“I am deeply honoured to receive the Tietgen Award. It is a significant recognition of my work in examining how people’s attention and decisions are shaped – and how this knowledge can be used to create better solutions for both society and businesses. The award gives new opportunities to further develop a research field that is becoming more relevant than ever. At its core, it is about understanding how our attention affects the choices we make in our digital daily lives,” says Sonja Perkovic about receiving the 2025 Tietgen Award.

Sonja Perkovic is associate professor at the Department of Management at Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, where she does research on consumer behaviour. Her work has included studies of how consumers make decisions when presented with product information, such as labelling related to PFAS substances or organic certification.

The Tietgen Award provides her with DKK 500,000 for a new research project, and this time she will get to study how we are influenced by digital design.

“I will use the funding from the Tietgen Award to explore some of the fundamental questions about how digital design affects our attention and choices. There is currently a knowledge gap on this area, and new insights could prove crucial for both consumers and regulators – especially as the EU is now working on a Digital Fairness Act,” says Sonja Perkovic.

The Tietgen Award is awarded annually by DSEB (Danish Society for Education and Business) to early-career researchers who are making significant progress in their academic careers. Sonja Perkovic is receiving the prize in recognition of her research achievements and substantial publications, with particular emphasis on the practical relevance of her work to the business community. DSEB also highlights her strong track record in communicating research beyond the academic sphere – from presentations in Danish government agencies and businesses to collaborations with NGOs and public authorities, as well as teaching journalists and appearing in the media.

Sonja Perkovic receives the Tietgen Award at DSEB’s annual dinner in Copenhagen on 26 November 2025.

Further information
DSEB (Danish Society for Education and Business) annually awards the Tietgen Award of DKK 500,000 in recognition of significant research contributions by young scholars within business-related humanities and social sciences. The award is accompanied by the Tietgen Gold Medal. Read more about the Tietgen Award.

More about Sonja Perkovic and her research here.