- Postdoc
- Information Systems & Business Process Management
- Current Activity
- Research Software Engineer
Michael Gau studies digital innovation, digital design, and artificial intelligence (AI). Methodologically, he specializes in design science research and computationally intensive theorizing. Based on his dual background in computer science and information systems, Michael focuses on practically relevant research with firm theoretical grounding. He also develops computational tools that support scientific inquiry, including data analysis and visualization.
Education
2020 - 2023
PhD in Information Systems
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
PhD Topic: “Open Design Science Research Systems: Design Principles and System Instantiations”
2003 - 2007
Diplom Ingenieur
für technisch wissenschaftliche Berufe in information and communication engineering (iTec)
University of Applied Science, Austria
Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain
1997 - 2002
Ingenieur
HTL (Federal Higher Technical Institute for Educating and Experimenting) for electronic engineering in Rankweil, Austria
A-Levels
Work Experciences
Since 2023
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute of Information Systems
Associated Researchers
since 2017
University of Liechtenstein
Institute of Information Systems
Research Software Engineer
Software design and development in research projects
2013 - 2017
University of Liechtenstein
Institute of Information Systems
Research Assistant
2008 - 2017
Bachmann Electronic, Austria
Research and Development
System Engineer
Designing, implementing, and maintaining software for embedded systems
2006 - 2007
University of Applied Science Vorarlberg
Research center for user-centered technologies
Research Assistant
Research and development of assistance-based light therapy for elderly people
2006
CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture), Columbia
Internship (6 Months)
- Schedule for SS 24
- _Kick-Off Research Seminar - Marketplace - WS 24/25 (Introduction) Laskov, Schneider, Hacker, Gau, Apruzzese, Schenk, van Giffen
- C21_Research Methods I (IMIT) (Lecture) Laskov, Hacker, Schenk, Schneider, Gau
- Master's thesis (Thesis) Laskov, Schneider, Hacker, Schenk, Apruzzese, Gau
- Research Seminar (Seminar) Laskov, Gau, Schenk, Schneider, Apruzzese, van Giffen
- Experimental Determination of Nonverbal Charismatic Leader Signalling via Prerecorded Stimuli: The Effect of Medium and Virtuality
- FFF-Förderprojekt, November 2023 until December 2025
Charismatic leadership has emerged as a highly effective form of organizational coordination, in both the private and public sectors. The novel "signalling-approach" to charisma (Antonakis, ... more ...
- Design Science Research Academy
- ERASMUS, March 2023 until February 2025
Students and doctoral candidates in Information Systems (IS) are repeatedly confronted with the task of implementing theoretical concepts in practice and evaluating them with users dur-ing their ... more ...
- Broadening the Recognition Ecosystem in VET with Micro-Credentials
- ERASMUS, October 2022 until March 2025
This project aims to facilitate the use of the three recent EU developments in the skills recogni-tion and accreditation systems, namely: i) micro-credentials (and specifically open accreditation ... more ...
- Journaling Design Science Research
- FFF-Förderprojekt, December 2021 until November 2023
Design Science Research (DSR) is a highly context-dependent and iterative process (vom Brocke et al., 2020) and the often unique design process represents the actual strategy of inquiry used to ... more ...
- The Role of Space in Information Systems
- FFF-Förderprojekt, December 2021 until November 2022 (finished)
We act in the understanding of a smart space management solution that we are prototyping and testing specifically for the COVID-19 use case. The project will explore the evolving role of space and ... more ...
- Digital Nudging in Business Process Management
- FFF-Förderprojekt, November 2021 until December 2023 (finished)
Processes are ubiquitous - they permeate all areas of life. Businesses are organized through processes, novel innovations are created through processes and a panoply of other aspects in people's ... more ...
- mobiLIty: Everyday Mobility at Uni Li
- FFF-Förderprojekt, October 2021 until December 2023 (finished)
Mobility and sustainability are some of the most pressing challenges of our time. While socio-technical solutions are transforming the urban environments that characterize much of the globe today, ... more ...
- Design Thinking in Virtual Reality: Feasibility Study
- FFF-Förderprojekt, January 2019 until December 2019 (finished)
Design thinking, an approach that is used to structure and solve various types of business problems, has been applied successfully by numerous companies for many years-especially to produce ... more ...
- Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Application Scenarios and Recommendations
- ERASMUS, September 2018 until February 2021 (finished)
Virtual reality (VR) has become a popular and versatile technology that has recently attracted interest from researchers, practitioners and educators alike. The technology offers the potential for ... more ...
- Towards a Context-sensitive Conceptual Framework and Design Principles for Internet of Things Solution
- FFF-Förderprojekt, July 2018 until March 2020 (finished)
Internet of Things (IoT) technologies allow for connectivity among various physical objects and play a key role for the development of "smart" solutions such as smart homes, smart factories, smart ... more ...
