Chair of
Finance

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pape, Chair Owner of the Finance chair, Berlin campus, ESCPCorporate financial decisions comprise the decision on how to invest the cash of the firm as well as the decision on how to raise financial funds from investors. These decisions are complex because financial markets are imperfect, and asymmetric information causes conflicts of interest between investors and the firm. Furthermore, investors as well as managers do not always behave rationally.

The research at the Chair of Finance focuses on developing a better understanding of how corporate financial decisions are made. Our teaching provides our students with the essential understanding of financial theory and how financial models can be applied in practice. In research as well as in teaching the Chair aims at combining theory with practical orientation.

- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pape

The team

Our team from left to right: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pape, Sabine Scholz, Frederic Lammers, Claudio Schütz.

Teaching
We offer the following courses:

Bachelor in
Management (BSc)

  • Financial Management
  • Bachelor Thesis
Go to the programme

Master in
Management

  • Corporate Finance
  • Firm Valuation
  • Master Thesis
Go to the programme

MBA in
International Management

  • Financial Strategy
  • Master Thesis
Go to the programme

EMBA
Executive MBA

  • Corporate Finance
  • International Finance
Go to the programme

PhD
Programme

  • Research programmes in economics and management
See more

Research

Research approach

"Finance matters" relates to the relevance of financing decisions for the value of a firm. The company’s economic success, measured by the firm value, is not only driven by the firm’s business operations, but can also be increased by financial decisions. Motivated by the fact that corporate financial decisions affect the firm value, the Chair of Finance examines several qualitative and quantitative research questions at the intersection of corporate finance and related business fields such as entrepreneurship and strategy.

Driven by empirical dedication, the Chair’s current research takes on the challenges of national and international capital markets and focusses on value-based management and financial strategy, financial decisions in early stage venture capital investments, equity valuation in financial technology transactions, and the impact of mergers and acquisitions on the value of the firm.

Research topics

Value creation through M&A

Mergers and Acquisitions are considered to be one of the most important investment decisions in a company’s life cycle. Despite the large sums spent on M&A and the vast number of studies analyzing their economic impact, the role of individual decision makers is still not well understood. In this research field we examine the impact of a company's Top Management Team on the entire takeover process from deal initiation to its completion.

Politics and Finance Research

Political aspects are becoming more relevant in finance research. One political phenomenon that is on the rise in western democracies is populism – a term widely used in politics and the media. Many studies have looked at political causes and effects of populism in the short-term. Yet the long-term financial impacts of this political phenomenon remain an understudied topic. We therefore aim at looking into its long-term effects and examine whether populism or varieties of it are priced in capital markets.

Focus on:
Last Publications

Journal Articles

Basse Mama, Houdou/ Mueller, Stefan/ Pape, Ulrich: What's in the news? The abiguity of information content of index reconstitutions in Germany. In: Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 2017, in press.

Book Chapters

Pape, Ulrich: Wertorientierte Unternehmensführung. In: Petersen, Karl/ Zwirner (Hrsg.): Handbuch Unternehmensbewertung. Anlässe, Methoden, Branchen, Rechnungslegung, Rechtsprechung, 2. Auflage, Bundesanzeiger Verlag, Köln 2017, S. 861-876.

Working Papers

Pape, Ulrich/ Reich, Katharina/ Seehausen, Sven: Pecking-Order-Theorie und Kapitalstrukturpolitik börsennotierter Familienunternehmen, ESCP Working Paper Nr. 62, Oktober 2014.

Dissertations

Blum, Maximilian: Der Planungs- und Entscheidungsprozess der wertorientierten Steuerung aus verhaltenswissenschaftlicher Sicht. Verlag Dr. Kovac, Hamburg, 2017 (zugleich Dissertation, ESCP Wirtschaftshochschule Berlin, 2017).

Publications
Find an overview

Display:
51 publications

Academic Articles

2024

PAPE, U., C. SCHÜTZ

Are investors afraid of populism?

FINANCE RESEARCH LETTERS, 61, 10

Academic Articles

2024

PAPE, U., F. LAMMERS

The impact of powerful CFOs in M&A: evidence from U.S. acquisitions

REVIEW OF MANAGERIAL SCIENCE, 18, 42

ESCP Impact Papers

2024

PAPE, U., C. SCHÜTZ

Beyond the Ballot: The Impact of Populism on Financial Market Dynamics in Europe

ESCP Impact Papers, 2024-34-EN

Books

2023

PAPE, U.

Grundlagen der Finanzierung und Investition, 5th edition

DeGryuter Oldenbourg, 557

Chapters

2023

PAPE, U.

Wertorientierte Unternehmensführung

In: Handbuch Unternehmensbewertung, Petersen, K./ Zwirner, C./ Zimny, G. Reguvis Fachmedien

Academic Articles

2022

ULMER, T., U. PAPE

Streamliners, Switchmen and Bridge Builders: About the Mechanisms and Uniqueness of Accelerator Programs

SUSTAINABILITY, Volume 14 (23), 25

Academic Articles

2022

PAPE, U., T. ULMER

Venture Debt

WIRTSCHAFTSWISSENSCHAFTLICHES STUDIUM, 51 No. 10, 47-49

Books

2018

PAPE, U.

Grundlagen der Finanzierung und Investition, 4th edition

DeGryuter Oldenbourg, 551

Academic Articles

2017

BASSE MAMA, H., S. MUELLER, U. PAPE

What’s in the news? The ambiguity of the information content of index reconstitutions in Germany

REVIEW OF QUANTITATIVE FINANCE AND ACCOUTING, 49(4), 1087-1119

Chapters

2017

PAPE, U.

Wertorientierte Unternehmensführung

In: Handbuch Unternehmensbewertung, Petersen, Karl/ Zwirner, Christian Bundesanzeiger Verlag, 861-876

Team and contact

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pape, Chairholder: chair of Finance, and Academic Dean Master in Management Berlin  Berlin Campus, ESCP

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pape

Chairholder
Academic Director, Master in Management (MIM), ESCP Berlin
upape@escp.eu
Sabine Scholz, Assistant, Chair of Finance, Berlin Campus, ESCP

Sabine Scholz

Assistant
sscholz@escp.eu
Frederic Lammers, M.Sc., Research Assistant, Chair of Finacne, Berlin Campus, ESCP

Frederic Lammers, M.Sc.

Research assistant / PhD student
flammers@escp.eu
Claudio Schütz, M.Sc.,Research Assistant, Chair of Finance  Berlin Campus, ESCP

Claudio Schütz, M.Sc.

Research assistant / PhD student
cschuetz@escp.eu