MCI professorship awarded to Kristina Kleinlercher

The Entrepreneurial School® confers professorship | Strengthening research, teaching, further education & know-how transfer

In recognition of her outstanding achievements in research and teaching and her exemplary contributions to the further development of the Entrepreneurial School®, the MCI recently awarded the professorship to Kristina Kleinlercher from the Department of Business & Management. In the presence of family, friends, and colleagues, she was presented with her certificate by MCI Rector Andreas Altmann and Head of the Academic Council Franz Pegger, before giving fascinating insights into her research areas in her subsequent inaugural lecture.

Prof. Dr. Kristina Kleinlercher started her academic career at the University of Innsbruck in international economics with a specialization in marketing. After graduation, she pursued a doctoral program in business administration at the University of St. Gallen.

Then, she worked as a project manager and head of the Competence Center of Omnichannel & Customer Experience Management Competence Center at the Institute of Retail Management at the University of St. Gallen, where marketing and sales consulting for companies as well as project management of practical studies were among her numerous tasks. In her research, teaching and consulting work, she focuses on omni-channel and customer journey management and digital marketing communication.

Numerous journal publications have followed over the years, including the article "Loyalty formation for different customer journey segments" (2019) published in the Journal of Retailing, which won the 2020 Davidson Award and the 2021 Best Retail and Pricing Paper Award from the American Marketing Association.

She eventually found her way to the Department of Business & Management at MCI in September 2021 as Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing & Sales before being awarded the Associate Professorship in 2022. In her inaugural lecture for the professorship, entitled "Inspired employees as a competitive asset", she addressed the important role of inspiration in terms of employee commitment and change initiatives in companies.