Research project portfolio

When do property owners decide to sell their real estate? In this project, together with two corporate partners, the intention to sell is being developed as a new estimation parameter in the real estate sector. The innovative idea for this project comes from a start-up founder and former HWZ student. The project is being pursued using various deep learning approaches applied to a very large and relevant data set.

The pilot project will focus on a planned platform for the dynamic recruitment of survey participants, aiming to counter declining response rates in online-based surveys. The anonymity of online surveys and the growing mistrust towards academic studies have led to a significant decrease in willingness to participate. In addition to rising costs for obtaining representative samples, there is also an increased risk of systematic bias in the results. We are addressing these challenges with an experimental proof of concept that combines continuous measurement of participation rates with the statistical integration of data from various contact channels (messenger services, social media, etc.) for individual micro-groups.

A sense of purpose is central for many employees, yet it is often lacking in their work experience. This can reduce employee engagement and, ultimately, organisational performance. In this project, we are supporting the association Gegenwartskasse. We are assessing the scalability of the working time savings scheme of the same name for companies, in order to establish a foundation for its market entry.

The world’s largest music competition took place in 2025 in Switzerland, in Basel. Major events such as the ESC generate significant revenue for the local economy, particularly in the gastronomy, tourism and retail sectors. In cooperation with Ticketcorner, an opt-in survey was conducted among ticket holders to record local value creation through spending on food and drink, accommodation, travel, merchandise and similar categories. The survey also included questions on satisfaction with the event, its organisation, and the location. A total of 2,585 participants from Switzerland, Europe and the rest of the world took part in the study. In total, 90,000 tickets were issued. The survey was carried out by HWZ in summer 2025. The sample was weighted to ensure representative results for the regions Switzerland, Europe and the rest of the world.

This study (since June 2025) identifies and compares the most suitable parameters of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) system and the Western GDP-driven economic paradigm. The aim is to examine how Bhutanese entrepreneurs could benefit from selectively adopting GDP-based tools, such as innovation processes and financial mechanisms, while remaining true to the core values of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Conversely, the study explores how Switzerland could enhance its entrepreneurial education and practice by integrating GNH-inspired principles, thereby promoting a more sustainable and human-centred approach to entrepreneurship.

Flexible forms of employment, such as part-time work, multiple jobs or work on call, are becoming increasingly important in the Swiss labour market. However, they often lead to precarious pension situations, as many employees do not reach the BVG entry threshold and are therefore insufficiently covered. This study examined this issue in the commercial sector and retail trade, using data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey (SAKE) from 2023. Demographic characteristics such as age, gender and education, as well as the most common flexible forms of employment, were analysed. A trend analysis (2015–2023) showed how the number of affected individuals has developed over the years. The aim was to derive concrete recommendations for action to improve the pension situation of these employees based on the findings.

A disproportionately high number of Swiss women are lost on their career paths compared to women with an international background. For this reason, the specific needs of women with a Swiss cultural background in Swiss SMEs were the focus of this study. Fourteen expert interviews were conducted with leaders from various sectors of Swiss SMEs, transcribed, and compiled as a structured text collection for qualitative analysis. The interviews were coded and analysed to identify possible trends and patterns relating to equality, challenges, and potential solutions. The aim was to develop concrete support measures based on these findings.

With our project, we aim to strengthen the self-efficacy of vulnerable groups who typically find themselves in precarious social, legal and financial situations. Greater self-efficacy enables these groups to make their voices heard and to make decisions with greater autonomy. In this context, the target groups of our project are rejected asylum seekers, as an extreme form of a vulnerable group, and the organisations that support them. Our activities focus in particular on participation in educational and employment opportunities. These opportunities not only enable the acquisition of new skills, but also contribute to the mental health of rejected asylum seekers. This project is being carried out in cooperation with the Swiss Red Cross, Canton of Zurich, and will run for approximately two years. The Volkart Foundation is providing financial support for part of the project duration.

“Tour tourism”, where fans travel abroad to attend concerts by their favourite artists, is increasingly becoming an important source of revenue, with positive effects for tourism, retail and the hospitality sector. Against this backdrop, and in collaboration with Ticketcorner, a voluntary online survey was conducted for a concert event featuring two shows at Letzigrund in summer 2024, in order to capture the local economic impact through spending on food and drink, accommodation, travel and souvenirs. Data from 1,552 participants, drawn from a total of 95,122 concertgoers in Zurich, were collected between 14 January and 6 February 2025. The sample was weighted to provide representative results for the regions of Switzerland, Europe and the USA.

This study was based on the target group “Laura”, defined as a 26- to 37-year-old member of kfmv Zürich. The aim was to systematically record the interests, topics and values of this persona. To this end, an online survey was conducted, with data collected between 29 November 2024 and 6 January 2025. Participants were recruited via newsletters from kfmv Zürich and the KV Business School, and took part voluntarily (opt-in). After data cleaning, 1,172 valid responses were available for analysis.

