Researchers at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business have taken a close look at Austria’s social enterprises: The poor economic situation is hitting them particularly hard – yet they continue to grow and provide society with important impulses through innovative ideas.

Every two years, WU Vienna’s Social Entrepreneurship Center analyzes the ecosystem in which Austria’s social enterprises operate. The current Austrian Social Enterprise Monitor (ASEM) study shows that this sector of the economy, too, has been marked by a sense of crisis over the past two years. “The difficult economic situation has affected social enterprises in three ways,” says Peter Vandor, head of the Social Entrepreneurship Center. “Firstly, the companies have been hit directly by rising costs. Secondly, they have been hit indirectly through a decline in market demand and financing. Thirdly, their oftentimes vulnerable target groups are particularly affected by the economic challenges and need increased support,” Peter Vandor explains.
Despite these difficulties, the sector has shown great resilience: 94.6% of the companies surveyed for the first Austrian Social Enterprise Monitor study, which covered the 2021/2022 period, are still active. Social enterprises are young and innovative, with just under half of them (47.9%) having been founded in the last ten years.

In Austria, the sector currently employs 34,000 to 93,000 people, calculated in full-time equivalents – and the trend is rising. Of the companies surveyed, 43.8% plan to increase their employee headcounts in the coming year. Many of these enterprises are creating green jobs: 47.9% of the social enterprises surveyed state that in their activities they pursue at least one of the seven Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include ecological aspects.

Despite all the positive news, the current situation is a cause for concern for founders of social enterprises: 79.1% of them say that the economic and political environment characterized by inflation, the energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine is an obstacle to their work.

The Austrian Social Enterprise Monitor study is part of the European Social Enterprise Monitor project carried out in 30 European countries. “Compared to the other European countries, Austria is in the middle of the field,” explains Fabian Hobodites, one of the co-authors of the study. “We hope that the results of the Austrian Social Enterprise Monitor will help to improve the overall conditions for social enterprises and promote the positive social impact of their activities,” says Fabian Hobodites.

Click here for the full press release (in German): https://www.wu.ac.at/presse/presseaussendungen/presseaussendung-details/detail/unternehmergeist-fuer-das-gute-oesterreichs-sozialunternehmen-trotzen-der-krise