RESEARCH STRATEGY AT MU
We aim to foster independent and original research and in turn, bring the benefits of innovation to the research community and the public.
Research is determined to be the prerequisite of high-quality teaching and Modul University Vienna pursues a research-led teaching approach. As a result, researchers at our University are committed to conducting contemporary, as well as future-oriented basic and applied research. The University’s research profile is characterized by a dynamic development of research activities, where researchers of various disciplines are highly innovative and meet the criteria for cutting-edge research. Interdisciplinary research activities shape the research profile of the institution.
Today, the University is organized into four academic Schools, each of which contributes to teaching and research in their fields of expertise (School of Tourism and Service Management, School of International Management, School of Applied Data Science, School of Sustainability, Governance and Methods) and one research center (Research Center of New Media Technology)
The Schools and the Research Center focus on 17 different core areas of research that form the basis for an exceptional output of more than 1500 publications with almost half being peer-reviewed journals, 100+funded research projects, and 300+ conference contributions.. Importantly, this research provides the essential foundation for new and innovative approaches that will contribute to society for decades.
The 17 core research areas are summarized in five research focal areas:
Digitalization and business transformation
Big Data analysis, artificial intelligence, and blockchain
Governance for innovation and sustainable development
Socioeconomic aspects of climate change
Travel behavior, trend, and competition analysis
The University aims at further strengthening its interdisciplinary research activities and balancing basic and applied research. Many of the 17 research areas are joint interests and activities of researchers from different disciplines. In order to provide a conducive environment for cutting-edge research, a few of our development steps are as follows:
Further support, especially to young researchers in developing their own research areas and provide guidance to them. This particularly includes PhD candidates, as well as young PostDoc researchers, especially female faculty members.
Continue building-up a research support infrastructure at the University in order to support researchers in submitting high quality project proposals. This includes funding support in the form of personal consultation and project controlling support.
Expanding the interconnectedness between schools and research centers and the future foundation of a second research center, so that the organizational anchoring of research is further developed.
Collaborations with other universities in Vienna to leverage PhD training opportunities
Research seminar series
Modul University Vienna invites international scholars to share their expertise and present latest research. Presentations and subsequent discussions last for about 30 minutes each. All sessions are live-streamed, free to attend, and open to the public. No registration needed.
Lehman Dale Edward
Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, Alaska
“Open Data and the SPRINT Competition"
Date: NOVEMBER 5th 2024 13:00-14:30 (Vienna local time)
Location: Modul University, Austria, 1190 Vienna, Am Kahlenberg 1, Room no. 1.08
Guhl Daniel
Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
“Experimental Evidence on Structural State Dependence in Demand"
Date: NOVEMBER 19th 2024 2024 13:00-14:00 (Vienna local time)
Location: Modul University, Austria, 1190 Vienna, Am Kahlenberg 1, Room no. 2.07
Abstract: Research in marketing and economics has documented structural state dependence on demand, i.e., a causal effect of past on current brand purchases. Our work re-evaluates the evidence for structural state dependence and assesses the credibility of the extant literature and its identifying assumptions. Using a natural couponing experiment with 223 brands, we estimate the LATE (local average treatment effect) of past brand purchases on current brand choices. A novelty of our work is that we use an encouragement design to identify state dependence, with randomized variation in coupon exposure at the customer level. This design eliminates two threats to identification. First, past and current brand choices are both based on idiosyncratic customer preferences (selection); second, brand switching may result from serially correlated unobserved factors (spurious state dependence). In contrast to past work, our estimator is nonparametric and only requires two assumptions: monotonicity and an exclusion restriction. The exclusion restriction could be violated if, for example, coupons have an advertising effect and directly influence future purchases. To assess the robustness of our analysis to such a potential violation, we exploit the random variation in coupon discount percentages in our data and use the discount variation as an instrument while conditioning on coupon exposure. The corresponding results are consistent with the results from our main analysis that rely on coupon exposure. Finally, we estimate structural brand choice models following the recent literature, and predict the LATEs implied by the model estimates. We find strong consistency between the results of the two nonparametric methods and the model-based approach: On average, the LATEs have the same magnitude, and the nonparametric and model-predicted LATEs are strongly correlated. In sum, our findings provide strong evidence for the existence of structural state dependence and lend credibility to the structural choice model approach. This credibility is practically important because structural models are designed for policy evaluation, such as predicting the future customer value given different prices and promotions, and for studying switching costs and equilibrium prices.
CURRENT RESEARCH
Data Space for Tourism
Project partners: Modul University Vienna, ForwardKeys, The European Travel Commission, City Destinations Alliance
Period: November 2022 – ongoing
Funding: European Union
For more information and the report click MODUL_University_First_Decennium_of_Research.
The purpose of this project is to set the foundation for the development of a secure and trusted Data Space for Tourism (DSFT) which enables all sector stakeholders to share and access the data they require when they need it. For the DSFT to be a sustainable solution, a bottom-up approach which builds a “culture of data sharing” among all relevant tourism stakeholder groups (e.g., SMEs, governmental agencies, technology firms, tourism entities at the European, national, regional, and local scales of operation) is required.
RESEARCH REPORT
Modul University Vienna is at the forefront of groundbreaking research. For the past 10 years we have been a center of excellence for research in sustainability, consumer behavior, digital trends, tourism and hospitality, as well as socioeconomic sciences.
Here we are proud to present a comprehensive reflection on 10 years of insightful research at MU Vienna.
This report delves into the cutting-edge topics explored by five departments across the university, showcasing the remarkable work of 27 Modul University Vienna researchers, both past and present. It also encompasses the contributions of our third-party researchers and associate researchers, highlighting our collaborative and multidisciplinary approach.
Discover a rich tapestry of research topics, insights into our publication output, and innovative approaches applied by our researchers when searching for answers in their diverse fields.