Market Decision Labs

Research topics & projects

The research of the NIM Market Decision Lab Network focuses on the decision processes of market participants on both the consumption and the production sides.

Recent Research Focus

  • Emotion and Decision-Making
  • Decision Support Systems
  • Social Norms and Human-Computer-Interaction
  • Influence of Culture on Decision-Making

Ongoing Projects

Closed Projects

  • Emotional Arousal and Risk Preference
    by NIM Market Decision Lab Nuremberg and Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg.

  • Trust Among Cultures – A International Trust Game Study
    by NIM, Market Decision Lab at University of Pretoria and KD2 Lab at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Cooperation Partners

Our cooperation partners at national and international universities.

  • Prof. LIN Song, Prof. GE Jianxin, Prof. SUN Luping, Prof. YAO Kai
    Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing School of Business

  • Prof. Yolanda Jordaan
    University of Pretoria
    Market Decision Lab Pretoria

  • Prof. Dr. Jella Pfeiffer
    Gießen University

  • Prof. Dr. Florian Riedmüller
    Nuremberg Institute of Technology

  • Prof. Dr. Christof Weinhardt
    Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
    Karlsruhe Decision & Design Lab (KD2Lab)

  • Prof. Dr. Martin Eppler
    St. Gallen University

  • Prof. Dr. Alessandro Innocenti
    University of Siena

The Equipment of the Market Decision Labs

The Market Decision Labs are equiped with 8-10 laptop work stations. The administration of experiments could be done on either a local server or a webserver for international experiments.

Typically, the experiments are conducted using oTree.

Additionally, the Market Decision Labs have the ability to record audio and video, which can be analyzed with special software for inference of emotional states from the voice or face.

Furthermore, the lab in Nuremberg is equipped with biometric sensors (EMG, GSR, EEG, ECG, BVP) as well as eye tracking.

Market Decision Lab Pretoria

Our aim is to support local education and give students the opportunity to explore theory, methods and practical project experience in market research. Above all, the focus is on teaching research methods such as experimental economics or data science.

Our cooperation with the Department of Marketing and Communication Management at the University of Pretoria currently offers workshops and PhD seminars on experimental economic research, decision theory and behavioral science.

In addition to training, the cooperation also aims on joint research projects in the field of Behavioral Science and Decision-Making. To this end, we established one of our market decision labs at the University of Pretoria.

Market Decision Lab Beijing

In June 2014, the GfK Verein (today: Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions) signed a cooperation agreement with the Business School of the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) to train market researchers in China. Prof. WANG Ruihua, PhD, CPA, Dean of the CUFE Business School and Prof. Dr. Raimund WILDNER (then Managing Director and Vice President of the GfK Verein) met to sign the agreement. Since then, the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) has been working successfully with the Business School of the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing with a focus on bringing science and practice together.

A two-week summer school on "Strategic Foresight and Decision-Making in International Markets" is offered. The summer school, which has become firmly established over the years, teaches theoretical concepts and research methods as well as practical content. In addition to the contents of classical decision theory, game theory and management theory, students can also further expand their knowledge in statistics and data science as well as innovation management.

In addition, a market decision lab has been established at the Central University of Finance and Economics, where students can further deepen their knowledge and conduct experimental research. In line with NIM's mission, this lab investigates what influences the decision-making behavior of consumers and market players and how people can be supported in their decision-making processes.

Contact: Dr. Matthias Unfried