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Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich

SBS Swiss Business School > Faculty Management > Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich

Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich, PhD

Head of CSCFS, Head of Executive Education, Senior Faculty

Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich, Ph.D., MBA (University of Cambridge) is the Head of Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability / Head of Executive Education and Senior Faculty at SBS Swiss Business School.

Besides, his responsibility as Head of Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability he leads the Executive Education Program of SBS. In addition, Prof. Dr. Gerlich teaches several business and management courses in our MBA, Master and Bachelor programs. Besides his teaching activities he supervises DBA students.

Furthermore, for more than 25 years, he has worked as an adviser to the President and the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, the Cabinet of Ministers in Uzbekistan and various Ministers for economic affairs in Azerbaijan, in addition to holding leading positions within GIZ / KfW (the German Development Bank) ,the International Finance Corporation and the private sector.

Research interest

Marketing:

  • Consumer Behavior
  • AI and Big Data in Marketing
  • Sociology in Marketing

Management:

  • Change Management
  • Leadership
  • Strategic analysis and foresight

Sociology:

  • Impact of AI on Society
  • Elite Studies
  • Changes in Society

Recent Publications:

Publications (peer-reviewed)

  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). The use of artificial intelligence in modern business education: The impact on students’ cognitive and communication skills in the United Kingdom, IEEE Engineering Management Review, DOI: 10.1109/EMR.2024.3441468 (Scopus Q1)
  • Gerlich, Michael; Galoyan D; Litvin I; Salimova S (2024).The Effectiveness of Public Policy in the Field of Digitalization and Consumption: How Does Macroeconomics Influence Behavioral Patterns in Eastern Europe?, Journal of the Knowledge Economy, DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02260-w (Scopus Q1)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). Exploring Motivators for Trust in the Dichotomy of Human—AI Trust Dynamics. Social Sciences13: 251. DOI: 10.3390/socsci13050251 (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). Societal Perceptions and Acceptance of Virtual Humans: Trust and Ethics across Different Contexts. Social Sciences, 13(10), 516; DOI:10.3390/socsci13100516 (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). Brace for Impact: Facing the AI Revolution and Geopolitical Shifts in a Future Societal Scenario for 2025–2040. Societies, 14(9), 180. DOI:10.3390/soc14090180 (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). Public Anxieties About AI: Implications for Corporate Strategy and Societal Impact. Administrative Sciences, 14(11), 288. DOI: 10.3390/admsci14110288 (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). U.S. Elite Fragmentation and Global Instability: Navigating the Road to Autocracy in the 21st Century. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 12, 352-363. DOI: 10.4236/jss.2024.1211025. 
  • Gerlich, Michael (2024). Empirical Insights into the Contemporary 360 Management Framework (360MF). Open Journal of Business and Management, 12, 1488-1515. DOI: 10.4236/ojbm.2024.123081
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). Devoid Elites and the Need for a New Elite Configuration: An Analysis of Post-Soviet Societies on the Example of Azerbaijan. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies ISSN: 2149-1291. DOI: 10.29333/ejecs/1616 (Scopus Q1)
  • Gerlich M, Elsayed W, Sokolovskiy K, (2023). Artificial intelligence as toolset for analysis of public opinion and social interaction in marketing: identification of micro and nano influencers. Frontiers in Communication, 8. DOI: 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1075654 (Scopus Q1)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). Perceptions and Acceptance of Artificial Intelligence: A Multi-Dimensional Study. Social Sciences. 12(9):502. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/socsci12090502 (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). The Power of Virtual Influencers: Impact on Consumer Behaviour and Attitudes in the Age of AI. Administrative Sciences. 13(8):178. DOI: 10.3390/admsci13080178 (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). How Short-Term Orientation Dominates Western Businesses and the Challenges They Face—An Example Using Germany, the UK, and the USA.  Administrative Sciences 13, no. 1: 25. DOI: 10.3390/admsci13010025. (Scopus Q2)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). The Power of Personal Connections in Micro-Influencer Marketing: A Study on Consumer Behaviour and the Impact of Micro-Influencers.  Transnational Marketing Journal, 11(1), 131-152. DOI: 10.58262/tmj.v11i1.1010. (Scopus Q3)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). Challenging the Status Quo: Transforming HRM Practices to Address the Societal Shift in Employee Expectations. Annals of Social Sciences & Management Studies, 8(4): 555741. DOI: 10.19080/ASM.2023.08.555741.
  • Gerlich, Michael (2023). Time for Change: Rethinking Top Managers’ Bonus Systems for A Sustainable and Prosperous Future. Annals of Social Sciences & Management Studies, 8(3): 555736. DOI: 10.19080/ASM.2023.08.555736.
  • Gerlich, Michael (2022). Why Do Western Change Management Approaches Not Work in Societies with High Power Distance? A Case Study of Azerbaijan. The International Journal of Organizational Diversity 23 (1): 21-42. DOI:10.18848/2328-6261/CGP/v23i01/21-42. (Scopus Q3)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2022). Micro-influencer marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic: New vistas or the end of an era? Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, Vol. 9 No. 4, 337-353. (Scopus Q3)
  • Gerlich, Michael (2021). COVID-19 Induced Changes in Consumer Behavior. Open Journal of Business and Management, 9, 2425-2451. DOI:10.4236/ojbm.2021.95131
  • Gerlich, Michael (2021). How Elite Configurations Explain Shifts from Democracy to Authoritarian or Totalitarian Regimes: Turkey as a Case Study. Open Journal of Political Science, 11, 273-300. DOI: 10.4236/ojps.2021.112019.

