# Damian Leschik

> Prof. Dr. Damian Leschik is Professor of Marketing Management at IU International University of Applied Sciences (Aachen and Cologne campuses). Research topics: AI in market research and silicon sampling; data science for consumer insights; generative AI in marketing and sales; consumer behaviour in immersive environments; success of mergers and acquisitions in biopharma.

Deutsch: Damian Leschik erforscht, wie künstliche Intelligenz die Marktforschung verändert. Er ist Professor für Marketing Management an der IU Internationalen Hochschule (Campus Aachen und Köln).

## Key facts

- Position: Professor of Marketing Management, IU International University of Applied Sciences (since 2019)
- Research: AI in market research, silicon sampling, data science for consumer insights, consumer behaviour
- Doctorate: Doctor of Business Administration, Charles Sturt University (Australia), awarded the Joss Group Outstanding Thesis Prize
- Degrees: Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur (industrial engineering, marketing), Diplom-Ingenieur (biotechnology)
- Industry: About 15 years in marketing, sales, business development and production in biotech and pharma
- Service: Board member, AfM working group “AI & Brand/Marketing”
- Teaching: Bachelor's and master's programmes, in German and English
- Based in: Aachen, Germany
- Contact: damian.leschik@iu.org
- IU profile: https://www.iu.org/about/professors-lecturers/damian-leschik/

## Pages

- [Home, English](https://damianleschik.com/en/): profile, research interests, latest research notes
- [Startseite, Deutsch](https://damianleschik.com/): Kurzprofil, Forschungsschwerpunkte
- [Publications](https://damianleschik.com/en/publications/): complete list with DOIs
- [Research notes](https://damianleschik.com/en/notes/): recent studies presented and discussed
- [Research as comics](https://damianleschik.com/en/comics/): free PDF downloads

## Research interests

- AI in market research and silicon sampling: When can AI-generated respondents usefully complement surveys and interviews, and when do they distort results? The focus is on criteria for the quality, validity and reliability of synthetic data, and on AI-led interviews.
- Data science for consumer insights: Sentiment analysis, topic modelling and structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) turn customer data, such as online comments or survey responses, into robust insights.
- Generative AI in marketing and sales: How companies connect language models with their own domain knowledge, for example through retrieval-augmented generation, without compromising privacy and confidentiality.
- Consumer behaviour in immersive environments: What value people see in virtual reality, augmented reality and spatial computing, studied with means-end chain theory.
- Success of mergers and acquisitions in biopharma: Which metrics explain M&A success among small and medium-sized pharmaceutical and biotech companies in Germany. Subject of the doctoral thesis and several journal articles.

## Publications

- Leschik, D., Baums, K., & Mazurek, J. M. J. (2026). Unlocking the future of marketing: The transformative potential of virtual reality, augmented reality, and spatial computing. In G. Schuster & C. Bornemeyer (Eds.), Handbuch innovatives Marketing (pp. 1–13). Springer Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-46709-8_33-1
- Leschik, D., Ritz, F., Milicevic, A., Appel, D., & Beckers, N. (2026). Exploring AI-generated interviews using the means-end chain model: A comparative study with human-led interviews. In G. Schuster & C. Bornemeyer (Eds.), Handbuch innovatives Marketing (pp. 1–17). Springer Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-46709-8_41-1
- Leschik, D. (2025). Model evaluation of post-M&A success metrics in the German biopharmaceutical industry. Journal of Business Models, 13(1), 146–167. https://doi.org/10.54337/jobm.v13i1.7502
- Leschik, D. (2025). Enhancing value propositions in metaverse business models: A means-end chain theory approach. Business Model Conference 2025, University of Oulu, Finland.
- Lac, V., & Leschik, D. (2024). Unlocking the marketing and sales potential: Bridging generative AI with domain-specific data using retrieval augmented generation architecture. In T. Bolz & G. Schuster (Eds.), Generative Künstliche Intelligenz in Marketing und Sales (pp. 207–219). Springer Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-45132-5_15
- Leschik, D., & Lac, V. (2023). Application of sentiment analysis and topic modelling in marketing and management: Tesla supercharger example. In L.-M. Altendorfer et al. (Eds.), Tagungsband zur IU-Fachtagung Content Marketing 2.0: Potenziale und Herausforderungen neuer Ansätze des Content Marketings (pp. 27–40). IU Internationale Hochschule. https://res.cloudinary.com/iugroup/image/upload/v1704706555/Tagungsband_Content_Marketing_2.0_ylyhre.pdf
- Leschik, D. (2023). Sentiment-Analyse im Marketing und Management. Talk at Marketing Club Aachen, Aachen, Germany. https://marketingclub-aachen.de/veranstaltungen/sentiment-analyse-im-marketing-und-management/
- Leschik, D., Rossberger, R., & Oczkowski, E. (2022). M&As in Germany: Measuring success for the pharma and biotech industries. Journal of Business Strategy, 43(2), 87–95. Published online on 9 December 2020. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-07-2020-0153
- Tigre Moura, F., & Leschik, D. (2022). Live FM: Fan Monitor 2022 – German music fans, technology innovation and sustainable consumption. IU Internationale Hochschule.
- Tigre Moura, F., Leschik, D., Carnicelli Filho, S., McPherson, G., & Reid, E. (2021). Live FM: Fan Monitor 2021 – An analysis of attitudes and behavioral trends of music fans in Germany and Scotland. IU Internationale Hochschule & University of the West of Scotland. https://liveinnovation.org/download-the-live-fm-fan-monitor-2021-edition/
- Tigre Moura, F., Leschik, D., Carnicelli Filho, S., McPherson, G., & Reid, E. (2020). Live FM: Fan Monitor 2020 – Analysis of attitudes and behavioral trends of music fans in Germany and Scotland during the Covid-19 pandemic. IU Internationale Hochschule & University of the West of Scotland. https://liveinnovation.org/fan-monitor/
- Tigre Moura, F., & Leschik, D. (2020). Live AM: Artist Monitor 2020 – Analysis of attitudes and behavioral trends of music professionals in Germany during the Covid-19 pandemic. IU Internationale Hochschule. https://liveinnovation.org/artist-monitor/
- Leschik, D. (2017). Assessment of post-merger and acquisition success factors for small- and medium-size German pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Doctor of Business Administration, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Awarded the Joss Group Outstanding Thesis Prize.

## Research notes

- (none published yet)

## Optional

- [Full text for language models](https://damianleschik.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Publications as BibTeX](https://damianleschik.com/publikationen.bib)
- [Publications as JSON (CSL)](https://damianleschik.com/publikationen.json)