Research at LBS

Research at LBS

Research at LBS

At Lauder Business School, research advances knowledge in international business, leadership, and sustainability — and informs both teaching and practice.

At Lauder Business School, research advances knowledge in international business, leadership, and sustainability — and informs both teaching and practice.

Sustainable Competitiveness of Firms and Regions

Sustainable Competitiveness of Firms and Regions

The research agenda at LBS is centered on competitiveness — understood broadly as the ability to create welfare and narrowly as sustainable productivity growth under socially desirable employment conditions.

Globalization, technological change, sustainability, and migration shape modern economies. LBS research analyzes their causes, effects, and strategic responses at both firm and regional levels.

Our goal is to inform policymakers, entrepreneurs, and managers in Vienna and Austria in ways that promote sustainable and shared welfare creation.

The research agenda at LBS is centered on competitiveness — understood broadly as the ability to create welfare and narrowly as sustainable productivity growth under socially desirable employment conditions.

Globalization, technological change, sustainability, and migration shape modern economies. LBS research analyzes their causes, effects, and strategic responses at both firm and regional levels.

Our goal is to inform policymakers, entrepreneurs, and managers in Vienna and Austria in ways that promote sustainable and shared welfare creation.

Global Value Chains

The organization of international economic activities has changed fundamentally in the last decades. It is no longer the case that firms export goods produced in the home country of the firm and within more or less vertically integrated corporations. Instead, global value chains have emerged whereby each task can be located in different regions of the global economy.

A dense organizational network of international interfirm interdependencies has evolved that includes equity-based and non-equity based forms of coordination and control between firms. As a result, the prospects for increasing competitiveness of firms and regions are increasingly shaped by their positions within global value chains.

The organization of international economic activities has changed fundamentally in the last decades. It is no longer the case that firms export goods produced in the home country of the firm and within more or less vertically integrated corporations. Instead, global value chains have emerged whereby each task can be located in different regions of the global economy.

A dense organizational network of international interfirm interdependencies has evolved that includes equity-based and non-equity based forms of coordination and control between firms. As a result, the prospects for increasing competitiveness of firms and regions are increasingly shaped by their positions within global value chains.

Innovation and Industrial Policy

Innovation is at the core of the growth policies of rich countries and also perhaps the most promising strategy for firms to sustain their competitive advantage in the face of tough competition from foreign rivals and new entrants. Innovation and the associated structural change are not a process without friction.

Losers of skill-biased technological change ask for compensation and firms may underinvest in innovation and related activities because of market power, externalities or information asymmetries. Hence, there is an important role for industrial policy to provide the right framework conditions and incentives for the business sector to engage in activities that lead to welfare increases for our society.

Innovation is at the core of the growth policies of rich countries and also perhaps the most promising strategy for firms to sustain their competitive advantage in the face of tough competition from foreign rivals and new entrants. Innovation and the associated structural change are not a process without friction.

Losers of skill-biased technological change ask for compensation and firms may underinvest in innovation and related activities because of market power, externalities or information asymmetries. Hence, there is an important role for industrial policy to provide the right framework conditions and incentives for the business sector to engage in activities that lead to welfare increases for our society.

Marketing Research and Consumer Behavior

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, knowledge of international and diversity marketing is of vital importance. Only few companies could claim to be purely domestic. Besides, understanding the fascinating field of consumer behavior is a precondition for the success of any business. It is central to marketers to gain insights into various factors that shape and influence buyer's behavior in different environments.

Research at LBS focuses on customers' assessment and evaluation of different marketing stimuli such as the comprehensibility and perceived appearance of sign language avatars to enhance inclusivity. Moreover, we capture, investigate, and analyze dynamic nonverbal communication behaviors making use of sensor technology and other innovative means of technological data collection — including sociometric badges, face readers, and program analyzers — and focus on different decision-making styles and heuristics.

Green Growth

Climate change is perhaps the most urgent problem of our time. Is it possible to prevent environmental damage in developed and developing countries without having to abandon material progress? According to the so-called Porter hypothesis it is indeed possible to combine stricter environmental regulation of firms with an increase in their profitability.

Yet, as current figures of greenhouse gas emissions demonstrate, there is not much room for optimism. However, we regard it as essential to research pathways that may lead to more sustainable business models — not least because sustainability can confer a USP in a world characterized by increasingly environmentally aware consumers.

