June 20 is World Refugee Day. A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE looks at the health situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Germany and Austria. Together with coauthors from Germany, researchers from WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) compared the self-reported health status of refugees in the two countries. One of their key findings: Unrestricted access to the health care system from day one, as provided in Austria, leads to better health.

The fifth edition of the Eurostat monitoring report outlines the first effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the progress the EU and its member states are making towards achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Despite measures like short-time working, the European job market was hit hard in 2020 as a consequence of the dramatic economic downturn. With regard to climate protection and energy consumption, however, the data indicates that 2020 brought about significant, albeit short-lived, improvements. The monitoring report was prepared by WU Vienna’s Institute for Managing Sustainability. EU Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni will present the report on June 15.

For public-serving organizations, securing the trust of stakeholders is crucial. But what happens if an organization’s reputation is tarnished by allegations of abuse, misuse of donations, or corruption? If such a crisis hits a public-serving organization, it has a strong negative impact on stakeholders, especially those who care deeply about the organization’s mission. However, such stakeholders are more emotionally invested in the organization and therefore also appear to be more forgiving during the recovery phase. These are the results of a recent study by Professor Jurgen Willems, head of WU’s Institute for Public Management and Governance.

The sharing economy is turning the corporate world upside down. More and more companies and organizations are focusing on services and goods that are used collectively. To get customers involved in such collaborative business models, they need to trust each other and the company that provides the service. After all, the sharing economy is associated with some inherent risks: People who borrowed a shared car may return it covered in dirt, someone may trash a shared holiday home during their visit, or someone may flood the community garden. A team of researchers from WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and the University of Cologne have investigated the role that different forms of regulation play in the sharing economy and its communities.

Countries that are closer to the equator have been shown to have less COVID-19 cases, relative to the number of residents, research from Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna) has revealed.

The fashion industry is increasingly giving a more active role to customers. Many brands make it possible for customers to make their own design choices when it comes to selecting colors, fabrics, and cuts. But does this approach also work for luxury brands? Hermès ties with personalized print patterns or customized Valentino dresses – is this a viable approach for the entire industry? This is the question a team of researchers headed by Martin Schreier and Silke Hieke from WU Vienna’s Institute for Marketing Management set out to answer. The bottom line: Luxury brands should be careful not to take customization too far.

Publicly listed companies are under growing pressure to deliver short-term results while at the same time driving long-term innovation. Against this background, it is crucial for the board to focus on the company’s long-term strategic development. In academia and in the business community, there are increasing calls for bringing more relevant expertise to the boardroom to be able to master the challenges of the future. However, this expertise only pays off if directors actually share it as part of their governance responsibilities. WU Professor Patricia Klarner, head of the Institute for Organization Design, investigates the role of the board in long-term, high-risk product innovation.

While housing costs are low for homeowners, they constitute a considerable financial burden for people who rent their homes.

Knowing more about the economy and politics is an advantage not only for individuals but also for society as a whole. If we have better knowledge and more information, we are able to make better decisions, which benefits everyone in the end. Professor Christoph Weiss from WU’s Department of Economics has investigated how more information makes markets work better.

Energy market researchers from WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and UAS Grisons have crunched the numbers to find out which strategies are most efficient at reducing CO2 emissions. According to their study, much greater reductions in CO2 emissions can be achieved by increasing the prices of carbon certificates than by subsidizing wind and solar power. The research has been published in the “Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,” one of the leading journals in the field of environmental economics.