Prof. Dr. Maier Christian

Diplom-Wirtschaftsinformatiker

Christian Maier ist Inhaber der Professur für Informationelle Privatheit in der digitalen Wirtschaft an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU).

Christian studierte Wirtschaftsinformatik an der Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg. Im Anschluss erhielt er über die Universität Bayern e.V. ein dreijähriges Promotionsstipendium der Bayerischen Eliteförderung (BayEFG), bevor er als Privatdozent und Akademischer (Ober-)Rat am Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik, insb. Informationssysteme in Dienstleistungsbereichen tätig war. In dieser Zeit war er ebenfalls am Centre of Human Resources Information Systems (CHRIS) tätig. Hier hat er den Einsatz von Informationssystemen im Personalwesen sowie das Verhalten von Stellensuchenden und Karriereinteressierten untersucht und ist Mitautor der Studienreihen „Recruiting Trends“ und „Bewerbungspraxis“.

Er wurde im Jahr 2014 für seine Arbeiten über Technostress promoviert. Seine Promotion „Technostress: theoretical foundations and empirical evidence“ wurde unter anderem mit dem Schmalenbach-Preis (2015) und dem Hans-Löwel Wissenschaftspreis (2016) ausgezeichnet. In den Jahren 2018 und 2019 war er Gastwissenschaftler an der Clemson University (USA) und der University of Lancaster (UK). 2021 wurde ihm für seine Habilitation „Digital work and digital life: theoretical evidence and empirical studies on the discovery, development, diffusion, and impact of digital technologies“ die Lehrbefugnis für Wirtschaftsinformatik verliehen. Die Habilitationsschrift wurde u.a. mit dem Habilitationspreis der Universität Bamberg ausgezeichnet.

In seiner Forschung befasst er sich mit der Digitalen Transformation und den Auswirkungen auf Technologie-Nutzer und Unternehmen. Beispielsweise erklärt er in seiner Forschung, warum Personen mit der Nutzung einer digitalen Technologie beginnen (IT adoption), diese fortlaufend nutzen (IT usage), die Nutzung beenden (IT discontinuation) und wieder zu einer früher genutzten digitalen Technologie zurückkehren (IT use resumption). Diese Themen werden in privaten (z.B. Bitcoin, Soziale Netzwerkseiten, Chatbots) und organisationalen Kontexten (z.B. Enterprise Content Management, Human Resources) mittels diversen theoretische Linsen (z.B. Stress, Coping, Resistenz) analysiert. Die eingesetzten Forschungsmethoden sind sowohl quantitativ als auch qualitativ mit unterschiedlicher Datenerhebungsformen wie z.B. Interviews, Fallstudien, Tagebücher, (Quer- und Längsschnitt) Fragebögen und Experimente.

Seine Forschung wird u.a. mehrfach durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) gefördert und regelmäßig in den wichtigsten internationalen Fachzeitschriften publiziert. Beispielsweise erschienen über 35 Arbeiten in A+ und A-Publikationen (nach VHB Jourqual 3), inklusive MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, and Journal of Information Technology. Seine Forschungsarbeiten wurden über 5.000 mal zitiert und mit mehreren Best Paper Awards (z.B. ICIS, WI, AIS Transactions on HCI, SIGMIS CPR) und Best Reviewer Awards ausgezeichnet. Zudem erhielt er die prestigeträchtigen Early Career Awards der AIS und der ACM SIGMIS sowie ein Schöller-Fellowship. Er zählte mehrfach zu den zehn besten BWL-nahen Forschern unter 40 Jahren im deutschsprachigen Raum sowie zu den Top-10-Prozent im altersunabhängigen Ranking. Das für die internationale Wirtschaftsinformatik-Community maßgebliche AIS Research Ranking führt ihn unter ca. 15.000 Wissenschaftlern mehrfach unter den Top-10 nach Veröffentlichungen in den wichtigsten acht Zeitschriften und sogar auf Platz 1 (2021; 2022) gemessen an Erstautorenschaften. Als Anerkennung für seine herausragende Leistungen erhielt er als erster Betriebswirt/Wirtschaftsinformatiker im aktuellen Jahrtausend den renommierten Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis der DFG.

Auch die Praxis greift die Forschungsergebnisse regelmäßig auf. Beispielsweise präsentiert er seine Ergebnisse regelmäßig in Funk- und Fernsehsendungen (u.a. ZDF, RTL, 3Sat, Arte, BR, Bayern 1-3, Deutschlandfunk). Zugleich werden Forschungsergebnisse in verschiedenen Zeitschriften und Tageszeitungen (u.a. Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung) aufgegriffen.

In seinen Lehrtätigkeiten war er für verschiedene Lehrveranstaltung verantwortlich (z.B. „Electronic Finance“, „IT Change: Management IT-bedingter Veränderungen“, „ Data Analytics mit Python“ und „Data Science und Machine Learning“). Auf Basis seines Lehrkonzepts und den Lehrevaluationen seiner Studierenden erhielt er den WIAI-Fakultätspreis für gute Lehre sowie den universitätsweiten Preis für gute Lehre.

Ausgewählte Veröffentlichungen

Maier, C., Laumer, S., Joseph, D., Mattke, J., and Weitzel, T. (2021)
Turnback Intention: An Analysis of the Drivers of IT Professionals’ Intentions to Return to a Former Employer
Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ) (45:4), p.1777-1806 (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: A+)

View Abstract
Recent statistics indicate that most organizations prefer to fill IT vacancies by rehiring IT professionals who previously worked in the organization. Less is known about what drives IT professionals to “turnback,” a term we define as returning to employment with a former employer. To explain this important and rarely considered IT job mobility behavior, we build on job embeddedness theory and on the concepts of shocks and job dissatisfaction from, among others, the unfolding model of voluntary turnover to develop the theory of IT professional turnback. We perform fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) of data collected from 248 IT professionals to draw conclusions about the intention among IT professionals to return to work for a former employer, and develop a midrange theory. Our results reveal two configurations contributing to high turnback intention and three configurations contributing to low turnback intention. Our model distinguishes between work shocks, personal shocks, and IT work shocks. IT shocks are a new category of shocks specific to the IT profession. We contribute theoretically by theorizing a behavior relevant to IT professionals and explaining attributes driving turnback intention.

