The work of the IFMV, and the Institute's committee in particular, involves the coordination of teaching and research topics within the area of Marketing and Sales. The customer is at the focal point of both teaching and research activities. Teaching focus The AutoUni programmes in this topic area centre on subjects including internationalisation and the marketing and sale of financial services, which are derived from the Group's Strategy 2018. Research focus Current research projects at the Institute are: Service workshop of the future: Conducted in cooperation with Volkswagen After Sales, this research project is aimed at identifying the technological, organisational and social challenges faced by after-sales. At present, the project is concerned with "The repercussions of technological trends in car manufacturing on automotive service centres" and "Age-differentiated employee motivation in service companies". Brand culture and corporate culture: In partnership with the Volkswagen Brand Strategy department, this project is examining the influence of societal and consumer-related factors on the significance of the Volkswagen brand. Brand management and brand positioning: The "International brand management" research project is exploring the strategic approaches of the Volkswagen brand's internationalisation strategy in the emerging markets from its early days to the present. The project focuses on analyses of market-entry strategies and the identification of new potential national markets. Internal marketing: The strategic alignment of the workforce is a key indicator of corporate success. In cooperation with Leibniz University Hannover, research is being carried out into the correlation between strategic alignment and internal communication measures for further training programmes. This work should lead to a concept for enhancing strategic alignment through target-group-specific measures and the internal communication of further training opportunities.