The study analysed how 46 Swiss companies from the Swiss Reputation Ranking 2023 communicate about climate protection. The investigation focused on the companies’ own content published on their websites, in sustainability and annual reports, as well as on their social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, X) during the period from March 2022 to March 2023. Using qualitative content analysis, both the substantive content and the communicative quality were assessed in order to identify potential risks of greenwashing (i.e. misleading or overly positive portrayal of climate measures) or greenhushing (i.e. the deliberate withholding of relevant information due to fear of criticism).

This dissertation examines how organisations address distrust between themselves and their stakeholders, offering insights into new approaches and dialogue practices for stakeholder engagement in distrust-based relationships within seemingly intractable conflicts. An interdisciplinary approach was adopted, combining research from the fields of conflict studies and management. The dissertation is structured in three parts: Part 1 presents a conceptual paper on seemingly unsolvable conflicts and develops a process model that illustrates the path to resolving such conflicts across different qualities of relationships, providing ideas for corresponding stakeholder engagement practices. Part 2 features a case study on stakeholder management within an international organisation with over 100,000 employees, which suffered significant stakeholder distrust following a publicly disclosed scandal related to a sustainability issue. Part 3 comprises a study based on expert interviews with neutral third parties (e.g. mediators) who facilitate dialogue processes aimed at improving challenging stakeholder relationships.

The podcast on "Stakeholder Engagement in Times of Distrust" provides a brief and practice-oriented introduction to the topic of mistrust.

Addressing ecological challenges requires companies to implement transformative measures that enable the transition to a circular economy. In this context, corporate leaders play a central role by engaging and motivating a wide range of external stakeholders within networks to achieve sustainable change. This project enhances understanding of why, when, and how corporate leaders involve stakeholders to tackle ecological challenges within the framework of the circular economy. The findings make an important contribution to the ability of corporate management to drive the transformation towards sustainability. The project has been running since 2023 and is conducted in cooperation with Prof. Dr Judith Walls (University of St. Gallen) and Prof. Dr Christian Vögtlin (ZHAW). The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is providing financial support for the project throughout its entire duration.

The media analysis conducted as part of the Swiss Election Study Selects 2023 covered and examined 116 print and online media outlets from the German-, French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland. The survey period spanned the six months leading up to the 2023 federal elections. Using text clustering, the study identified general newspaper sections independent of media title, the relevance of articles to Swiss politics, and 17 political subject areas. In addition, the presence of the 15 most important parties, the 5,997 candidates for the National Council and Council of States, the 7 Federal Councillors, and the Federal Chancellor was measured.

Based on various public and private datasets, models using artificial intelligence are to be developed that can provide users with specific, valuable information in the field of market analysis within the real estate sector. These new models are intended to offer market participants greater transparency and accuracy than previously available. The Innocheck enabled the preparation (engineering) of the data; subsequently, a proof of concept (PoC) for the models will be carried out.

Link

By employing data engineering (preparing various data dimensions from the business partner’s data source) and data analytics (including unsupervised learning for inductive clustering), the project explored how, and to what extent, the pool of candidates for boards of directors and executive management can be expanded beyond traditional personal networks through the use of a defined competency portfolio.

Sustainability in product and technology development is inconceivable without a sustainable innovation process within the organisation. The feasibility study examined what sustainability in the innovation process means for different companies and whether this can be translated, using text mining and NLP (natural language processing), into a digital assistant that assesses the level of sustainability in innovation processes.

Link

In this project, a text mining approach was used to assess whether companies’ sustainability reports can be evaluated automatically and with adequate quality. Until now, this task had been carried out manually, or solely on a qualitative basis, within the commissioning company. The text mining approach was structured according to the so-called CRISP framework. The project concluded with a basic proof of concept (PoC), which demonstrated that the intended automation is, in principle, feasible.

This research project is based on a model that posits the coordinated interplay of target groups, communication channels, and content as the foundation for successful communication. The aim of this study was to systematically and empirically link these three central elements through theory, interviews with communication experts, and an online survey. Three medium-sized to large companies participated; the survey, which served as the basis for statistical analysis, was completed in full by 889 employees from these companies.

Link to article

Partner: Swiss Contractors’ Association (SBV), Swissmem Academy, Raiffeisen Business Centre RUZ, Zurich Association for Human Resources (ZGP), SUPSI Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI)

In this study, ten dimensions were initially established to define a leadership approach appropriate for the digital age. This framework was developed based on a review of the literature, a Delphi study (a two-stage expert survey) involving 33 corporate experts, and statistical methods (including factor analyses). Subsequently, two surveys were conducted in Swiss companies (in 2018 with 318 participants; in 2020 with 205 participants) to assess the current state of 'digital leadership' within these organisations.

Link to abstract

The aim and purpose of this project were to investigate the reasons for and consequences of challenging stakeholder relationships, and to develop a model in this context. In addition, the project examined how such strained relationships can be turned around positively. The project was carried out in cooperation with the chair of Professor Dr Antoinette Weibel at the University of St Gallen and several practice partners. The four phases of the project took place between 2017 and 2022 and included various studies such as case studies, surveys, and experiments.