Profile
Rajnish Tiwari is Professor of Business Administration and Global Innovation at the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Fresenius; HSF). In addition, he co-leads the research program on "Global Innovation" at Institute of Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) of Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). He is one of the founding members of Center for Frugal Innovation (CFI) and a part of its management team. Since joining HSF he is engaged in creating an intensive research cooperation between HSF and TIM. Previously he has also served as a member of the Advisory Circle ("Beraterkereis") of ITA ("Innovations- und Technikanalysen"), a program initiated by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), where he was co-responsible for the funding track on "new global innovation pathways".
His research is centered in the confluence zone of international business and innovation management. His current research is primarily focused on affordability-driven "frugal innovations" that fulfill high quality standards ("affordable excellence") and are responsible in its usage of resources. In this research he looks not only at emerging economies but also beyond them. His research, which was supported by a generous grant of the Claussen Simon Foundation for the habilitation study, proactively examines the prospects for such innovations in the industrialized nations.
One of the cornerstones of his research is built by economic/business developments in India and Indo-German collaboration. Additionally, he has gathered expertise over issues such as outward foreign direct investments (FDI) by Indian multinationals and Mobile Commerce, especially in the field of financial services ("Mobile Banking").
In his doctoral dissertation, which he completed with distiction, Rajnish worked on updating/ extending the theory of lead markets to developing economies by questioning the dominant logic and by incorporating the changing ground realities of the economic world oder. Prior to his doctorate, Rajnish studied Business Administration at University of Hamburg, majoring in International Management, Business Informatics, and (Organizational) Sociology.
Cross-cultural management is another key area of his expertise. Rajnish offers master level courses in Intercultural Management & Communication at TUHH and advises firms on cross-cultural management that includes management trainings in corporate houses, especially in the Indo-German context.
Rajnish, an alumnus of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS), has received several awards in the pursuit of his academic career, e.g. the "Market and Customer Orientation" prize by Vodafone Stiftung fuer Forschung for his study of Mobile Banking, and a post-doctorate scholarship by Hamburg-based Claussen Simon Foundation in 2014.
He has published extensively and his practice-oriented research has often found mention in the news media and business press. Rajnish is also a regular contributor to publications of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. He is regularly invited to deliver talks at various business, scientific and political venues. His expertise is also regularly utilized by various journals, publishing houses, conference organizers, and grant agencies to peer-review submissions.
In 2007, together with other institutional players such as Hamburg's state government, Chamber of Commerce and other organizations Rajnish co-initiated the series of India Weeks in Hamburg and continues to be a member of its steering committee ("Planungsrunde"). In February 2010 Rajnish was invited to lead the Hamburg section of German-Indian Round Table (GIRT). He is active in the Indo-German Society ("Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft e.V.") and a member of its Advisory Board ("Beirat"). Additionally, he is a member of the Hanseatic India Forum e.V. in Hamburg. On professional front, he is a member of Academy of Management, and Verband der Hochschullehrer fuer Betriebswirtschaft.
Habilitation (post-doc) project: (completed in 2020)
Current research
- Frugal innovations, globalization of innovation, emerging economies, international management
- Mobile Commerce / Mobile Banking
Current courses
- Intercultural Management and Communication (Master-level course)
Topic of the (completed) Ph.D. thesis
- Emergence of Lead Markets in Developing Economies: An Examination on the Basis of 'Small Car' Segment in India's Automobile Industry
Detailed profile
Projects +Publications +