the professorship of Daniel Geiger since 1 October 2016 within the framework of the P.R.I.M.E. (Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience) funding by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In the first year of funding, he worked at Vienna University of Economics and Business, and then joined University of Hamburg. He was born in Germany, but pursued his studies and obtained a doctorate in Warwick and Oxford in the past few years. His research focuses on the relationship between organization and religion in the context of institutionalist theories.
  • Nailya Saifulina
    Nailya Saifulina from Spain joined the Department as visiting scholar from 1October 2016 to 30 April 2017 in the context of her doctoral studies. She did research in the field of "Routines and Unexpected Events". Her research period was initiated by Prof. Dr. Daniel Geiger.

International Visiting Scholars 2016

  • Ali Aslam Gümüsay
    Ali Aslam Gümüsay has been working at the professorship of Daniel Geiger since 1 October 2016 within the framework of the P.R.I.M.E. (Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience) funding by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In the first year of funding, he worked at Vienna University of Economics and Business, and then joined University of Hamburg. He was born in Germany, but pursued his studies and obtained a doctorate in Warwick and Oxford in the past few years. His research focuses on the relationship between organization and religion in the context of institutionalist theories.
  • Nailya Saifulina
    Nailya Saifulina from Spain joined the Department as visiting scholar from 1 October 2016 to 30 April 2017 in the context of her doctoral studies. She did research in the field of "Routines and Unexpected Events". Her research period was initiated by Prof. Dr. Daniel Geiger.
  • Dr. Helen Duh
    Researcher Dr. Helen Duh from University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) joined our Department at the beginning of 2016 to conduct, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Teichert, a research project funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Under the title "Generation Y - Socio-psychological experiences and compulsive consumption", the two researchers launched a transnational study. The aim of the study was to find out to what extent compulsive consumption is influenced by socio-psychological factors. Dr. Duh joined our Department for another research period from September until and including November 2016.
  • Cihat Öner
    Doç. Dr. Cihat Öner joined the subject group “Law” of our Department as visiting scholar from January 2016 to January 2017, following the invitation by Prof. Dr. Karsten Nowrot. Cihat Öner is an associate professor for Turkish and International Tax Law at the Faculty of Law of Ankara Üniversitesi and  conducted research in the field of tax law during his research period.

International Visiting Scholars 2015

  • Tatiana Solovey
    Tatiana Solovey joined the Department of Socioeconomics as a visiting scholar in October 2015 for a ten-month research period. She holds a PhD in Sustainability from St. Petersburg State University and continued her research in this field during her research period. The research period had been initiated by Prof. Dr. Gilbert after havingobtained a scholarship funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for this purpose. The corresponding research project is entitled: "Sustainable Corporate Management and its Impact on the Financial Performance of Companies".
  • Prof. Jeeyon Paek
    Prof. Jeeyon Paek joined the Department of Socioeconomics as a visiting scholar for a one-year research period starting in September 2015, following the invitation by Prof. Dr. Schramm. She is a professor of Human Resource Development at EWHA University in Seoul - one of our partner universities. Previously, she worked in the USA, where she obtained a doctorate from Ohio State University in 2005. She is doing research in the field of Women Career Development.
  • International doctoral researchers: Lucia Cicero and Feng Hu
    Two international doctoral researchers joined our Department from winter semester 2015/2016, following the invitation by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Teichert.
    Lucia Cicero came from University of Udine, Italy. During that semester, she joined the Department of Marketing and Innovation to do research in the field of family marketing in the context of tourism.
    Feng Hu left behind his home country China to work on a doctorate at the Department of Marketing and Innovation. As an external doctoral researcher, he stayed in Hamburg for three years. Feng Hu analyzed the influence of personality traits on the effect of buying incentives in marketing.

International Visiting Scholars 2014

  • Dr. Premilla D'Cruz
    Dr. Premilla D'Cruz from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (Department of Organizational Behaviour, India) joined the subject group “Sociology” of the Department of Socioeconomics as a visiting scholar from 1 April to 30 June 2014. She had accepted the invitation by Prof. Dr. Mayer-Ahuja, who had obtained funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for this purpose.
  • Dr. Ernesto Noronha
    Dr. Ernesto Noronha from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (Department of Organizational Behaviour, India) joined the subject group “Sociology” of the Departmant of Socioeconomics from 1 April to 30 June 2014, following the invitation by Prof. Dr. Mayer-Ahuja.