Jan-Paul Lüdtke

Jan-Paul Lüdtke serves as Professor and Head of both the Bachelor's and Master's E-Commerce programs at Wedel University of Applied Sciences. He leads the Intra- and Entrepreneurship field and manages multiple startup support initiatives including EXIST Leveraging Potential projects and StartupConnect. His academic journey began with a Business Administration degree from the University of Passau, followed by a Dr. rer. pol. from Hamburg University of Technology.

His research focuses on applied digital marketing with emphasis on Direct-to-Consumer business models, CEO influencers on social media, retail media effectiveness, and AI applications in e-commerce. His work combines experimental methods with practical business applications, often in collaboration with industry partners like Otto, Zalando, and various startups.

Lüdtke's publications reveal a consistent trajectory from foundational work on innovation evaluation through increasingly applied research on digital marketing effectiveness, customer experience optimization, and emerging business models. Recent work shows particular focus on D2C strategies and the evolving relationship between brands and platforms.

• UNIPRENEUR Award from Federal Ministers of Education and Economics as one of Germany's top 20 professors for startup support
• Gründerszene Growth Ranking 2017 - 2nd place in Software/SAAS category
• Winner of Rising Star 2016 from Federal Association of Electronic Mail Order Companies
• Nominations at IntelliAd DRIVE Award and Performance Marketing Awards (2016)

As head of E-Commerce programs, Lüdtke supervises numerous Bachelor's and Master's theses, with recent topics spanning AI applications, customer experience optimization, retail media, and gaming business models. His current EXIST-funded projects (2020-2026) focus on startup ecosystem development, including Startup Port FH Wedel and StartupSH 2.0, creating substantial grant funding for entrepreneurial activities at the university.

Lüdtke directs the StartupConnect co-working space and leads the university's participation in regional startup networks, fostering connections between students, faculty, and industry partners in the digital commerce ecosystem.