The Scarring Effect of the 2008 Economic Crisis: Growth and Growth Decline in Austria’s Nonprofit Social Services Sector

Since the 2008 economic crisis, social service providers worldwide have reported funding cuts, while the need for some social services has been increasing. This paper examines the combined and longer-term effects of such divergent developments on the nonprofit social services sector. The empirical analysis uses Austrian administrative data on six subfields of the sector covering the years 2003–2017. We investigate significant changes in the trends of four growth indicators applying interrupted time series analysis. We find that the 2008 economic crisis is associated with persistently lower growth rates in Austria’s nonprofit social services sector. The magnitude of this dampening effect differs across subsectors. Additionally, our findings suggest an increase in market concentration. Hence, the study discloses a long-term scarring effect of the economic crisis on Austria’s social services sector, raising doubts on the sector’s future resilience

Nonprofit Organisationen in Österreich 2006

Series: Forschungsberichte / Institut für Sozialpoliti

How can consumer trust in organic products be enhanced?

The study presented explores consumer trust in organic food and the effectiveness of enhancing consumer trust by communication strategies on traceability. The research is based on the general finding that trust is one of the most crucial aspects when consumer decide whether to buy or not to buy organic products. However, there are hardly any empirical works which analyse in detail consumer trust in organic food and the ways it can be enhanced. First, based on a quantitative inquiry of 600 persons in Germany the study presented investigates consumer trust in the different actors involved in the organic supply chain (farmers, processors, traders, labels), in distinct attributed qualities such as benefits for health, ecology and animal welfare as well as the customers’ criteria for assessing trustworthiness of the organic products. Empirical data is analysed by multivariate statistics such as cluster analysis to identify distinct consumer segments with respect to their trust characteristics. In a second step there will be a qualitative research method using interviews combined with a visualizing technique. The aim of this method is to understand the consumers’ attitudes towards the supply chain of organic food and the complex construct of trust better. The results shall help to develop communication strategies for enhancing consumer trust in organic food

How Self-Concept, Competence, and Their Fit or Misfit Predict Educational Achievement, Well-Being, and Social Relationships in the School Context

During adolescence, what is more important for educational achievement, well-being, and the formation of positive social relationships: being competent, having positive thoughts about oneself, or a complex relationship between the two? There has been a long-standing debate in psychology on the effects of accurate and biased self-perceptions, and sophisticated ways of modeling the effects of self-perception, competence, and their interplay have recently been suggested. But recent research has focused on adults and has not taken reference effects into account. The present preregistered study used a large German sample of students (N = 6,086 students in 559 classes) in Grade 5 (mean age = 10.55 years, SD = 0.64) with data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). We tested the effects of academic self-concept and competence in math and reading on outcomes pertaining to achievement, well-being, and social relationships up to 4 years later and identified the best fitting hypotheses through a model fit comparison. In contrast to previous studies, we took the frame of reference for students’ self-concept into account by controlling for class-level effects of self-concept and competence in a multilevel analysis. Results showed that educational achievement was best explained by the complex interplay of self-concept and competence, where competence was the stronger predictor. By contrast, self-concept was a stronger predictor of well-being than competence was. For social relationships, results were less clear and differed by the specific outcome variables that were used. Overall, in the school context, self-concept and competence per se seem to be more predictive of future outcomes than their fit or misfit

Nonprofit Organisationen in Österreich 2014

Series: Forschungsberichte / Institut für Sozialpoliti

Aktualisierte Daten für den Non-Profit-Bereich

Zwischen September 2014 und April 2015 führten Statistik Austria und das Institut für Sozialpolitik der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien nach 2006 eine zweite, auf freiwilliger Basis beruhende Befragung von 2.413 Organisationen aus dem Non-Profit-Bereich durch. Der Produktionswert des gesamten Non-Profit-Bereichs betrug für das Berichtsjahr 2013 etwas über 10,5 Mrd. EUR, die Wertschöpfung ungefähr 7,3 Mrd. EUR, und das Investitionsvolumen lag bei 813 Mio. EUR. Insgesamt waren über 234.000 Personen im Non-Profit-Bereich beschäftigt. 63% der befragten Organisationen gaben an, auch ehrenamtlich Mitarbeitende zu beschäftigen

