15th Volume of the Journal of Business Chemistry – Review and Outlook

The Journal of Business Chemistry is publishing its 15th volume with the first issue of the year 2018. Since 2004 the Journal passed an exciting way, enjoyed a lot of support from the academic and industrial world, and addressed topics of recent interest. The Journal is in a process of constant evolvement, e.g. attracting new authors to present their manuscripts and reaching an even wider readership through multiple channels. One of the latest highlights is the collaboration of the Institute of Business Administration at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy (University of Münster) and the Center for Industry and Sustainability (Provadis School of International Management and Technology, Frankfurt/Main). The exploitation of the synergies paves the way for improving the quality of the journal even further. In this issue, we present Business Chemistry in all its facets as well as the increasing demand of interdisciplinary skills in the chemical industry. There- fore, we invited authors from the academic and industrial context to share their perspective on Business Chemistry and recent developments in the chemical industry. In addition, we would like to draw our readers’ attention to the recent book release of “Business Chemistry: How to Build and Sustain Thriving Businesses in the Chemical Industry” (for further information please see the last page at this issue).

In the first article “Re-inventing chemistry – an industry in transition” the editors of the Journal of Business Chemistry give an overview of the past 14 volumes. The analysis focuses on different aspects: the type of article, the level of analysis, the focus topics, and the demographic data of authors. The results provide interesting insights about our Journal in general and our prospective development.

The Commentary “Business Chemistry: The successful establishment of an interdisciplinary field” presents Business Chemistry as a course of study in the German and Swiss region. From an academic perspective, professors and their research assistants introduce our readers to the establishment of Business Chemistry at universities, the overcoming of obstacles and the slight differences in study programs. Especially the consolidation of the different perspectives on Business Chemistry makes the article a pioneering contribution.

“Motivation for Innovations – Experiences and Reflections” takes a quite different perspective. Firstly, Meyer-Galow, as a founder and promoter of business chemistry as academic discipline, highlights the importance of motivation and its influence on innovation in general. Secondly, he emphasizes the value of recognition for successful innovations by presenting the Meyer-Galow-Prize for Business Chemistry and the prize-winning Innovators.

The last article in the commentary section “The road ahead: Digitalization fuels innovation” provides an overall picture of recent developments in the chemical industry. Martin Vollmer describes the influence of digitalization, the challenges of sustainability and the opportunities of big data. Also he stresses the increasing importance of agility and fluidity in organizations.

In the Practitioner’s Section we are pleased to present our readers a recent study, which analyze career opportunities for Business Chemists. Elisabeth Moshake und Nadine Schäfer address in their article “Quo vadis Business Chemistry?” the issue in which positions Business Chemists are employed. The results of the conducted online survey offer interesting insights on internships, additional qualifications and entry opportunities.

The second article “Chemistry 4.0 – Growth through innovation in a transforming world” from Hen- rik Meincke, Johann-Peter Nickel and Peter Westerheide deals with the mega trends of digitalization and circular economy in the chemical industry. Moreover the authors provide a deep understanding of the processes in the chemical industry and on how companies can seize the trends as opportunity rather than being frightened by them.