Prof. Dr. Verena Tiefenbeck

Verena Tiefenbeck studied Mechanical Engineering and Management at TU Munich and Ecole Centrale Paris (double degree programme TIME, 2003-2009). After that, she spent 3.5 years in Boston as visiting Ph.D. student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and as research assistant at the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems. In 2014, she completed her doctoral thesis on digital interventions for sustainable consumer behaviour at ETH Zurich (Chair of Information Management). Her doctoral thesis received both the ETH Medal and the SIAF award.

From 2014 to 2020, she lead the Bits to Energy Lab at ETH Zurich, an interdisciplinary research initiative that combines digital technologies and behavioural research to foster resource conservation. In parallel, she worked as postdoctoral researcher (30%, 2015-2018) and afterwards as visiting researcher at the Institute of Applied Microeconomics at the University of Bonn and she was part-time lecturer at the Institute of Technology Management at the University of St. Gallen (2017-2019).

In August 2019, Verena Tiefenbeck became tenure track professor for Digital Transformation at the School of Business, Economics and Society at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. In addition, she leads a research group funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts (coordinated by bidt). With that funding, she established the Bits to Energy Lab Nuremberg at FAU.

Verena Tiefenbeck’s research focuses on the digital transformation at the intersection of companies and consumers. She uses high-resolution data on human behaviour that are increasingly available both in corporate and in private contexts. These real-world data serve both to build and empirically evaluate theory and to inform the application-oriented design of information systems.

2025

Borzino N., Hiepler B., Schmitt K., Schmitz J., Schubert R., Tiefenbeck V.:
Switching Off: Energy Saving Goals Outshine Incentives—Evidence from a Field Experiment
In: Environmental & Resource Economics (2025), Article No.: 044001
ISSN: 0924-6460
DOI: 10.1007/s10640-025-00973-3

2024

Hevner AR., Parsons J., Brendel AB., Lukyanenko R., Tiefenbeck V., Tremblay MC., vom Brocke J.:
Transparency in design science research
In: Decision Support Systems 182 (2024), Article No.: 114236
ISSN: 0167-9236
DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2024.114236
Kuhlemann S., Mehta P., Tiefenbeck V.:
Greener or Faster: Unraveling the Impact of Travel Time Presentation on Rail vs. Air Travel Decision-Making
International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2024 (Bangkok, 15. December 2024 - 18. December 2024)
Merian S., O'Sullivan K., Stöckli S., Beretta C., Müller N., Tiefenbeck V., Fleisch E., Natter M.:
A field experiment to assess barriers to accurate household food waste measurements
In: Resources Conservation and Recycling 206 (2024), Article No.: 107644
ISSN: 0921-3449
DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107644
Ochmann J., Michels L., Tiefenbeck V., Maier C., Laumer S.:
Perceived algorithmic fairness: An empirical study of transparency and anthropomorphism in algorithmic recruiting
In: Information Systems Journal (2024)
ISSN: 1350-1917
DOI: 10.1111/isj.12482
Rosenberger J., Kuhlemann S., Tiefenbeck V., Kraus M., Zschech P.:
The Impact of Transparency in AI Systems on Users’ Data-Sharing Intentions: A Scenario-Based Experiment
19. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (Würzburg, 16. September 2024 - 19. September 2024)
Wagon F., Fridgen G., Tiefenbeck V.:
Shaping stable support: Leveraging digital feedback interventions to elicit socio-Political acceptance of renewable energy
In: Energy Policy 195 (2024), Article No.: 114307
ISSN: 0301-4215
DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114307

