The winners of the SOWI Faculty Awards 2023 for the Faculty of Economics and Statistics are:
1. Prize
Moritz Spoeck, Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck
Austria’s Governmental Subsidies during the COVID-Crises from March 2020 to September 2021 with the example of Austrian Airlines
2. Prize
Here is a brief summary of the contents of the award-winning works:Helena Erhart, Oberstufenrealgymnasium Schillerstraße, Feldkirch
Alkoholkonsum unter Jugendlichen in Vorarlberg (Alcohol Consumption among Young People in Vorarlberg)
3. Prize
Markus Zerlauth, Bundesgymnasium Bludenz
Haben wir genug zu essen? Analyse der Lebensmittelgrundversorgung in Vorarlberg (Do we have enough to eat? Analysis of the Basic Food Supply in Vorarlberg)
The winners of the SOWI Faculty Awards 2023 for the Faculty of Business and Management:
1. Prize
Veronika Dragaschnig, Luisa Felder und Ida Meusburger, Handelsakademie der Bezauer Wirtschaftsschulen in Vorarlberg
Karriere mit Lehre – Evaluierung des Lehrimages im Bregenzerwald (Career with Apprenticeship - Evaluation of the Apprenticeship Image in the Bregenzerwald)
2. Prize
Anna Stecher, Bundeshandelsakademie Innsbruck
Nachhaltiges Marketing (Sustainable marketing)
3. Prize
Daniel Hirsch und Paula Lechner, HTL Anichstraße in Innsbruck
Reservative – Reservierungen automatisiert, systematisiert und organisiert in einem System (Reservations automated, systematized and organized in one System)
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Here is a brief summary of the award-winning works:
1. Prize Economics and Statistics: Moritz Spoeck
In his work "Austria’s Governmental Subsidies during the COVID-Crises from March 2020 to September 2021 with the example of Austrian Airlines", which was supervised by Matthias Danninger, Moritz Spoeck discusses the impact of a government subsidy using the example of Austrian Airlines. The government subsidy to Austrian Airlines was motivated by high lost revenues and the threat of bankruptcy due to severely restricted air traffic because of Covid. Using a supply and demand diagram, Mr. Spoeck outlines the decline in demand and supply of airline tickets caused by the pandemic and the resulting decline in revenues. In a further step, he discusses how a government subsidy changes the supply of airline tickets. Mr. Spoeck further considers that demand and supply responses also depend on the price elasticity of demand and supply. The response of demand for airline tickets to a price increase and an income increase is determined from data from a specially generated survey.
Mr. Spoeck concludes that because of elastic demand and reduced household incomes, Austrian Airlines did not have the opportunity to compensate for its lost revenues through higher ticket prices and that government subsidies prevented the company from going bankrupt.
2. Prize Economics and Statistics: Helena Erhart
Helena Erhart starts her pre-scientific work "Alcohol Consumption among Young People in Vorarlberg", which was supervised by Luitgard Pintaric Küng, with the observation that in Vorarlberg regular alcohol consumption is the norm. This observation leads her to the question of the health consequences of alcohol consumption and their perception by the population. In the first part of the pre-scientific work, the temporary and permanent psychological, physical and social consequences of the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages are examined. In the second part, Ms. Erhart examines the consumption behavior of adolescents and young adults in Vorarlberg on the basis of a survey prepared for the project. By means of an online survey, more than 1200 people aged 12-24 were asked about the age of initiation, frequency & motivation of alcohol consumption, where and with whom alcohol is consumed, and whether anything should change in the status quo of alcohol consumption. Ms. Erhart uses the data from the survey to underline various statements about the health and social consequences, the social perception to and favoring factors of excessive alcohol consumption with concrete figures from Vorarlberg. Based on the results from the survey in Vorarlberg, Ms. Erhart sees the need to expand addiction prevention in Vorarlberg.
3. Prize Economics and Statistics: Markus Zerlauth
In his work "Do we have enough to eat? Analysis of the Basic Food Supply in Vorarlberg", which was supervised by Barbara Winkler, Markus Zerlauth investigates the question of whether the basic food supply in Vorarlberg is assured in the event of an emergency. To answer this question, Mr. Zerlauth uses available secondary data for Austria. From the available numerical material, proportionate values for Vorarlberg are calculated on the basis of further information from print media and TV. Expert interviews are conducted to critically question the values for Vorarlberg. In order to gain an impression of the social significance and role of self-sufficiency, Mr. Zerlauth discusses the results of a current market survey on this topic and describes the statements of representatives of all parties.
Based on the collected information, Mr. Zerlauth comes to the conclusion that Vorarlberg is not able to provide itself with basic foodstuffs in case of emergency. The reason for this is seen in a dominant dairy industry and the topographical location of Vorarlberg. It is suggested that other forms of agriculture such as arable farming, fruit growing or vegetable growing should be consolidated through targeted subsidies in order to increase Vorarlberg's degree of self-sufficiency.
1. Prize Business and Management: Veronika Dragaschnig, Luisa Felder und Ida Meusburger
The work "Career with Apprenticeship - Evaluation of the Apprenticeship Image in the Bregenzerwald" by Veronika Dragaschnig, Luisa Felder and Ida Meusburger at the Commercial Academy of the Bezau Business Schools in Vorarlberg, supervised by Mario Hammerer, deals with the lack of young people interested in an apprenticeship and the resulting shortage of skilled workers in many industries. On the one hand, the three authors analyze how this problem came about. To do this, the authors looked at the historical development of apprenticeships and also conducted a student survey on the image of apprenticeships. The authors developed strategies together with three partner companies to better inform young people about various apprenticeship opportunities and to motivate them to take up an apprenticeship. Among other things, they planned promotional videos for apprenticeships in the three companies and developed the apprenticeship event "Apprenticeship on Tour", which gave young people the opportunity to get to know apprenticeships in the three companies by trying them out for themselves. In this way, they developed and implemented a very creative concept to reduce fear of contact and prejudices among young people as well as the companies. In any case, this concept has the potential to be used more often in the future and thus to inspire more young people to take up an apprenticeship.
2. Prize Business and Management: Anna Stecher
The thesis "Sustainable Marketing" by Anna Stecher at the Bundeshandelsakademie Innsbruck, supervised by Karolina Bucher, deals with opportunities and challenges around sustainable marketing. The work impresses with a comprehensive discussion of existing approaches and studies on this topic, which is supplemented by an extensive practical section in which the author analyzed sustainability measures at the company M-Preis, among other things in the context of a shopping basket analysis, and also developed further measures for M-Preis. The author takes a critical and reflective approach to this topic, for example by pointing out the dangers of "greenwashing" and discussing how this danger can be avoided in concrete practical cases.
3. Prize Business and Management: Daniel Hirsch und Paula Lechner
In the work "Reservative - Reservations automated, systematized and organized in one System" by Daniel Hirsch and Paula Lechner at the HTL Anichstraße in Innsbruck, supervised by Albert Greinöcker and Monika Reiterer, the authors developed a system for automated table reservations in the catering industry. The developed reservation system can take over time-consuming, and thus also personnel-consuming, work steps. In the course of the development process, together with people from the catering industry, the authors carried out a market analysis and developed a business plan in addition to the technical development of this application of "smart technology".