Dr. rer. pol. Nils J. Tschoppe

Nils J. Tschoppe Photo: Privat

Lebenslauf

Dr Nils J. Tschoppe has been a postdoctoral researcher (working towards his habilitation) at the Chair of Business Administration, specialising in Information Management, at the FernUniversität in Hagen since October 2026.

He obtained his doctorate at the Institute for Business Informatics at Leuphana University Lüneburg (Dr. rer. pol.). His doctoral thesis (“Growth Trajectories of Digital Start-ups: Empirical Evidence and Directions for Digital Entrepreneurship Research”) was awarded the distinction of magna cum laude. In it, he examined how digital start-ups overcome the organisational, technological and strategic challenges associated with rapid expansion.

As a visiting scholar, he conducted research on this topic at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The findings were presented, amongst other venues, at the leading international business informatics conference ‘ICIS’ (2024).

Methodologically, he employs a broad spectrum of qualitative (including Grounded Theory) and design-oriented (including Action Design Research) approaches. He has integrated his practical experience from the start-up ecosystem, IT consultancy, the SME sector and academia into numerous German- and English-language courses at the interface of entrepreneurship, business informatics and organisational sciences.

Professional Experience  
10/206 - present Postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of B*IMA, FernUniversität Hagen
06/2026 - present Startup Manager, Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven
04/2020 - 05/2026 PhD student, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
10/2018 - 12/2019 Bid Manager, Sopra Steria
10/2017 - 09/2018 Development Policy Voluntary Service, eThekwini Municipality
Education  
04/2020 - 05/2026 PhD programme in Digital Entrepreneurship (Dr. rer. pol.), Leuphana University of Lüneburg
09/2015 - 09/2017 Master’s degree in Business Management (MA), Hochschule Flensburg
09/2011 - 05/2015 Dual Bachelor’s degree programme in Business Informatics (B.Sc.), FOM Hochschule, Dortmund
04/2011 - 07/2011 Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Otto-Friedrich-Universität, Bamberg
08/2011 - 08/2013 Part-time training programme to become an IT business administrator