Managing the Future of the Public and Private Sector

The core research competencies of the School of Management are found in the analysis of problems and processes as well as the development of strategies and instruments to facilitate a future-proof management of state and economy. Competencies in the area of business management, combined with those of technical and social science subject disciplines (law, economics, politics, public management, business informatics and cultural sciences), all of which are represented within the School of Management, form the backbone of an unusually diverse and extensive interdisciplinary research and development profile.

Research Focus

Both past and currently running projects as well as other R&D activities are grouped in the following thematic clusters, based on the core competencies of the School of Management:

• International business with a focus on Southeast Europe
• Public administration modernization with an eGovernment focus
• Innovation and knowledge transfer and education management
• European public governance with a European law focus
• Urban and regional economics
• Fiscal federalism, fiscal equalization schemes and local public finances
• Sustainable use of natural resources

Municipal and Regional Economic Development Strategies in an Enlarged Europe

European Union eastern enlargement transformed Carinthia from a peripheral location into a central location in Southeast Europe. The possibilities for the development of the region and its institutions resulting from this transformation must be used. Consequently, the key elements of research include support of the economy (in particular SMEs) in the successful adoption of cross border activities and in the analysis of underlying institutional conditions which foster the opening up of new markets (e.g. in the field of renewable energies).

Innovation and Efficiency in Public Administration

In order to meet the dynamically developing demands of public administration – such as closeness to citizens, efficiency and effectiveness – an appropriate knowledge basis is essential. Accordingly, the School deals with questions relating to the modernization of municipal and regional management, offers advice to innovative projects of public institutions and semi-public institutions, and supports the efficiency of public administration and budget processes by means of evaluation, benchmarking and best practice studies. Projects regularly require an interdisciplinary expertise, which is made possible through the multi-disciplinary research profile of the School.