2023

Fang X., Götte L., Rockenbach B., Tiefenbeck V., Sutter M., Schöb S., Staake T.:
Complementarities in behavioral interventions: Evidence from a field experiment on resource conservation
In: Journal of Public Economics 228 (2023)
ISSN: 0047-2727
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.105028
Merian S., O'Sullivan K., Stoeckli SJ., Beretta C., Tiefenbeck V., Mueller N., Fleisch E., Natter M.:
A Field Experiment on Biases in Food Waste Measurement Methods
EMAC Annual Conference 2023 (Odense, 23. May 2023 - 26. May 2023)
In: Proceedings of the European Marketing Academy 2023
Michels L., Ochmann J., Schmitt K., Laumer S., Tiefenbeck V.:
Salience, transparency, and self-nudging: a digital nudge to promote healthier food product choices
In: European Journal of Information Systems (2023)
ISSN: 0960-085X
DOI: 10.1080/0960085X.2023.2229787
Staake T., Tiefenbeck V., Stiefmeier T.:
Information Systems and Behavioural Change: Feedback Interventions to curb the consumption of natural resources
In: Vanessa A. Cooper, Johann J. Kranz, Saji K. Mathew, Richard T. Watson (ed.): Handbook of Information Systems and the Environment, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023, p. 253-274 (Research Handbooks in Information Systems)
ISBN: 9781802201857
DOI: 10.4337/9781802201864
Wörner A., Tiefenbeck V., Ketter W.:
Blockchain-enabled markets: A literature review with a focus on decentralised energy markets
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2023
ISBN: 9781802201864
Wörner A., Tiefenbeck V., Ketter W.:
Chapter 16: Blockchain-enabled markets: A literature review
In: Edward Elgar Publishing (ed.): Handbook of Information Systems and the Environment, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023
ISBN: 9781802201857
DOI: 10.4337/9781802201864

2022

Fuchs K., Lian J., Michels L., Mayer S., Toniato E., Tiefenbeck V.:
Effects of Digital Food Labels on Healthy Food Choices in Online Grocery Shopping
In: Nutrients 14 (2022)
ISSN: 2072-6643
DOI: 10.3390/nu14102044
Mehta P., Tiefenbeck V.:
Solar PV sharing in urban energy communities: Impact of community configurations on profitability, autonomy and the electric grid
In: Sustainable Cities and Society 87 (2022), Article No.: 104178
ISSN: 2210-6707
DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2022.104178
Michels L., Ochmann J., Günther SA., Laumer S., Tiefenbeck V.:
Empowering Consumers to Make Environmentally Sustainable Online Shopping Decisions: A Digital Nudging Approach
HICSS 2022 (, 3. January 2022 - 7. January 2022)
DOI: 10.24251/hicss.2022.574
Michels L., Ochmann J., Tiefenbeck V., Laumer S.:
The Acceptance of AI-based Recommendations: An Elaboration Likelihood Perspective
17. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (, 21. February 2022 - 23. February 2022)
Wörner A., Tiefenbeck V., Wortmann F., Meeuw A., Ableitner L., Fleisch E., Azevedo I.:
Bidding on a Peer-to-Peer Energy Market: An Exploratory Field Study
In: Information Systems Research (2022)
ISSN: 1047-7047
DOI: 10.1287/isre.2021.1098

2021

Koch K., Tiefenbeck V., Liu S., Fleisch E., Wortmann F.:
Taking mental health & well-being to the streets: An exploratory evaluation of in-vehicle interventions in the field
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Online Virtual Conference (originally Yokohama, Japan), 8. May 2021 - 13. May 2021)
DOI: 10.1145/3411764.3446865
Michels L., Schmitt K., Ochmann J., Laumer S., Tiefenbeck V.:
Is It All About Transparency? The Effectiveness and Ethics of a Digital Salience Nudge
Proceedings of the 2021 European Conference on Information Systems (Marrackech, Morocco, 14. June 2021 - 16. June 2021)
Pena-Bello A., Parra D., Herberz M., Tiefenbeck V., Patel MK., Hahnel UJJ.:
Integration of prosumer peer-to-peer trading decisions into energy community modelling
In: Nature Energy (2021)
ISSN: 2058-7546
DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00950-2
Toniato E., Mehta P., Marinkovic S., Tiefenbeck V.:
Peak load minimization of an e-bus depot: impacts of user-set conditions in optimization algorithms
In: Energy Informatics 4 (2021), Article No.: 23
ISSN: 2520-8942
DOI: 10.1186/s42162-021-00174-4

2020

Ableitner L., Tiefenbeck V., Meeuw A., Wörner A., Fleisch E., Wortmann F.:
User behavior in a real-world peer-to-peer electricity market
In: Applied Energy 270 (2020), Article No.: 115061
ISSN: 0306-2619
DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115061
Graf V., Graf-Drasch V., Tiefenbeck V., Weitzel R., Fridgen G.:
Supporting Citizens’ Political Decision-Making Using Information Visualisation
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2020) (Marrakesch, 15. June 2020 - 17. June 2020)
In: In Proceedings of the 28th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) 2020
Günther SA., Staake T., Schöb S., Tiefenbeck V.:
The behavioral response to a corporate carbon offset program: A field experiment on adverse effects and mitigation strategies
In: Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions 64 (2020), Article No.: 102123
ISSN: 0959-3780
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102123
Meeuw A., Schopfer S., Wörner A., Ableitner L., Tiefenbeck V., Fleisch E., Wortmann F.:
Implementing a blockchain-based local energy market: Insights on communication and scalability
In: Computer Communications 160 (2020), p. 158-171
ISSN: 0140-3664
DOI: 10.1016/j.comcom.2020.04.038
Ochmann J., Michels L., Zilker S., Tiefenbeck V., Laumer S.:
The influence of algorithm aversion and anthropomorphic agent design on the acceptance of AI-based job recommendations
Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) (Hyderabad, Indien)
In: International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) (ed.): Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2020

