Background to Business in Austria

Austria is a landlocked country, set in the heart of Europe with a population of scarcely more than eight million people.

It has little in the way of natural resources and relies heavily on its larger neighbour Germany in both import and export terms. Yet despite these seeming handicaps, Austrians enjoy an extremely high standard of living and an economy which is relatively robust. This is, in no small measure due, to the drive and application of those eight million Austrians.

Although the current State of Austria has only existed in its current form since 1955, the country has a long and distinguished history. The capital, Vienna, was for centuries one of the major centres of the European world and as the fulcrum of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was, for a long time, a magnet for the best and the brightest amongst Europe’s intelligentsia.

During the Cold War period, the country managed to steer an impressively neutral path between the two competing super powers and the contacts Austrians managed to develop into the old Soviet Bloc countries during that period now stand them in good stead when developing business contacts in the burgeoning markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

Austria is a country with an auspicious past and a bright future. Perfectly located to take advantage of the development and enlargement of the EU, the country has the human capital and highly developed infrastructure needed to act as bridge between Western and Eastern Europe.
Austria is an attractive business destination with a strong business culture of its own and has significant strength in such distinct areas as banking and finance, precision engineering and bio-technology.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture.  Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Australia only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Austria only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.