Leonard Michels

Leonard joined the Bits to Energy Lab in October 2019. He holds a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Tübingen (2014-2018) and a M.Sc. in Human Decision Science (with distinction) from Maastricht University (2018-2019).

During his studies, he gained practical insights working as an intern for a start-up (Appinio), consulting companies (p3, Solcom), and as a thesis intern for OSP in the e-commerce domain. In addition, he supported the Stuttgart-based start-up mecasa, for which he developed an algorithm matching caretakers and people in need of care based on their individual psychological profiles.

Leonard is particularly interested in the behavioral effects of information systems and digital technologies. His work is mainly focused on digital nudging in the consumer and organizational domain, where he investigates the effectiveness of different nudging approaches, their acceptance among individuals, and potential ethical objections associated with their implementation. In addition, he works on the acceptance and effects of artificial intelligence in human decision-making processes. For his research, he relies on quantitative, experimental studies directly investigating the effect of different interventions on individual behavior.

Teaching

  • Data Analytics for Information Systems Exercise Sessions (WiSe 19/20, WiSe 20/21)
  • Master Seminar Information Systems together with Prof. Laumer’s chair (SoSe 21)
  • Unternehmer und Unternehmen Exercise Sessions (WiSe 21/22)
  • Experimentelle Verhaltensforschung in Data Science Exercise Sessions (SoSe 22)

Publications and awards

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

  • , , , , : Best Full Research Paper - Runner-up award (European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS)) – 2021
  • : Hermann-Gutmann-Preis für besondere wissenschaftliche Leistungen (Hermann-Gutmann-Stiftung) – 2021