David Wagner is Professor for International Business and Digital Business, Academic Director for the Doctor in Business Administration (DBA) and Vice Dean for Research at Munich Business School. He teaches, does research, and consults in the fields of digital strategy, digital innovation, and digital transformation. He is the winner of the MBS Teaching Award 2022 and the MBS Research Award 2023.
David Wagner studied management and economics at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany, and management psychology at University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. He earned his doctoral degree from the joint graduate program of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder and the German Graduate School of Management and Law in Heilbronn, Germany. He was a visiting scholar at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, among others.
Besides his experience in academia, David Wagner has worked in the field of international economic development, at various technology companies, and as a consultant for digital business. In parallel to his commitments at Munich Business School, he has continued to work with high-profile organizations in both the private and the public sector.
In his research, David Wagner investigates how digital technologies create value and foster innovations. In this context, he studies which strategies and/or capabilities organizations need to develop to address technological changes. David Wagner has an extensive track record in the field of social media and online communities. He has published multiple journal papers, book chapters, and reports, and frequently speaks at conferences, workshops, and media outlets.
Professor for International Business & Digital Business; Academic Director, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA); Vice Dean, Research
Bachelor International Business, Master in Sports Business and Communication, Master of Business Administration, Doctor of Business Administration
Strategic Management, International Business, Digital Business, Information Systems, Online Communities, Social Media
Idea Development & Start ups (BA), Digital Business & Innovation (BA), Product Lifecycle Management (BA), Innovative Leadership (SBC), Online Marketing (SBC), Social Media Management (SBC), Digital Sports (SBC), Master Thesis Preparation (SBC), Business Project (SBC), Digital Business Transformation (MBA), Critical Thinking in Business Administration (DBA), Contemporary Issues in Business and Management (DBA), Research Approaches and Designs (DBA)
ACADEMIC JOURNAL
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Wagner, D., Richter, A., & Oertel, B. (2024). Wie gesund ist meine Community? – Kennzahlen zur Erfolgsmessung von Online Communities. WiSt - Wirtschaftswissenschaftliches Studium, 53(7–8), 47–50. https://doi.org/10.15358/0340-1650-2024-7-8-46
Wagner, D. (2023). A Review and Research Agenda for Brand Communities in Sports. International Journal of Sport Communication, 16(3), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2023-0114
Kramer, K., Wagner, D., & Scheck, B. (2021). Reaping the digital dividend? Sport marketing’s move into esports: insights from Germany. European Journal of International Management, 15(2/3), 339–366. https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2021.10032384
Wagner, D., Wenzel, M., Wagner, H.-T., & Koch, J. (2017). Sense, seize, reconfigure: Online communities as strategic assets. Journal of Business Strategy, 38(5), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-09-2016-0088
Wagner, D., Vollmar, G., & Wagner, H.-T. (2014). The impact of information technology on knowledge creation: An affordance approach to social media. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 27(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-09-2012-0063
PRACTITIONER JOURNAL
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Wagner, D. (2024). Like Wikipedia and Firefox, it’s time to embrace the opportunity of community. I by IMD, 16, 29–32.
Kramer, K., Rittmann, C., & Wagner, D. (2024). Neue Wege gehen. markenartikel, 86(5), 100–103.
Wagner, D. (2017). Eine Chance für Kultur: Community Management im Kulturmarketing. Kultur und Management im Dialog, 121, 17-22.
Wagner, D., & Schirmer, H. (2016). Digitales HRM – “Gestalten oder Verwalten?”. personal manager, 2, 32-35.
Wagner, D., Wagner, H.-T., & Ellermann, B. (2016). Online Communities als Quelle von Ideen und Innovationen. Ideen- und Innovationsmanagement, 1, 7-11. https://doi.org/10.37307/j.2198-3151.2016.01.04
BOOKS/ACADEMIC BOOK CHAPTER
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Wagner, D. (2025). Community Centricity – ein neues Leitbild für Organisationen. In T. Laub (Ed.), Community. Menschen befähigen. Potenziale entfalten. Transformation gestalten. Vom Publikum zur erfolgreichen Community (pp. 47–50). Independently Published.
