Profile

CEE Competence, Mission

CEE Competence

Austrian businesses were quick to recognize the enormous opportunities resulting from the political and economic opening Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in 1989, benefitting from it as pioneers. WU also reacted swiftly by launching a number of initiatives in teaching and research. The university offered a comprehensive program on the topic of “Introduction to social market economy” for junior faculty and students from the reform countries as early as in the summer of 1990.

Consequently, this pilot project grew to become the WU International Summer University, attended by over 4,000 participants so far. This concept was taken abroad: Summer Universities in Croatia, Romania, Slovenia and in the Ukraine were results of a successful collaboration with partner universities. In addition, further cross-border programs involving several universities from the region like the “Erste Bank Summer University Danubia” and the “International Summer University Southern Europe” were introduced.

A shared effort between the institutes of International Business and Slavic Languages produced a special track in the International Business major, called “Competence Area: Central and Eastern European Management”. It aims at preparing students for a future career in CEE. Students gain specific regional knowledge, however are also required to learn a CEE language (Czech or Russian).

The JOSZEF program and the “Master Class: Eastern Europe” followed in the mid 1990s. Dedicated to nurturing highly qualified and CEE-oriented students, coming from the WU or from the region, both programs were developed with the help of our business partners. The participation is voluntary, with the main goal of equipping students with “CEE competence” so that they are qualified for management positions in the region.

In 1996 WU and Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA, launched the new seminar series “Doing Business in CEE“, followed by the CEMS-course “East-West-Project Seminar”. Both created an opportunity for internationally diverse students to work on real-life projects in the region with corporate partners.

The Institute of Slavic Languages, the Institute of International Business, the Research Institute for European Affairs, and the Research Institute for East European Business Law took the lead in CEE research at WU, and are well known as research centers in their respective field today. Further research activities in the areas of economics, international tax law, management, marketing and strategic management helped to strengthen the CEE competence base of WU.

The WU faculty has actively carried out internationally acknowledged research in the following areas (leading researchers’ names are indicated in brackets):

  • Intercultural communication and intercultural learning (Renate Rathmayr, Edgar Hoffmann)

  • The role of small-and medium-sized business in CEE (Josef Mugler, Dietmar Rössl)

  • Business law in CEE (Research Institute for East European Business Law)

  • Regional market entry and marketing strategies (Reiner Springer, Arnold Schuh)

  • Roles and functions of regional headquarters (Arnold Schuh, Bodo Schlegelmilch, Björn Ambos, Barbara Brenner)

  • Risk management and international finance (Reinhard Moser)

  • The role of the Non-Profit sector (Non-profit Management Group)

  • Development of the finance sector and banking system (Gerhard Fink, Peter Haiss)

  • Intercultural management and culture standards (Gerhard Fink, Sylvia Meierewert)

  • Structure, developments and economic implications of foreign direct investment flows into CEE (Wilfried Altzinger, Christian Bellak)

  • Benefits and costs of the EU-enlargement (Fritz Breuss, Mikulas Luptacik)

  • Tourism in CEE (Josef Mazanec, Andreas Zins)

  • Tax competition and tax coordination in the EU (Christian Bellak)

  • Labor market effects of foreign direct investment and international business in CEE (Engelbert Stockhammer)

  • Tax Treaties of CEE countries (Michael Lang & International Tax Law Group)

Since 1993 the annual conference on "Business and Marketing Strategies for Central and Eastern Europe" has been organized in Vienna as a joint effort between Mr. Reiner Springer, Institute of International Business and Petr Chadraba, DePaul University, Chicago, USA. This conference has become an important academic meeting place for research with a focus on marketing and strategic management in CEE.

In September 2007 the first international "Grow East" Congress was organized at WU, centering on research areas of brand strategy, consumer behavior and distribution systems in CEE.

WU can rely on a comprehensive electronic research data base. The "DMCEE: Database of management in CEE 1991-2006" provides information on management, intercultural communication, sociology and law in CEE, and consists of more than 2,000 bibliographic entries.Further examples for the broad range of CEE-oriented initiatives and activities WU are manifested in the participation of WU faculty in conferences in CEE, international student and faculty exchanges, and research collaborations (e.g., NODE), the support of CEE universities in curriculum development (e.g., TEMPUS-Project with Kharkov) as well as in the management of the CEEPUS network “Amadeus”.

Mission

The Competence Center for Central and Eastern Europe is the central contact and knowledge transfer point at WU in the area of Central and Eastern European social and business administration studies and research. By integrating our research and study programs with university-corporate relationships, we aim at achieving high quality in all involved areas.

Our activities shall improve the positioning of WU as an international leader in the areas of business and management in CEE studies and research. WU herewith contributes to the diffusion of state-of-the-art knowledge and consequently to a better management and leadership in corporations, non profit organisations and institutions in the CEE region.