Webster – University

Research at
Webster Vienna Private University

What happens when global orders shift faster than institutions can adapt?
How do organizations make decisions when markets, technologies, and expectations change at once?
How do people build identities and relationships under conditions of uncertainty?
How is artificial intelligence reshaping power, coordination, and the way knowledge itself is produced?

Global Perspectives, Meaningful Research

Our Research Critically Engages With the Forces Reshaping Contemporary Societies

Research at Webster Vienna Private University takes this question as its starting point. Our research profile is organized around economic and socio-political change, studied across three interconnected levels:
• the macro level of global orders, governance, and institutions;
• the meso level of organizations, markets, and innovation; and
• the micro level of behaviour, identity, and lived experience.

Digitalization and artificial intelligence cut across all three, reshaping how each level connects to the others.

Our faculty pursue disciplined inquiry — conceptual clarity, methodological rigor, evidence, and openness to correction — while remaining genuinely engaged with the questions that matter for institutions, organizations, and individuals navigating change.
WVPU's research activity is organized into five multidisciplinary clusters. They represent our current concentrations of expertise and are designed to evolve as faculty research develops.

Macro

Global orders, governance, institutions, and large-scale change.

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Meso

Organizations, markets, innovation, management, and collective action.

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Micro

Individual behaviour, identity, decision-making, and lived experience.

Digitalization & Artificial Intelligence

A cross-cutting force connecting the macro, meso, and micro levels, reshaping institutions, organizations, and everyday human experience.

How our research is organized

WVPU’s research profile gives the university a shared intellectual orientation; the five research clusters give that orientation an academic and public form. Each cluster is a community of inquiry built around a set of shared questions and not a rigid department or a closed group. They bring faculty together across disciplines and methods, connect individual research to a wider institutional profile, and give students, partners, and visitors a clearer map of what we study and why.

Primary level: Macro
This cluster examines how global orders, international institutions, and geopolitical relations are organized, contested, and reconfigured — through conflict, cooperation, policy change, and shifting public narratives. Representative questions What conditions enable or constrain the EU’s development of a coherent strategy amid great-power rivalry? How does the global expansion of private military and security companies transform war as an institution of international order? How do shifting patterns of energy dependence reshape Europe’s climate transition and the emerging global order? Vienna’s diplomatic and institutional density makes these questions part of the city’s everyday public life, not abstractions.

Primary level: Meso
This cluster studies how organizations, markets, and innovation systems respond when technologies, expectations, and competitive pressures shift at once — and how entrepreneurship carries new practices from individuals into organizations and markets. Representative questions How do configurations of entrepreneurship-support activity shape venture success across technological and sustainability-oriented ventures? How can organizations prevent, detect, and respond to workplace misconduct? Why it matters: Connects directly to the environments our students and alumni enter — firms, NGOs, start-ups, and public institutions.

Primary level:
Macro ↔ Meso ↔ Micro
This cluster examines the practices, institutions, and indicators that structure markets, work, finance, and economic development — from monetary policy to remote work to how citizens themselves understand economic change. Representative questions How do citizens in EU member states think about the EU, and what does that mean for their policy preferences? When is technological change labour-replacing, and when does it support labour? How do four-day work weeks and remote work affect gender equality over time? Why it matters: Links technical economic analysis to household security, institutional trust, and public policy debate.

Primary level: Micro
This cluster investigates how individuals and communities interpret uncertainty, form identities, and attach meaning to broader social, political, and technological change — spanning gender, migration, memory, communication, and belonging. Representative questions How do young people negotiate gender identity amid political and institutional instability? How do nationalist narratives shape identity politics through language, symbols, and memory? How do embodied and vocal markers shape social recognition and interpersonal judgement? Why it matters: Gives WVPU’s research its most direct connection to lived experience, education, health, and civil society.

Primary level: Cross-cutting
This cluster treats AI and digitalization as both objects of study and tools of research — examining how they reshape governance, organizations, work, and everyday decision-making, while raising new questions of transparency and accountability. Representative questions How can AI-based virtual managers improve organizational decision-making and whistleblowing effectiveness? How does computer-mediated interaction shape the emotional impact of discrimination? How can facial-expressivity analysis support early detection of Parkinson’s disease? Why it matters: One of the most consequential areas of contemporary change — and central to how WVPU itself uses AI responsibly in research.

Great Power Shifts and Global Orders (GPS-GO)

Primary level: Macro
This cluster examines how global orders, international institutions, and geopolitical relations are organized, contested, and reconfigured — through conflict, cooperation, policy change, and shifting public narratives. Representative questions What conditions enable or constrain the EU's development of a coherent strategy amid great-power rivalry? How does the global expansion of private military and security companies transform war as an institution of international order? How do shifting patterns of energy dependence reshape Europe's climate transition and the emerging global order? Vienna's diplomatic and institutional density makes these questions part of the city's everyday public life, not abstractions.

Organizational Change, Entrepreneurial and Innovation Dynamics (OCEI)

New Patterns in Economic and Social Practices (NESP)

Society and Individuals under Change (SInC)

Primary level: Micro
This cluster investigates how individuals and communities interpret uncertainty, form identities, and attach meaning to broader social, political, and technological change — spanning gender, migration, memory, communication, and belonging. Representative questions How do young people negotiate gender identity amid political and institutional instability? How do nationalist narratives shape identity politics through language, symbols, and memory? How do embodied and vocal markers shape social recognition and interpersonal judgement? Why it matters: Gives WVPU's research its most direct connection to lived experience, education, health, and civil society.

AI, Digitalization, and Their Socio-Economic Impact (AID)

Primary level: Cross-cutting
This cluster treats AI and digitalization as both objects of study and tools of research — examining how they reshape governance, organizations, work, and everyday decision-making, while raising new questions of transparency and accountability. Representative questions How can AI-based virtual managers improve organizational decision-making and whistleblowing effectiveness? How does computer-mediated interaction shape the emotional impact of discrimination? How can facial-expressivity analysis support early detection of Parkinson's disease? Why it matters: One of the most consequential areas of contemporary change — and central to how WVPU itself uses AI responsibly in research.

Blog & News

Our Research

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Emotional Abuse Tied Most Strongly to Depression

Official WVPU May 19, 2026

MASKED: Research to Detect Parkinson’s Disease

Official WVPU December 9, 2025

"True education is not the memorization of facts, but the cultivation of curiosity, discipline, and the courage to question the world around us."

Dr. Samuel R. Schubert

Chair of the Executive Board and Chief Academic Officer

Podcasts

Research Talks

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Research at WVPU Ep1 | Dr. Jozef Batora

In this insightful podcast episode, Dr. Jozef Batora shares his expert perspective on contemporary global and political dynamics, offering listeners a deeper understanding of how international systems evolve and respond to modern challenges. Through a thoughtful and engaging conversation, he unpacks complex topics in a way that is both accessible and intellectually stimulating. Drawing from his extensive academic and research background, Dr. Bátora reflects on key issues shaping today’s world—ranging from governance and diplomacy to the broader implications of global cooperation. His analysis provides valuable context for understanding current developments, while also encouraging critical thinking about the future of international relations. Whether you are a student of political science, a professional navigating global environments, or simply someone interested in understanding the forces shaping our world, this episode delivers meaningful insights and practical perspectives. It stands as a compelling example of how expert-led discussions can bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world relevance. 📺 Watch the video below to explore more!

Official WVPU March 18, 2026