Zeeb, J., & Wagner, D. (2023). Assessing the PESO Model in the German Automotive Industry: Results of an Expert Study and Introduction of the Content Flow Model. In A.-K. Langner & G. Schuster (Eds.), Holistische Social-Media-Strategien (pp. 143–157). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42563-0_11
Matz, L., Abeza, G., & Wagner, D. (2022). Covid-19 and the Bundesliga: A study of digital fan engagement strategies in professional soccer. In P. M. Pedersen (Ed.), Research Handbook on Sport and COVID-19 (pp. 301-312). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207576.00034
Wagner, D. (2021). Online Communities in Sport. In G. Abeza, N. O’Reilly, & J. Sanderson (Eds.), Social Media in Sport: Theory and Practice (pp. 57–82). World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811237669_0003
Wenzel, M., Rauch, M., Adebile, A., Bogodistov, Y., Cénophat, S., Hartmann, M., Wagner, D., & Wohlgemuth, V. (2021). Dynamic Capabilities: Celebrating the Plurality of Understandings of the Concept. In T. Bayón, M. Eisend, J. Koch, A. Söllner, M. Vodosek, & H.-T. Wagner (Eds.), Dynamic Capabilities and Relationships: Discourses, Concepts, and Reflections (pp. 5–32). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83182-0_1
Piersig, K., Pumpat, M., Wagner, D., & Eckhardt, A. (2020). Erfolgsfaktoren für die didaktische Gestaltung von Corporate MOOCs: Erkenntnisse aus dem GGS-MOOC Human Resource Management in the Digital Age. In M. Deimann & C. Friedl (Eds.), Machen MOOCs Karriere? Eine praxisnahe Reflexion über Erfahrungen von Unternehmen (pp. 77-105). Springer Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-59780-4_5
Wagner, D., Schnurr, J.-M., Enke, S., & Ellermann, B. (2016). Auf dem Weg zur vernetzten Organisation: Ein Plädoyer für professionelles Community Management in der digitalen Transformation. In A. Rossmann, M. Besch, & G. Stei (Eds.), Enterprise Social Networks (pp. 41-60). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-12652-0_3
Zagst, M., Richter, A., & Wagner, D. (2014). Überzeugen, Sensibilisieren und Coachen von Führungskräften. In A. Richter (Ed.), Vernetzte Organisation (pp. 260-270). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. https://doi.org/10.1524/9783486747317.227
ACADEMIC CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
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Ruoff, L., & Wagner, D. (2024). Assessing the implementation of digital transformation strategies in the German sport industry: An expert study. In Proceedings of the 27th GeNeMe Conference (pp. 33–44). https://doi.org/10.25368/2025.121
Zeiher, S., Richter, A., & Wagner, D. (2023). Towards domain-specific knowledge on digital transformation – The case of the furniture industry. In Proceedings of the 31st European Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2023_rp/317
Wagner, D., Happe, R., Laub, T., Paech, V., Spinks, D., & Wagenaar, K. (2021). Building communities of community builders – An international perspective. In T. Köhler & E. Schoop (Eds.), Gemeinschaften in neuen Medien: Digitale Partizipation in hybriden Realitäten und Gemeinschaften: 24. Workshop GeNeMe'21, Dresden, Germany, October 6-8, 2021 (pp. 388-393). TUDpress. https://doi.org/10.25368/2022.66
Puschkasch, T., & Wagner, D. (2020). Managing cloud computing across the product lifecycle: Development of a conceptual model. In K. R. Lang, J. Xu, B. Zhu, X. Liu, M. J. Shaw, H. Zhang, & M. Fan (Eds.), Smart business: Technology and data enabled innovative business models and practices: 18th Workshop on e-Business, WeB 2019, Munich, Germany, December 14, 2019, revised selected papers (pp. 1-10). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67781-7_13
Tykholoz, Y., Wagner, D., & Richter, A. (2020). Use cases of enterprise social software in consulting: A practice perspective. In T. Köhler & E. Schoop (Eds.), Gemeinschaften in neuen Medien: Von hybriden Realitäten zu hybriden Gemeinschaften: 23. Workshop GeNeMe'20, Dresden, Germany, October 7-9, 2020 (pp. 342-352). TUDpress. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-741349
