Forecast of Changes in Business Administration Driven by Digitalization

This paper on hand deals with a research gap, since there were no sources on the topic of changes in business administration studies induced by Industry 4.0 until the year 2018. For this reason, a document analysis was used to examine essential studies from the years 2010 to 2016. This was followed by twenty interviews with experts from universities and companies. Furthermore, a total of 71 people took part in a subsequent online survey. With digitization, the requirements for business administration graduates are also changing from technical competence to methodological and digital competence. Digitization has an impact on all areas, politics, society and the economy. The higher education sector is not unaffected by this either, because universities are forerunners in the transfer of knowledge. For this reason, there is a need to reform and at the same time strengthen the education system. Educational institutions should focus on effective learning and relevant learning content. Thus, the present research deals with the changes at university (especially business studies) and company level induced by Industry 4.0, focusing on the demands on business economists coupled with the entrepreneurial changes of tomorrow. Using the mixed-method approach, a qualitative and a quantitative research approach was carried out. This was based on a three-step sequential research approach: 1) document analysis, 2) expert interviews and 3) online surveys. As a result, the majority of the experts that have participated in the survey confirmed a strong impact of digitalization on the working environment. This change of the workplace requires an adaption by the employees as well as a revision of academic curriculars. Traditional education in business administration is not obsolete, however, requires a stronger link with topics of information technologies. Business administration in higher education must be subject to the following changes: 1) adaptation of curricula with regard to current trends business analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence, 2) adaptation of IT infrastructure and resources in knowledge transfer such as blogs, online lectures, etc. as well as 3) stronger cooperation between business, science and education.