2019

Griego D., Schopfer S., Henze G., Fleisch E., Tiefenbeck V.:
Aggregation effects for microgrid communities at varying sizes and prosumer‐consumer ratios
In: Energy Procedia 159 (2019), p. 346-351
ISSN: 1876-6102
DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2019.01.004
Tiefenbeck V., Worner A., Schoeb S., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
Real-time feedback reduces energy consumption among the broader public without financial incentives
In: Nature Energy 4 (2019), p. 831–832
ISSN: 2058-7546
DOI: 10.1038/s41560-019-0480-5
Tiefenbeck V., Wörner A., Schöb S., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
Energy conservation: Real-time feedback reduces energy consumption among the broader public without financial incentives
In: Nature Energy 4 (2019), p. 831-832
ISSN: 2058-7546
DOI: 10.6084
Tiefenbeck V., Wörner A., Schöb S., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
Real-time feedback promotes energy conservation in the absence of volunteer selection bias and monetary incentives
In: Nature Energy 4 (2019), p. 35-41
ISSN: 2058-7546
DOI: 10.1038/s41560-018-0282-1
Weinhardt C., Mengelkamp E., Cramer W., Hambridge S., Hobert A., Kremers E., Otter W., Pinson P., Tiefenbeck V., Zade M.:
How far along are local energy markets in the DACH+ region? A comparative market engineering approach
2019 ACM e-Energy Workshop on Market Engineering (2019 e-Energy EME Workshop) (New York, USA, 25. June 2019 - 28. June 2019)
DOI: 10.1145/3307772.3335318
Wörner A., Ableitner L., Meeuw A., Wortmann F., Tiefenbeck V.:
Peer-to-peer energy trading in the real world: Market design and evaluation of the user value proposition. Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems
International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2019 (Munich, Germany)
Wörner A., Ableitner L., Meeuw A., Wortmann F., Tiefenbeck V.:
Trading solar energy within the neighborhood: Field implementation of a blockchain-based electricity market
8th DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics (Salzburg, Austria, 26. September 2019 - 27. September 2020)
DOI: 10.1186/s42162-019-0092-0

2018

Ableitner L., Schopfer S., Tiefenbeck V.:
The role of the user in peer-to-peer energy communities
5th European Conference on Behaviour and Energy Efficiency (Behave 2018) (Zürich, Switzerland)
Ableitner L., Tiefenbeck V., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
Eco-feedback interventions: selective attention and actual behavior change
Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2016) (New Orleans, USA)
Dahlinger A., Tiefenbeck V., Ryder B., Gahr B., Fleisch E., Wortmann F.:
The impact of numerical vs. symbolic eco-driving feedback on fuel consumption – a randomized control field trial
In: Transportation Research Part D-Transport and Environment 65 (2018), p. 375-386
ISSN: 1361-9209
DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2018.09.013
Kupfer A., Tiefenbeck V., Staake T.:
The ambiguous boundary between professional and private use of information systems: a bibliometric analysis
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2018) (Portsmouth, United Kingdom)
Santini S., Tiefenbeck V.:
6th DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics (EnInf 2017)
In: Computer Science - Research and Development 33 (2018), p. 1-2
ISSN: 1865-2034
DOI: 10.1007/s00450-017-0390-3
Schopfer S., Tiefenbeck V., Staake T.:
Economic assessment of photovoltaic battery systems based on household load profiles
In: Applied Energy 223 (2018), p. 229-248
ISSN: 0306-2619
DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.185
Schopfer S., Tiefenbeck V., Staake T.:
Profitability assessment of photovoltaic battery systems based on household load profiles
In: Applied Energy 223 (2018), p. 229-248
ISSN: 0306-2619
DOI: 10.1016
Tiefenbeck V., Götte L., Degen K., Tasic V., Fleisch E., Lalive R., Staake T.:
Overcoming salience bias: How real-time feedback fosters resource conservation
In: Management Science 64 (2018), p. 1458-1476
ISSN: 0025-1909
DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2016.2646
Wörner A., Tiefenbeck V.:
The role of self-set goals in IS-enabled behavior change
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2018) (Portsmouth, United Kingdom)
DOI: 10.3929/ethz-b-000291478