Gau, M., Maedche, A., & vom Brocke, J. (2023). Towards an Open Repository for Design Science Research: A Meta-Model and Its Instantiation for the Representation of Design Science Research Processes. EMISAJ.
moreSeidel, S., Chandra Kruse, L., Székely, N., Gau, M., & Stieger, D. (2018). Design principles for sensemaking support systems in environmental sustainability transformations. European Journal of Information Systems, 27(2), 221-247. (ABDC_2022: A*; ABS_2021: 4; VHB_3: A)
moreMorana, S., vom Brocke, J., Maedche, A., Seidel, S., Adam, M. T., Bub, U., Fettke, P., Gau, M., Herwix, A., Mullarkey, M. T., Nguyen, H. D., Sjöström, J., Toreini, P., Wessel, L., & Winter, R. (2018). Tool Support for Design Science Research - Towards a Software Ecosystem: A Report from a DESRIST 2017 Workshop. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 43(Article 17), 237 - 256. (ABDC_2022: A; ABS_2021: 2; VHB_3: C)
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Kipping, G., Gau, M., & vom Brocke, J. (2024). How Micro-Credentials Enable Skills Recognition in Education and Training: Challenges and Opportunities for Information Systems Scholars. Paper presented at the 32nd European Conference on Information Systems, Paphos, Cyprus. (VHB_3: B)
moreKipping, G., Gau, M., & vom Brocke, J. (2024). Towards a Reference Model for Designing Micro-Credentials in Higher Education. Paper presented at the 45th International Conference on Information Systems, Bangkok, Thailand. (VHB_3: A)
moreGau, M., Reiners, S., Kipping, G., Tingelhoff, F., Leimeister, J. M., Tuunanen, T., & vom Brocke, J. (2024). Design Science Research Academy: Teaching Students to Solve Problems That Have Not Been Identified Yet, Using Technologies That Have Not Been Invented Yet. Paper presented at the 45th International Conference on Information Systems, Bangkok, Thailand. (VHB_3: A)
moreGau, M., Maedche, A., & vom Brocke, J. (2023). Accessing the Design Science Knowledge Base - A Search Engine for the Accumulation of Knowledge Across Decentrally Organized Publications, pp.266-278. Paper presented at the 18th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology, South Africa.
moreMajchrzak, T. A., Radianti, J., Fromm, J., & Gau, M. (2022). Towards Routinely Using Virtual Reality in Higher Education. Paper presented at the 55th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Maui, Hawaii, USA. (VHB_3: C)
moreOtto, M., Kipping, G., Gau, M., Grisold, T., & vom Brocke, J. (2022). Towards Space Mining: A Smart Space Management Solution to Minimize Indoor Spreading Risk of COVID-19. Paper presented at the 17th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. (VHB_3: C)
moreDrechsler, K., Grisold, T., Gau, M., & Seidel, S. (2022). Digital Infrastructure Evolution: A Digital Trace Data Study. Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Systems, Copenhagen, Denmark. (VHB_3: A)
moreGrisold, T., Gau, M., & Yoo, Y. (2022). Studying the Co-evolution of Individual Actions and Emergent Social Structures using Digital Trace Data. Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Copenhagen, Denmark. (VHB_3: A)
moreGau, M., Greif-Winzrieth, A., & Mädche, A. (2022). Leveraging Digital Citizen Science for Research Problem Discovery: Insights from a Home Office Challenge Participatory Action. Paper presented at the Mensch und Computer 2022 - Workshopband, Darmstadt.
moreHandali, J. P., Schneider, J., Gau, M., Holzwarth, V., & vom Brocke, J. (2021). Visual Complexity and Scene Recognition: How Low Can You Go?. Paper presented at the 2021 IEEE Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), Online.
moreGrisold, T., Gau, M., & Yoo, Y. (2021). Coding Like a Rockstar: The Role of Social Influence on Action Patterns in GitHub. Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2021, Austin, Texas, USA. (VHB_3: A)
morevom Brocke, J., Gau, M., & Mädche, A. (2021). Journaling the Design Science Research Process. Transparency About the Making of Design Knowledge. Paper presented at the Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST), Kristiansand, Norway. (VHB_3: C)
moreGreif-Winzrieth, A., & Gau, M. (2021). MyResearchChallenge.digital - A Participatory Problem Discovery System for Citizen Design Science Research. Paper presented at the Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology DESRIST 2021, Kristiansand, Norway. (VHB_3: C)
moreKamm, M., Gau, M., Schneider, J., & Vom Brocke, J. (2020). Smart Waste Collection Processes-A Case Study about Smart Device Implementation. Paper presented at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii. (VHB_3: C)
moreSeidel, S., Chandra, L., Reuter, N., Stieger, D., & and Gau, M. (2014). Green e-community: Sensemaking in Environmental Sustainability Transformations. Paper presented at the 9th International Conference DESRIST 2014, Miami, FL, USA. (VHB_3: C)
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Grisold, T., Gau, M., & Yoo, Y. (2023). A Mimetic Theory of User Behaviors in Online Communities: A Computational Study of GitHub. Presented at the 83nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. (VHB_3: B)
moreGau, M., Mädche, A., & vom Brocke, J. (2022). DSR Buddy: A Conversational Agent Supporting Design Science Research Activities. Presented at the Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik, Nürnberg. (VHB_3: C)
moreGrisold, T., Yoo, Y., & Gau, M. (2022). 'DNA' of Virtual Organizing: Towards a New Construct to Theorize with Digital Trace Data. Presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Seattle, WA, USA.
moreMorana, S., Scheid, M., Gau, M., & Benke, I. (2018). Research Prototype: The Design Canvas in MyDesignProcess. Presented at the 13th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology DESRIST, Chennai, India.
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Stieger, D., & Gau, M. (2013). Testing an ASIC: an mbeddr Case Study. Bachmann electronic GmbH.
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