Wagner, D., Schirmer, H., Brück, A., & Peter, G. (2020). Online-Panel: Communities und Netzwerke als Treiber des digitalen Wandels. In T. Köhler & E. Schoop (Eds.), Gemeinschaften in neuen Medien: Von hybriden Realitäten zu hybriden Gemeinschaften: 23. Workshop GeNeMe'20, Dresden, Germany, October 7-9, 2020 (pp. 60-64). TUDpress. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-735611
Wagner, D., Ellermann, B., Schön, E.-M., & Kosub, M. (2020). Online-Panel: Conversational platforms als strategisches Digitalisierungsinstrument. In T. Köhler & E. Schoop (Eds.), Gemeinschaften in neuen Medien: Von hybriden Realitäten zu hybriden Gemeinschaften: 23. Workshop GeNeMe'20, Dresden, Germany, October 7-9, 2020 (pp. 75-79). TUDpress. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-735763
Wagner, D. (2018). Community Management in 2018: Bedeutung, Trends und Praktiken. In T. Köhler E. Schoop, & N. Kahnwald (Eds.), Communities in new media: Research on knowledge communities in science, business, education & public administration. Proceedings of 21st GeNeMe Conference (GeNeMe '18), Dresden, Germany, October 24-26, 2018 (pp. 10-11). https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-336507
Piersig, K., Egloffstein, M., Pumpat, M., Eckhardt, A., & Wagner, D. (2017). Designing SPOCs for student engagement: Experiences from management education. In C. Delgado Kloos, M. Pérez Sanagustín, P. Jermann, D. Seaton, S. White, D. Jansen, & M. Calise (Eds.), Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017: Work in progress papers of the experience and research tracks and position papers of the policy track (pp. 40-46). Leganés, Spain, 22-26 May 2017. http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1841/E07_118.pdf
Shuradze, G., Wagner, H.-T., & Wagner, D. (2015). Technological platforms and innovation: Review, integration, and extension. In Proceedings of the 21st Americas Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2015/StrategicUse/GeneralPresentations/21/
Wenzel, M., Wagner, D., Wagner, H.-T., & Koch, J. (2015). Digitization and path-disruption: An examination in the funeral industry. In Proceedings of the 23rd European Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2015_cr/199/
Richter, A., & Wagner, D. (2014). Leadership 2.0: Engaging and supporting leaders in the transition towards a networked organization. In Proceedings of the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 574-583). IEEE Computer Society. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.78
Wagner, D. (2014). Developing social capital in online communities: The challenge of fluidity. In Proceedings of the 20th Americas Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2014/SocioTechnicalIssues/GeneralPresentations/8/
Wagner, D., Richter, A., Trier, M., & Wagner, H.-T. (2014). Toward a conceptualization of online community health. In Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2014/proceedings/SocialMedia/21/
Wagner, D., & Wagner, H.-T. (2013). Online communities and dynamic capabilities: A cross-case examination of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguration. In Proceedings of the 19th Americas Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2013/StrategicUse/GeneralPresentations/29/
ACADEMIC CONFERENCE PRESENTATION
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Wagner, D., Khapova, S., Falkenstein, M., Jabeen, F., Parry, E., Pellegrini, E. K., & Brock, J. (2025, July 25-29). Creating impact through professional doctorates: Publications, challenges, and long-term effects [Professional development workshop]. 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Copenhagen, Denmark.
de Nul, L., Dixson-Declève, S., van Veldhoven, S., Wagner, D., & Wijkman, A. (2025, March 25). Exploring new economic models [Conference panel]. GLOBE EU Conference: Charting the path to sustainable economic development, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium. https://www.globe-eu.org/globe-eu-conference-charting-the-path-to-sustainable-economic-development/
Warren, C., Achen, R., Clavio, G., & Wagner, D. (2024, November 6–8). Development and validation of a sport brand community engagement survey [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Sport Marketing Association, St. Louis, MO, United States.