2017

Ableitner L., Tiefenbeck V., Hosseini S., Schöb S., Fridgen G., Staake T.:
Real-world impact of Information Systems: the effect of seemingly small design choices
Workshop on Information Technology and Systems (WITS) (Seoul, South Korea)
Tiefenbeck V.:
Bring behaviour into the digital transformation
In: Nature Energy 2 (2017), p. 17085-17087
ISSN: 2058-7546
DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2017.85

2016

Ableitner L., Kupfer A., Tiefenbeck V., Schöb S., Staake T.:
Resource conservation with Green IS: A field experiment on pecuniary and non-pecuniary strategies
SIGGreen Pre-ICIS 2016 Workshop (Dublin, Ireland)
Kupfer A., Ableitner L., Schöb S., Tiefenbeck V.:
Technology adoption vs. continuous usage intention: Do decision criteria change when using a technology?
Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2016) (San Diego, USA)
Kupfer A., Kehr F., Tiefenbeck V.:
Towards a measurement scale for self-tracking: Attitudes and user characteristics
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2016) (Istanbul, Turkey)
Schopfer S., Tiefenbeck V., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
Effect of tariff arbitrage on photovoltaic battery economics using predictive control
International Conference on Energy, Environment and Economics (ICEEE 2016) (Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
Schopfer S., Tiefenbeck V., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
Providing primary frequency control with residential scale photovoltaic-battery systems
In: Computer Science - Research and Development 32 (2016), p. 105–115
ISSN: 1865-2034
DOI: 10.1007/s00450-016-0318-3
Schopfer S., Tiefenbeck V., Staake T.:
Untersuchung des Selbstversorgungsgrades und der Wirtschaftlichkeit von PV-Batteriesystemen anhand eines grossen Smart-Meter-Datensatzes
14. Symposium Energieinnovation 2016 (Graz, Austria)
Tiefenbeck V.:
On the magnitude and persistence of the Hawthorne effect - evidence from four field studies
4th European Conference on Behaviour and Energy Efficiency (Behave 2016) (Coimbra, Portugal)
Tiefenbeck V., Götte L., Schöb S., Staake T.:
Better get focused: How feedback on a specific behavior can reduce energy consumption
International Energy Policy & Programme Evaluation Conference (IEPPEC 2016) (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Tiefenbeck V., Kupfer A., Ableitner L., Schöb S., Fleisch E., Staake T.:
The uncertain path from good intentions to actual behavior: A field study on mobile app usage
Twenty-First DIGIT Workshop (Dublin, Ireland)
Tiefenbeck V., Tasic V., Schöb S., Staake T.:
Long-lasting effects or short-term spark? On the persistence of behaviour change induced by real-time feedback on resource consumption
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2016) (Istanbul, Turkey)

2015

Tasic V., Tiefenbeck V., Schöb S., Staake T.:
Short-term spark or sustained impact? Investigating the long-term effect of real-time feedback
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2015) (Münster, Germany)

2013

Tiefenbeck V., Staake T., Roth K., Sachs O.:
For better or for worse? Empirical evidence of moral licensing in a behavioral energy conservation campaign
In: Energy Policy 57 (2013), p. 160-171
ISSN: 0301-4215
DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.01.021
Tiefenbeck V., Tasic V., Schöb S., Staake T.:
Mechatronics to drive environmental sustainability: Measuring, visualizing, and transforming consumer patterns on a large scale
39th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2013) (Vienna, Austria)
DOI: 10.1109/IECON.2013.6699906
Tiefenbeck V., Tasic V., Staake T.:
The effects of real-time feedback on resource consumption in single- and multi-person households
Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, Annual Congress 2013: „The Energy Transition and its Challenges” (Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 20. June 2013 - 21. June 2013)

2012

Tasic V., Staake T., Stiefmeier T., Tiefenbeck V., Fleisch E., Tröster G.:
Self-powered water meter for direct feedback
IEEE 2012 - 3rd International Conference on the Internet of Things (IOT 2012) (Wuxi, China, 24. October 2012 - 26. October 2012)
DOI: 10.1109/IOT.2012.6402300