Published Books

  • Gerlich, Michael (2023), Handbook of Strategic Analysis and Corporate Foresight, Bookmundo, ISBN 9-789464853520

Published Book Chapters

  • Gerlich, Michael (2023), Beyond the Paycheck – Navigating the New Era of Employee Expectations as part of Enhancing Employee Engagement and Productivity in the Post-Pandemic Multigenerational Workforce, IGI-Global, ISBN13: 9781668491720, ISBN10: 1668491729, EISBN13: 9781668491744, DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-9172-0.ch006

Recent Conferences & Presentations

  • Plenary Speaker: International Experts Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI Summit-2024), Tokyo, Sept. 2024
  • Speaker: 16th Conference of the European Sociological Association (Tension, Trust and Transformation), Porto, Aug 2024
  • Speaker: 5th World Conference on Business, Management, Finance Economics and Marketing, Vienna, May 2024
  • Speaker: Anthropological theory and methods for the study of political elites, ESRC DTP Conference on Interdisciplinarity, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Oct 2019

Academic Journal Reviewer

  • Academic Reviewer for Cambridge University Press journals (Scopus Q1)
  • Academic Reviewer for Springer Nature Group journals (Scopus Q1)
  • Academic Reviewer MDPI journals (Scopus Q1 & Q2)
  • Academic Reviewer Taylor & Francis journals (Scopus Q1 & Q2)
  • Academic Reviewer for Palgrave Macmillan journals (Scopus Q2)
  • Academic Reviewer Emerald Group Publishing journals (Scopus Q2)
  • Academic Reviewer for academic book chapters in Marketing and Management disciplines, IGI Global (Scopus ranked)

Academic and Professional Qualification

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), ARU, Cambridge, UK, 2022
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA), JBS, Cambridge, UK, 2018
  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), PWU (now CMU), Los Angeles, USA, 1993
  • Diplom-Betriebswirt (MA – Business Management), Trier, Germany, 1993
  • Certificate in Transformational Leadership, JBS, University of Cambridge, UK, 2016
  • Certificate in Strategic Performance Management, JBS, University of Cambridge, UK, 2012
  • ICC-Certified Master Coach, Behavioral Coaching Institute, New York, USA, 2012
  • Certified Auditing Assistant, Chamber of Auditors, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, 1991
  • Certified Banker, Bayerische Hypotheken und Wechselbank, Munich, Germany, 1988