Wagner, D., Breese, R., Bartunek, J., Issah, S., Khapova, S., Miller, J., Pellegrini, E., & Polyakova, O. (2024, August 9–13). Maximizing the impact of professional doctorates [Professional development workshop]. 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, IL, United States.
Abeza, G., Achen, R., Cianfrone, B., Frederick, E., Mamo, Y., O’Reilly, N., Sanderson, J., Su, Y., & Wagner, D. (2022, June 2–4). Social media as an agent of change in sport [Conference presentation]. Annual Conference of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), Atlanta, GA, United States.
Wagner, D., & Di Bella, J. (2016, September 17–20). Real-life learning as a pedagogical approach in business schools [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Strategic Management Society, Berlin, Germany.
Wagner, D., Wenzel, M., Wagner, H.-T., & Koch, J. (2016, June 27–29). Exploring the strategic impact of online communities: A dynamic capabilities perspective [Conference presentation]. 21st IAMB Conference, Montreal, Canada.
Rauch, M., & Wagner, D. (2015, August 7–11). Dynamic capabilities: Bridging diverging conversations [Symposium]. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC, Canada. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2015.11255symposium
Wagner, D., & Moser, C. (2015, August 7–11). Online communities research: Quo vadis? Perspectives on knowledge work, collaboration, & innovation [Symposium]. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC, Canada. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2015.10019symposium
Reischauer, G., & Wagner, D. (2014, August 1–5). Dynamic capabilities and path dependence: Organizational adaptability in turbulent environments [Symposium]. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Philadelphia, PA, United States. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2014.10036symposium
Wagner, D., & Vodosek, M. (2013, August 9–13). Microfoundations of dynamic capabilities [Symposium]. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL, United States. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2013.10297symposium
Wagner, D., Wagner, H.-T., & Koch, J. (2013, September 28–October 1). Exploring dynamic capabilities in community contexts: An empirical investigation [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Strategic Management Society, Atlanta, GA, United States.
PRACTITIONER MEETING PRESENTATION
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Wagner, D. (2025, March 27). Community Future(s): Wohin entwickelt sich das Feld? [Conference presentation]. Community Glitz, Munich, Germany.
Wagner, D. (2021, July 27). Ist Customer Engagement über Social Media überhaupt (noch) möglich? [Conference presentation]. #d2mtalk Marathon, Munich, Germany.
Wagner, D. (2021, April 27). Trends im Customer Engagement und Community Management [Conference session]. #d2mtalk, Episode 55, Munich, Germany.
Clauss, A., Laub, T., Lämmer, S., Schnurr, J.-M., & Wagner, D. (2018, October 27–28). Social Media und Community Management in 2018 [Conference presentation]. CommunityCamp, Berlin, Germany.
Wagner, D. (2018, December 12). Social-Media- und Community-Management in Deutschland 2018 [Conference presentation]. 84th Mercedes‑Benz Social Media Night, Stuttgart, Germany. https://www.smcst.de/events/83-mercedes-benz-social-media-night/
Wagner, D. (2018, October 24). Social Media im Sportmanagement [Conference presentation]. MedienCampus Bayern, Munich, Germany. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm9Vvt0v2cI
Wagner, D. (2017, May 12). Aufbau und Management von Brand Communities [Conference presentation]. Gesellschaft für angewandtes Markenwissen e.V., Berlin, Germany.
Wagner, D. (2016, October 26). Social Media und Community Management in 2016 [Conference presentation]. 61st Mercedes‑Benz Social Media Night, Stuttgart, Germany. https://www.slideshare.net/bvcmOrg/praesentation-bvcm-studie-mercedesbenz-social-media-night-stuttgart
Ellermann, B., Enke, S., Laub, T., Lämmer, S., Schnurr, J.-M., & Wagner, D. (2016, October 22–23). Social-Media- und Community-Management in 2016 [Conference presentation]. CommunityCamp, Berlin, Germany.
