emma 2025 Conference at LUISS Business School in Rome

Miriam Bernhard

The Media and Communication Management group made several academic contributions to this year’s European Media Management Association (EMMA) Conference, which was hosted by the renowned Luiss Business School in Rome. The international conference brought together leading scholars in the field of media management and provided a platform for interdisciplinary exchange on current challenges in the media industry.

A total of four studies addressing topical issues in the context of journalism, platform economics, consumer behaviour, and media responsibility were presented by the group:

  • “Heart over Hardware”: Miriam Bernhard, together with Dagmara Sidyk-Furman, Natalia Berger, Antonia Matei, and François Nel, presented a study exploring the interplay between emotions and technology acceptance in journalistic media organizations.

  • “Reflecting on the Own Future”: Jonas Weber analyzed how the German journalism industry reflects on its own future against the backdrop of increasing platform dominance.

  • “Linking Consumer Behavior, Product Preferences, and Willingness to Pay”: Jasmin Ebert, an external PhD candidate at the department, presented an empirical study on consumer decision-making and willingness to pay for mobile phone tariffs in Germany.

  • “Contemporary Media Responsibility – An International Perspective”: Andreas Will, together with Anna Jupowicz-Ginalska, Martyna Dudziak-Kisio, Emilia Zakrzewska, Antonia Matei, Gheorghe Anghel, Bianca Harms, Ilva Skulte, Nina Zrazhevska, Päivi Maijanen, Svitlana Bezchotnikova, Anca Anton, and Anna Samelova, presented key insights from the research paper "Contemporary Media Responsibility: An International Perspective" as part of a special session.

In addition, the group actively contributed to supporting early-career researchers: Miriam Bernhard and Robin Riemann from Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz organized the conference’s PhD workshop, which was highly regarded as an innovative exchange format for doctoral students.

Colleagues from other groups at TU Ilmenau were also present in Rome: Oliver Budzinski, Annika Stöhr, and Josephine Dölker (Master’s student) presented their current research projects.