This book is the productof my research at the EndowedChair of Corporate Finance and Capital Markets at the European Business School. Many people devoted their inspiration, time, and knowledge in order to support me with my interdisciplinary research. Thank you all for your support. Especially, I thank my academic supervisor Prof. Ulrich Hommel, Ph.D., who provided me with the freedom to pursue my research interests and who always s- ported me generously. In addition, I am very grateful to my co-supervisor Prof. Dr. Susanne Strahringer (TU Dresden), who graciously accepted the task of refer- ing my book. Also, I thank Prof. Dr. Matthias Krause of the Chair for Theoretical Computer Science in Mannheim for the technical and computer scienti?c support. During my research visits I received generous support from Prof. Yaneer Bar- Yam (NECSI and Harvard) and Prof. John D. Sterman (MIT), who introduced me to the ?eld of System Dynamics and Complex Systems, as well as from Prof. Victor Mossotti (U.S. Geological Survey), Prof. Hiroki Sayama (NECSI and Bingh- ton), Prof. Markus de Aguiar (Universidade Estadual de Campinas), Prof. Michel Baranger (MIT), Prof. Jay W. Forrester (MIT), and Prof.
Brian D. Josephson (Cambridge). Thank you very much for numerous inspiring discussions.