Wagner, D. (2016, March 2). Zum Status von Social Media und Community Management in D‑A‑CH [Conference presentation]. 53rd Mercedes‑Benz Social Media Night, Stuttgart, Germany. https://de.slideshare.net/bvcmOrg/prsentation-53-mercedesbenz-social-media-night-stuttgart-zum-status-von-social-media-und-community-management-in-dach
Wagner, D. (2015, October 20). Zum Status von Social Media und Community Management in D‑A‑CH [Conference presentation]. Social Business Club / IBM Connect, Cologne, Germany. https://de.slideshare.net/slideshow/ergebnisse-bvcmstudie-socialmedia-und-community-management-in-dach-54356386/54356386
Wagner, D., Schnurr, J.-M., Ellermann, B., Laub, T., Enke, S., & Lämmer, S. (2015, October 24–25). Zum Status von Social-Media- und Community-Management in D‑A‑CH [Conference presentation]. CommunityCamp, Berlin, Germany. https://de.slideshare.net/slideshow/ergebnisse-bvcmstudie-socialmedia-und-community-management-in-dach/54355468
Wagner, D., & Oertel, B. (2013, October 26–27). Was ist Forengesundheit (oder wie messe ich den Gesundheitszustand meiner Community)? [Conference presentation]. CommunityCamp, Berlin, Germany.
WORKING PAPER/REPORT
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Clauss, A., Collet, S., Laub, T., Lämmer, S., Schnurr, J.-M., & Wagner, D. (2020). Profilinterviews zu den BVCM-Berufsbildern. Bundesverband Community Management e. V. für digitale Kommunikation und Social Media. https://www.bvcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Clauss-et-al.-2020-Profilinterviews-zu-den-BVCM-Berufsbildern_web.pdf
Clauss, A., Collet, S., Laub, T., Lämmer, S., Schnurr, J.-M., & Wagner, D. (2019). Social-Media- und Community-Management in Deutschland 2018. Bundesverband Community Management e.V. für digitale Kommunikation und Social Media. https://www.bvcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/BVCM-Studie-2018.pdf
Ellermann, B., Enke, S., Laub, T., Lämmer, S., Schnurr, J.-M., & Wagner, D. (2016). Social-Media- und Community-Management in 2016. Bundesverband Community Management e.V. für digitale Kommunikation und Social Media. https://www.bvcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/BVCM-Studie-2016.pdf
Wagner, D., Schnurr, J.-M., Ellermann, B., Laub, T., Enke, S., & Lämmer, S. (2015). Zum Status von Social-Media- und Community-Management in D-A-CH. Bundesverband Community Management e. V. für digitale Kommunikation und Social-Media. https://www.bvcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/BVCM-Studie-Report-2015.pdf
Dornis, A., Scherer, B., Wagner, D., Vollmar, G., Kimmich, M., Peter, G., & Dückert, S. (2011). Positionspapier: Wissensmanagement und Enterprise 2.0. Gesellschaft für Wissensmanagement. https://www.gfwm.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/GfWM-Positionspapier_WM_und_E20.pdf
SUPERVISIONS DBA/PhD/DOCTORATE
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Taherian, E. M. (2024). Towards transient advantages: The role of knowledge management on productivity [Doctoral dissertation, Sheffield Hallam University]. Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive. https://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00654
Supervised with Prof. Kayhan Tajeddini.
Diepolder, M. (2025). Digital transformation of manufacturing SMEs as holistic organizational change [Doctoral dissertation, Sheffield Hallam University].
Supervised with Dr. Sohrab Moshiri.
Benzinger, K. (in progress). Business model innovation in shared services: A dynamic capabilities perspective. Sheffield Hallam University.
Supervised with Dr. Alisha Ali and Dr. Philip Coombes.
Kohnke, K. (in progress). Digital innovation through blockchain‑based ecosystem strategies: A new institutional economics perspective. Sheffield Hallam University.
Supervised with Dr. Xiaohong Li and Dr. Drew Woodhouse.
Mohan, L. (in progress). How can Indo-German management synthesis and adaptive leadership improve bilateral collaboration? Sheffield Hallam University.
Supervised with Prof. Diana Sharpe and Prof. Thomas Röhm.
Pariente, A. (in progress). Impact of generative artificial intelligence on leaders’ cognition in strategic decision making. Sheffield Hallam University.
Elsenheimerstraße 61
80687 München Germany