Research Institutes

WU’s 15 interdisciplinary research institutes help connect the individual departments. This page provides an overview of the diverse range of topics currently under investigation at our research institutes.

Capital Markets

Heads: Josef Zechner, Otto Randl

Research Profile

Research goals of this institute include the development of strategies and the investigation of methods and instruments to guarantee the long-term success of university endowments.

CEE Legal Studies

Head: Martin Winner

Research Profile

The institute’s activities in 2016 focused on research and teaching in the field of Central and Eastern European business law.

Computational Methods

Head: Kurt Hornik

Research Profile

The goals of this institute include developing and implementing modern computational methods for application in the fields of finance, information systems, marketing, and sustainability.

  • Natural language processing (NLP)
  • Analysis of behavioral patterns and information diffusion processes
  • Ontology extension and evolution
  • Combination of human computation with machine learning and NLP algorithms
  • Searching, navigating, and visualizing contextualized content repositories

Co-Operation and Co-Operatives

Head: Dietmar Rößl

Research Profile

Management challenges and steering mechanisms in co-operative relationships are the main focus of this institute’s work.

Cryptoeconomics

Head: Alfred Taudes

Research Profile

The goal of the research institute is to bundle the interdisciplinary competence of the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Only through an interdisciplinary approach, which considers the technical possibilities together with economic, social and legal aspects, the potential of this new technology can be met.

Economics of Aging

Head: Ulrike Schneider

Research Profile

This research institute investigates the socioeconomic aspects of an aging society. In 2017, researchers’ work focused on analyzing the situation of family caregivers, evaluating care-related policies, and measuring the results of long-term care.

Economics of Inequality

Heads: Wilfried Altzinger, Sigrid Stagl, Karin Heitzmann

Research Profile

Together with a small team of young, highly qualified researchers, professors from the departments of Economics and Socioeconomics investigate a wide variety of questions dealing with economic, ecological, and social inequality.

European Affairs

Head: Gabriele Tondl

Research Profile

In addition to investigating internal European integration issues (single market, monetary union, EU institutions), the institute also deals with economic and legal aspects of EU foreign relations.

Family Business

Head: Hermann Frank

Research Profile

The research institute is an internationally recognized center for family business-related research. Key research areas include family governance, familiness, socioemotional wealth, innovation, business families, and agricultural family businesses.

International Taxation

Heads: Eva Eberhartinger, Michael Lang, Martin Zagler

Research Profile

Multidisciplinary research on the taxation of cross-border transactions with a particular focus on corporate taxation are the main research topics covered by this institute.

Liberal Professions

Heads: Leo W. Chini

Research Profile

The institute’s main goal is to provide impulses for research into liberal professions, obtain well-founded research results, and increase public awareness for these professions through making expert contributions.

Regulatory Economics

Heads: Stefan Bogner, Klaus Gugler

Research Profile

The institute’s research focuses mainly on the economic analysis of regulated markets, optimizing regulatory measures, and investigating the economic effects of regulatory actions. Key areas include incentive regulation and energy markets.

Spatial and Real Estate Economics

Head: Gunther Maier

Research Profile

Institute researchers investigate and analyze real estate-related developments in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe.

Supply Chain Management

Head: Tina Wakolbinger

Research Profile

The main goal of this research institute is to discover and develop integration potential in multi-location, intra-company supply chains as well as in supply, production, and distribution networks between the various stakeholders.

Urban Management and Governance

Heads: Verena Madner, Renate Meyer

Research Profile

Interdisciplinary research into the economic, legal, and organizational aspects of modern city management and governance describes the work of this institute.