Climate change is perhaps the most urgent problem of our time. Is it possible to prevent environmental damage in developed and developing countries without having to abandon material progress? According to the so-called Porter hypothesis it is indeed possible to combine stricter environmental regulation of firms with an increase in their profitability.

Yet, as current figures of greenhouse gas emissions demonstrate, there is not much room for optimism. However, we regard it as essential to research pathways that may lead to more sustainable business models — not least because sustainability can confer a USP in a world characterized by increasingly environmentally aware consumers.

Migration and Diversity

The fabric of European cities is constantly changed by new immigrants from different regions. Indeed, cities would not exist without immigration and the new dynamism resulting from the combination of different views and ideas about how things could be done. A number of studies have pointed out that immigrants are a source of entrepreneurship and even innovation.

However, competition between foreign and native low-skilled workers for jobs and social security payments reveals the tensions accompanying the process of migration. We want to contribute to a better understanding of how migrants foster or reduce the competitiveness of firms and urban economies.

The fabric of European cities is constantly changed by new immigrants from different regions. Indeed, cities would not exist without immigration and the new dynamism resulting from the combination of different views and ideas about how things could be done. A number of studies have pointed out that immigrants are a source of entrepreneurship and even innovation.

However, competition between foreign and native low-skilled workers for jobs and social security payments reveals the tensions accompanying the process of migration. We want to contribute to a better understanding of how migrants foster or reduce the competitiveness of firms and urban economies.

Research Office

The LBS Research Department supports theoretical reflection, methodological precision, and innovation-oriented research. It coordinates research projects, supports external funding acquisition, manages dissemination of findings, and ensures alignment between research and teaching.

Research at LBS is contextualized, applied in nature, and motivated by real-world economic challenges. Master students are actively involved in research projects, and close coordination exists between Directors of Studies, the International Office, and Quality Management.

We routinely employ a wide range of quantitative (explanatory) and qualitative (exploratory) research methods.

Research Office Team

E-Mail: research@lbs.ac.at

Senior Lecturer & Research

Senior Lecturer & Research

Prof (FH). Dr. Christian Reiner

Prof (FH). Dr. Christian Reiner

Phone: +43 1 369 1818
Email: research@lbs.ac.at

Christian Reiner is Head of Research at LBS, where he leads the school's research agenda on competitiveness, industrial policy, and the political economy of globalization. His work examines market power, regional economic development, and the dynamics of global value chains. He has published widely in applied economics and collaborates closely with policymakers and research institutions in Austria and beyond.

Publications & Presentations

Publications & Presentations

Prof. (FH) Dr. Sandra Pauser, MA. profile picture

Senior Lecturer & Research

Senior Lecturer & Research

Prof. (FH) Dr. Sandra Pauser, MA.

Prof. (FH) Dr. Sandra Pauser, MA.

Phone: +43 1 369 1818
Email: sandra.pauser@lbs.ac.at

Sandra Pauser holds an Endowed Professorship in Marketing Management at Lauder Business School. She earned her doctorate with distinction from the University of Vienna, where she also worked as a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer. Her research focuses on personal selling and sales management, with publications in leading journals. Her dissertation received the EHI Scientific Award 2019 and the KSMS Doctoral Dissertation Competition 2018.

Publications & Presentations

Publications & Presentations

LBS Working Paper Series

LBS Working Paper Series

The LBS Working Paper Series presents applied research completed by LBS faculty, outstanding graduates, and research partners. Topics reflect the degree programs in International Business Administration, International Management and Leadership, and Strategic Finance and Business Analytics. Outstanding master graduates are invited to publish condensed versions of their theses.

The LBS Working Paper Series presents applied research completed by LBS faculty, outstanding graduates, and research partners. Topics reflect the degree programs in International Business Administration, International Management and Leadership, and Strategic Finance and Business Analytics. Outstanding master graduates are invited to publish condensed versions of their theses.

Collaborate with LBS Research

Admissions for Fall 2026 are open as of January 12, 2026.

Collaborate with LBS Research

We welcome inquiries for co-operation, joint projects, and applied contract research within the wider context of empirical economics and business administration.

Get in touch

Get in touch