Hardening companies against crisis — that’s the goal of risk governance. The academic field, founded by two Siegen researchers, is finding increased resonance from modern businesses. The current crises are also helping driving acceptance.
Ten years ago, Prof. Arnd Wiedemann and Prof. Volker Stein of the University of Siegen set out to establish a completely new subject in the academic field of business administration: risk governance — a management process for all parts of a company, integrated into the corporate strategy and authorized to work proactively during crises and emergency situations. “The crises of recent years have forced many companies to rethink how they work. Many decision makers see the necessity now more than ever to prepare systematic tools to arm themselves against crises. This level of willingness was not there in the past,” explains Wiedemann, a professor of finance and bank management at the University of Siegen. He sees many companies now applying the fruits of this application-oriented basic research to their own daily practices.