Maier, C., Laumer, S., Tarafdar, M., Mattke, J., Reis, L., and Weitzel, T. (2021)
Challenge and hindrance IS use stressors and appraisals: Explaining contrarian associations in post-acceptance IS use behavior
Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS) (22:6) , p.1590-1624, http://dx.doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00709 (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: A)

View Abstract
Post-acceptance IS use is the key to leveraging value from IS investments. However, it also poses many demands on the user. Drawing on the challenge-hindrance stressor framework, this study develops a theory to explain how and why IS use stressors influence post-acceptance use. We identify two different types of IS use stressors: challenge IS use stressors and hindrance IS use stressors. We hypothesize that they are appraised through challenge IS use appraisal and hindrance IS use appraisal, respectively, through which they influence routine use and innovative use. We evaluate our hypotheses by surveying 178 users working in one organization and analyze the data collected using consistent partial least square (PLSc). We find that challenge IS use stressors positively influence routine use and innovative use via challenge IS use appraisal. Hindrance IS use stressors negatively influence routine use via hindrance IS use appraisal. We then dive deeper into these findings using a two-step fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), identifying the presence of challenge IS use stressors and challenge IS use appraisal as necessary conditions for high innovative use. We also reveal that the presence of hindrance IS use stressors and hindrance IS use appraisal only influences routine use and innovative use in the absence of challenge IS use stressors and challenge IS use appraisal. We discuss the practical relevance and transferability of our findings based on a comprehensive applicability check. Our findings advance IS scholarship of IS use stress and post-acceptance use by showing how routine use and innovative use emanate from IS use stressors.

Reis, L., Maier, C., Mattke, J., Creutzenberg, M., and Weitzel, T. (2020)
Addressing User Resistance Would Have Prevented a Healthcare AI Project Failure
MIS Quarterly Executive (19:4), p. 279-296, http://dx.doi.org/10.17705/2msqe.00038 (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: B)

View Abstract
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into existing work routines involves invasive changes, and the resulting user resistance can lead to project failure. We describe a failed AI project at a large hospital to implement a cognitive agent and identify the root causes of the user resistance that led to the failure. Based on the lessons learned, we provide recommendations for addressing the causes of resistance for the three types of AI—automation, decision support and engagement.

Maier, C., Laumer, S., Thatcher, J.B., Sun, H., Weinert, C., and Weitzel, T. (2021)
Social Networking Site Use Resumption: A Model of Return Migration
Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS) (22:4), p.1037-1075, https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00688 (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: A)

View Abstract
This research explains why individuals resume using social networking sites (SNSs) after terminating their use. Drawing on return migration theory, we developed a theory-driven model of SNS resumption that includes two novel antecedents of SNS resumption behavior: nonuse-related dissatisfaction and use-related satisfaction. We also hypothesize that dispositional resistance to change moderates the impact of nonuse-related dissatisfaction and use-related satisfaction on resumption. We used a mixed methods approach to refine and evaluate the research model. Study 1 used the critical incident method to identify SNS-specific antecedents of nonuse-related satisfaction and use-related satisfaction, allowing us to refine the research model. Study 2 used structural equation modeling to evaluate our research model using two three-wave surveys: one with recent ex-users who recently decided to stop using and delete their profiles on Facebook and one with long-standing ex-users who stopped using and deleted their profiles on Facebook a long time ago. We found support for most relationships in our model: nonuse-related dissatisfaction and use-related satisfaction drive resumption intentions, and dispositional resistance moderates these relationships. Furthermore, we found that the time elapsed since users discontinued Facebook moderated these relationships such that the effect of nonuse-related dissatisfaction on resumption intention is stronger for recent ex-users and the effect of use-related satisfaction is stronger for long-standing ex-users. Our findings advance the understanding of resumption, an understudied behavior of the IT lifecycle and IT use and acceptance research.

Maier, C., Laumer, S., Wirth, J., and Weitzel, T. (2019)
Technostress and the hierarchical levels of personality: a two-wave study with multiple data samples
European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) 28:5, 496-522, https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2019.1614739 (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: A)

View Abstract
Even though IS use has numerous benefits for users and organisations, such as improved user performance and greater productivity, an increasing number of users experience technostress. Since technostress can result in decreased user well-being, it is important to understand what leads users to perceive it. Recent technostress research points to the relationship between personality traits and the perception of technostress as a research gap. Given that personality traits are structured hierarchically, we study how and which levels of user personality influence the perception of technostress. In developing our research model, we select personality traits from the three hierarchical levels of personality: neuroticism, personal innovativeness in IT (PIIT), and IT mindfulness. The results of 2 two-wave studies analysing data collected in an organisational setting (sample 1) and through mTurk (sample 2) reveal that all three personality traits influence the perception of technostress, with IT mindfulness having the strongest impact. This study contributes by revealing that user personality and, primarily, IT mindfulness influence the perception of technostress. Additionally, our findings reveal an inverted u-curved influence of techno-stressors on user performance, deepening our understanding of how the perception of technostress influences user reactions.

Pflügner, K., Maier, C., Thatcher, J.B., Mattke, J., and Weitzel, T. (2023)
Deconstructing technostress: A configurational approach to explaining job burnout and job performance
Forthcoming in: Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ) (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: A+)

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