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Research at FHWien der WKW

Endowed Chair Microeconomics of Competitiveness

Framework conditions and business location attractiveness

The focus of the endowed chair was on the competitiveness of business locations, particularly in relation to the city of Vienna. From a microeconomic perspective, framework conditions for companies were analyzed and influencing factors were identified that contribute to the attractiveness of locations and promote the development of companies and clusters. The endowed chair was financed by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce (WKW).

The Endowed Chair Microeconomics of Competitiveness was located in the Strategy Center of the Research Cluster SMEs & Family Businesses at FHWien der WKW. The professorship ideally complemented the existing research focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and family businesses. At the same time, it benefited from the dense international network of the research cluster. This includes renowned institutions such as Harvard Business School, INSEAD, the University of St. Gallen and the Technical University of Munich. The research findings have been published in international specialist media and presented at academic conferences.

Contact

Research
FH-Prof. DI Dr. Walter Mayrhofer
Head of Research

Währinger Gürtel 97
1180 Vienna

Tel.: +43 690 40 476 164

Published studies

SME efficiency and start-up innovation for digital transformation

While start-ups are geared towards innovation per se, established SMEs tend to focus more on efficiency. In order to successfully integrate innovations into the organization, SMEs must therefore act “ambidextrously”. The authors of the study present the concept of “organizational ambidexterity” – the ability of a company to develop new skills and innovations while at the same time optimizing existing core processes.

Corporate responsibility through cooperation

As there was little qualitative data available on the topic of “Corporate responsibility through inter-company cooperation” in Austria, this was analyzed for the first time on the basis of the following questions:

  • What are the objectives of cooperation and what forms of cooperation are there?
  • What success factors need to be considered in the individual phases and across all phases?
  • What economic opportunities arise for the companies in the long term?

Duration: 01.05.2020 to 31.01.2021

Sustainability management in Austrian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

The study was the first to use quantitative data from Austria to investigate the motivation of SMEs in implementing measures for responsible corporate management. The aim of the study was to provide an overview of the systematic integration of social and ecological aspects into the business processes of SMEs. From this, recommendations for action were derived for the professionalization of measures that should lead to the creation of expected competitive advantages.

Duration: 01.01.2020 to 31.10.2020

Cooperation in the context of digital transformation

Established companies are increasingly entering into partnerships with technology start-ups to manage the digital transformation. The results help established companies in particular to better understand the opportunities and risks of cooperating with start-ups. Specific recommendations for the implementation and design of such collaborations were derived to support companies in successfully mastering the digital transformation.

Duration: 01.07.2019 to 31.12.2019

Advisory boards in the Austrian SME sector

Although an advisory board offers a wide range of opportunities for organizational and strategic development, the body is still not very present in Austrian SMEs. The study answers the questions of why companies have set up an advisory board, what role it plays and what influence it has on the company’s success. To this end, 530 SMEs across Austria were surveyed. Interviews with Viennese entrepreneurs who have set up an advisory board provided more in-depth insights.

Duration: 01.09.2018 to 28.02.2019

Follow-up projects

The results of the project formed the starting point for further research projects at FHWien der WKW. These deal with the necessary skills and strategies for SMEs to overcome the challenges of both digital transformation and corporate sustainability.

The City of Vienna Competence Team “Change for Corporate Sustainability” (TransformS), launched in 2021, researched how Austrian companies can develop the necessary strategic change skills for the transformation towards sustainability (Dynamic Capabilities for Sustainability).

In the research project “Organizational Ambidexterity in SMEs”, which was launched in 2022 and funded by the City of Vienna (MA 23), researchers from FHWien der WKW spent three years analyzing promising ways of implementing organizational ambidexterity to manage the digital transformation.

Both follow-up projects were supported by the City of Vienna (MA 23) as part of the Vienna University of Applied Sciences funding program.