Neue Datengrundlage für den Non-Profit-Bereich

Im Herbst 2006 führten die STATISTIK AUSTRIA und das Institut für Sozialpolitik der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien eine auf freiwilliger Basis beruhende Befragung aller Organisationen aus dem Non-Profit-Bereich, die mindestens eine bezahlte Arbeitskraft beschäftigen, durch. Die Abgrenzung und Definition des Non-Profit-Bereichs erfolgte nach den Richtlinien des "UN-Handbook on Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts". Basierend auf dieser Klassifikationsnorm umfasst der Non-Profit-Bereich nicht nur Organisationen, die private Nichtmarktproduzenten sind, sondern auch Organisationen, die als Marktproduzenten im Sinne des ESVG 95 gelten. Der Produktionswert des gesamten Non-Profit-Bereichs betrug im Jahr 2005 fast 7 Mrd. EUR, die Wertschöpfung 4,7 Mrd. EUR und die Investitionen 689 Mio. EUR. Die Anzahl der Beschäftigungsverhältnisse in diesem Bereich lag über 170.000. Ferner gaben 61% aller Organisationen an, auch ehrenamtlich Mitarbeitende zu beschäftigen

Die Praxis des Betriebsverfassungsgesetzes in einem pharmazeutischen Unternehmen: Berichte und Betrachtungen von Personalleitung und Betriebsratsvorsitzenden

"Das Betriebsverfassungsgesetz von 1972 wird aus der Sicht der Arbeitgeberseite und des Betriebsrates der Schering AG, einem deutschen pharmazeutischen Unternehmen mit mehr als 130 Tochtergesellschaften weltweit, analysiert und beurteilt. Es besteht eine grundlegende Einigkeit, daß sich das Prinzip der Betriebspartnerschaft in den meisten deutschen Betrieben bewährt hat. Vor- und Nachteile des Gesetzes werden an verschiedenen Beispielen aufgezeigt. Die zentralistische und gremienbetonte Struktur der deutschen Betriebsverfassung hat zu einer starken Zentralisierung des Personalwesens geführt. In Zukunft wird es verstärkt notwendig, Regelungskompetenz -auch in betriebsverfassungsrechtlichen Fragen- auf die betrieblichen Einheiten zurückzuverlagern. Die zunehmende Gobalisierung der Unternehmen hat zu neuen Informationsbedürfnissen der Mitarbeiter geführt. Hier hat die Entwicklung des europäischen Betriebsrats eine wichtige Funktion übernommen. Gezeigt wird seine Entstehung, Ausgestaltung und Arbeitsweise bei Schering." (Autorenreferat)"The Works Constitution Act of 1972 is analysed by the representatives of the employer and the works council at Schering AG, a German pharmaceutical company with more than 130 subsidiaries world-wide. There is a basic agreement with the principle of the German system of partnership in the companies. Advantages and disadvantages of the Works Constitution Act are shown by different examples. The centralised structure of employee workplace representation developed alongside a similar structure of the personnel departments in the companies. In future, it is more and more necessary to devolve powers to business units for a faster and more efficient decisions. Increasing globalization of companies leads to the need for more international information for employees. In this field the European works council has an important role. The development and operation of the European works council at Schering AG are described." (author's abstract

Transparent Food and Consumer Trust

Nowadays the food market is very complex and anonymous. Consequently, consumer trust in food has become a key issue for food choice. For example, the production process of food is not always transparent for consumers. To provide more transparency and to enhance consumer trust, different initiatives communicating traceability to the consumers exist. Visualised traceability systems such as the initiative ‘Bio mit Gesicht’ allow consumers to gather information about the farmer who has produced the food as well as information about his farm and family.This study explores consumer trust in organic food, the impact of trust in the buying decision and the effectiveness of enhancing consumer trust by communication strategies on traceability. The research is grounded on the general finding that trust is one of the most crucial aspects when consumers decide whether or not to buy organic products. The study consists of two tasks, a quantitative and a qualitative survey. In this paper the focus is laid on the second task, a qualitative survey. The used method is the structure formationtechnique. The aim is to combine an interview with a visualising technique. With the help of this method the factors which influence the decision of consumers to buy or not to buy organic food should become clear. Furthermore, the role of trust in the buying decision will be explored. Moreover, an investigation should be made as to whether or not traceability systems influence consumer trust in organic food. This research is currently being conducted but preliminary results can already be presented.The results of the study will help develop communication strategies for enhancing consumer trust in organic food