After the success of our previous report, we release a follow-up report, which focuses exclusively on Austrian headquarters (HQs) of foreign firms. We call these HQs “international HQs”. The report titled “Headquarters Landscape in Austria: International HQs” is available in English and German.

In our previous report, we identified 1,439 HQs located in Austria, thus highlighting the attractiveness of the country for HQs in general. In this report, we address additional questions: Is Austria attractive for international HQs? Which types of international HQs are located in Austria? How are they distributed within the country?

Here are some of the key findings:

• Austria is an attractive location for international HQs and Vienna is its spearhead: 390 international corporations have chosen Austria as location for their intermediary HQs. Almost half of them are located in the capital city, Vienna.

• The landscape of international HQs in Austria is heterogeneous: Austria is highly attractive for both divisional and regional HQs of international corporations. We have identified 148 HQs with a divisional mandate and 109 with a regional mandate.

• Austria attracts international HQs from a variety of industries: The majority of international HQs in Austria operates in the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sectors. However, a considerable number of international HQs, mainly located in Vienna, also operates in the financial and service sectors.

• Germany, Switzerland, and US are the top 3 countries for international HQs based in Austria: Austria is a privileged location for multinational corporations (MNCs) based in Europe, and in particular located in neighboring countries. Moreover, it is also a strategic location for MNCs from several non-EU countries, such as US and China.

• International HQs based in Austria have easy access to Germany and Eastern Europe: International HQs in Austria take advantage from the country’s strategic position to get access to Germany and Eastern European countries, such as Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania.

• Austria hosts intermediary HQs of large MNCs coming from all over the world: Austria hosts intermediary HQs of several large international conglomerates. The corporate parents of international HQs in Austria employ an average of more than 30,000 employees and have a yearly turnover of more than €10bn.

If you enjoyed reading our previous study and would like to deep dive into the landscape of international HQs in Austria, do not miss the chance to read our latest findings. Download our free report “Headquarters in Austria: International HQs” in English or in German.

The study was conducted by the HiA Team in collaboration with eXplore!, the Austrian Business Agency (ABA), the Vienna Business Agency, and the OeNB Jubiläumsfond.