The City of Vienna Competence Team Change for Corporate Sustainability aims to promote strategic orientation of Austrian companies with regard to ecological and social sustainability by providing scientific knowledge in the field of Dynamic Capabilities as part of a three-year project.

The Competence Team supports companies in the process of transformation by developing innovative teaching and training formats and by establishing dialogue formats (such as workshops or specialist lectures).

As part of the project “Transformation for Sustainability (TransformS)”, the City of Vienna Competence Team addresses the question of how Austrian companies can develop the necessary strategic change competencies for a transformation towards sustainability (Dynamic Capabilities for Sustainability).

Duration: 1/05/2021 – 29/02/2024
Funding Program: City of Vienna (MA 23 – Economics, Labor and Statistics)
Project Management IBES: Dr. Daniela Ortiz

The Josef Ressel Center for Collective Action and Responsible Partnerships (JR Center CARe) explores the emergence, management, evaluation, and legitimacy of so-called Collective Action initiatives. We understand collective action initiatives as collaborative, long-term cooperation processes between companies and other stakeholders in order to solve social and environmental challenges.

Guiding research questions

“What drives companies to engage in collective action initiatives?”

“What basic conditions are suitable for the development of collective action initiatives?”

“How can collective action initiatives be managed more effectively and what success factors can be identified?”

“How can the success of collective action initiatives be measured?”

“Where do collective action initiatives derive their legitimacy?“

Josef Ressel Centers are jointly financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the corporate partners.

Duration: 1/9/2020 – 30/9/2022
Funding Program: Josef Ressel Centers (JR Centers) of the Christian Doppler Forschungsgesellschaft (CDG)
Project Partner: Josef Manner & Comp AG, Kapsch TrafficCom AG und Simacek Facility Management Group GmbH
Project Management IBES: Prof. Dr. Markus Scholz, Dr. Katharina Jarmai

The study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy on supply chain responsibility deals with regulating corporate due diligence for their supply chains in the context of human rights, which is being discussed in Austria.

The aim is not only to give a historical overview of how the current discussion on corporate responsibility in the human rights context came about but also to outline the relevance for Austria and Austrian companies based on field reports from other countries in which similar regulations have already been implemented. The study aims to present the opportunities and challenges of implementing such laws in Austria and potential fields of action.

Duration: November 1st, 2021 to February 27th, 2022

Client: Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy

Project management IBES: Maria Riegler, MSc

ENDONANO is a European Industrial Doctorate (EID) funded in the framework of Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. By merging the project partners’ expertise in immunology, nanotechnology and physics into a broader approach to address toxicology and safety and related regulatory issues, the ENDONANO network aims at delivering industry-oriented PhD training of young scientists in the area of safety regulations for drugs and medical devices. Among other things, this training includes a course on entrepreneurship and responsible research and innovation. Dr. Katharina Jarmai teaches a course on “Entrepreneurship and Responsible Innovation” within the project (third party service).

Contact IBES: Dr. Katharina Jarmai

Study on corporate responsibility through inter-firm cooperation in Austria

As little data is available for Austria on the subject of “Corporate Social Responsibility through inter-company cooperation”, the Institute for Business Ethics and Sustainable Strategy (IBES) of FHWien der WKW conducts a corresponding study. Within the scope of this study, qualitative data for Austria are to be used for the first time,

1. what goals are pursued through cooperation and what forms of cooperation exist,
2. which factors of success are to be observed in the individual phases of a cooperation and across phases and
3. which business opportunities arise for the company in the long term.

Duration: 1/5/2020 – 31/1/2021

Created in the framework of the endowed chair of the Microeconomics of Competitiveness, sponsored by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

Study on the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in Austria

The implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility is a challenge for companies, especially SMEs. However, they are increasingly recognizing the business need as well as the opportunities that result from the inclusion of social and environmentally relevant aspects in the business process. For the first time, the study uses current quantitative data from Austria to analyze the motivation of SMEs to implement Corporate Social Responsibility. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the systematic integration in Austrian SMEs. From this, recommendations for action for the professionalization are derived, which should lead to the creation of expected competitive advantages.

Duration: 1/1/2020 – 31/10/2020

Created in the framework of the endowed chair of the Microeconomics of Competitiveness, sponsored by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

Study on the cooperation between established industrial companies and technology start-ups in Austria.

To manage the digital transformation, established companies are increasingly entering into cooperation with technology start-ups. Using qualitative data for manufacturing firms, , the study examines the following questions: 1) what forms and objectives exist for cooperation between established industrial companies and technology start-ups, 2) what critical success factors are to be considered in the individual phases of a cooperation and across phases, and 3) what business opportunities can arise for the companies in the long-term.

The results should help companies to better understand the opportunities and risks of cooperation projects with start-up firms. Concrete recommendations for the implementation and design of such cooperation schemes will be derived and ultimately support companies in the successful implementation and thus in mastering the digital transformation.

Duration: 1/7/2019 – 31/12/2019

Created in the framework of the endowed chair of the Microeconomics of Competitiveness, sponsored by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

Study on reasons and motives for setting up voluntary bodies – advisory boards – in medium-sized enterprises in Austria.

An advisory board offers medium-sized companies, in particular, various opportunities for organisational and strategic development. Nevertheless, the advisory board does not yet have a strong presence in Austrian medium-sized companies. The questions of why companies have set up an advisory board what role it plays and what influence it has on business success, are all answered in this study. For this purpose, a quantitative study of 530 medium-sized enterprises was conducted. The findings were enriched and contrasted with six interviews with managers of companies in Vienna who have set up an advisory board.

Duration: 1/09/2018 – 28/02/2019

Created in the context of the endowed chair Microeconomics of Competitiveness, sponsored by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

The central aim of the research project was the development of sustainable and at the same time competitive solutions for the management of social and ecological responsibilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on focus groups and interviews, a diagnostic model was developed to assess corporate responsibility in SMEs. Subsequently, the strengths and development opportunities in eight local SMEs were investigated through case studies, and corresponding strategic measures were developed. An Austria-wide online survey focused on the challenges for SMEs in terms of the integration of ecological and social issues into their business operations.

The CR4SME project comprised the three core areas: research, teaching and practice. The results of the project were disseminated to the academic community through publications and lectures, and integrated into relevant courses for Master’s students at FHWien der WKW. Thanks to cooperation with SMEs, the findings also lead directly to the implementation of successful changes in terms of corporate responsibility.

Duration: 1/02/2016 – 31/01/2019

Funding programme: Vienna University of Applied Sciences Funding of the Department of Economics, Labour and Statistics (Municipal Department 23)

Project partners: BIOGENA, Boutiquehotel Stadthalle, Buchbinderei Fuchs, CUITEC Großküchentechnik, CulumNATURA, Hotel & Villa Auersperg, Mach & Partner ZT-GmbH, Ölmühle Fandler

Project management IBES: Dr. Daniela Ortiz Avram

Creation of a catalogue of values for strategic decisions.

The Josef Manner & Comp AG carried out an analysis of the company values together with IBES. On the basis of a content analysis of the corporate communication, interviews with Carl Manner, as well as internal and external surveys, Manner values were worked out and summarised in a compendium.

The aim of the project was to create a catalogue of values which can serve future generations of managers as a reference point for strategic decisions.

Duration: 1/01/2013 – 1/06/2015

Created within the framework of the endowed chair for Corporate Governance & Business Ethics

Project partner: Josef Manner & Comp AG

Project management IBES: FH-Prof. Dr. Markus Scholz