Roland A. Stürz

Dr. Roland A. Stürz is Head of the Think Tank Department at the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) in Munich, Germany. In this capacity he leads an interdisciplinary team that produces evidence-based studies on digitalisation for policy-makers, business and civil society. Previously he was a research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich’s Institute for Innovation Research, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship.

Education

• Doctorate in Business Administration – Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
• Master of Business Research – Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
• Business Administration studies – LMU Munich & Copenhagen Business School

Research Focus

Dr. Stürz’s work centres on the intersection of innovation policy, digital transformation and industrial evolution. He investigates how firms, public institutions and society adopt new digital technologies, how policies can foster responsible innovation, and how labour markets and higher-education systems adapt to technological change. Recent emphases include the diffusion of generative artificial intelligence in everyday life and the workplace, the emergence of hybrid-remote work models, and the build-up of digital competences across the population.

Article Landscape

Over the last decade Dr. Stürz has published more than forty scholarly and policy-oriented pieces. His 2025 article in Idea and Innovation Management analyses generative AI’s impact on creativity and skill requirements at work, while the 2024 bidt-Digitalbarometer.international provides cross-country evidence on Germany’s digital strengths and weaknesses. Earlier work used large-scale German household surveys to chart the rapid normalisation of home office during the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess copyright compliance in digital content consumption.

Scientific Awards & Recognition

• Regular keynote speaker at major national forums such as re:publica, the Festival of the Future, the AI Festival Heilbronn and the German Museum Munich.
• Frequent media commentator (Deutschlandfunk, Süddeutsche Zeitung, SZ Langstrecke).

Teaching & Capacity Building

Dr. Stürz teaches the course "Innovation Policy" at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, where he introduces graduate students to the economic and legal dimensions of innovation governance. He also mentors junior researchers at bidt and supervises empirical survey projects that involve interdisciplinary collaboration with computer scientists, economists and legal scholars.

Labs & Teams

As Head of the Think Tank Department at bidt he directs a team of researchers, data scientists and policy analysts who carry out representative population surveys, controlled field experiments and policy briefings. The department houses the long-running bidt-Digitalbarometer project and coordinates externally funded studies on AI effectiveness in higher education.