Kick-Off Meeting of the Working Group “Relational Space Economy”

On 23rd of April 2026, the working group “Relational Space Economy” assembled for the first time on the premises of IQIB - Institut für qualifizierende Innovationsforschung und -beratung in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. The working group aims to develop a relational approach to emerging economic activities in outer space and consequential issues that arise from them. Under the theme of “Relational Space Economy”, the Leadership Excellence Institute (LEIZ) and the IQIB join forces to contribute to the academic and practical discussion. The managing directors of IQIB, Wigand Fleischer and Roman Noetzel, along with several IQIB experts, took part in the workshop and contributed to the lively discussion.

In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Wieland set the scene for a potentially relational approach to space economy, discussing space-related services and goods through the lens of relational economics. Moreover, he described how space economy is principally decoupled from territories, highlighting the necessity of cooperation between all stakeholders.

The workshop further included a contribution by Rafael Mentges, Policy Advisor Strategy and Programme at the German Space Agency at DLR, on current pathways to measure the space economy. Given the high level of fragmentation in the sector, he elaborated on empirical approaches to draw boundaries between up- and downstream space economy as well as space-related goods and services.

In a highly dispersed field such as the space economy, knowledge sharing is ever more important. Dr. Jessica Schwengber, Managing Director at LEIZ, precisely traced this circumstance in her presentation and presented a model for inter- and intra-organizational learning processes designed to foster innovation.

In space economy, innovation processes rely heavily on organizations’ ability to stabilize cooperation and coordination in a hard-to-navigate institutional environment. Concluding the workshop, Dr. Marieluna Frank (IQIB) and Jonas Stark (LEIZ) sketched out three approaches to address this issue empirically.

The working group is a collaboration of the Leadership Excellence Institute (LEIZ) and the IQIB - Institut für qualifizierende Innovationsforschung und -beratung, a 100% subsidiary of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Its findings are expected to shape the nascent academic debate as well as the flourishing practical discussion in business and politics.