Research Outputs

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Publication

Financial Leadership - Transforming Financial Experts into CFOs

2013, Zehetner, Karl, Fahrngruber, Barbara, Pichler, Robert, Trappl, Stefan

Financial leadership is usually defined as the last in a series of steps, leading from junior accountant to Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Financial leadership means that the CFO performs in a way that leads to a competitive advantage for the organization, not only, but particularly in a financial crisis. In a qualitative study, Austrian CFOs were interviewed between the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007 and 2010. The task was to find out whether there is a change in the challenges for the position of the CFO and which competencies and traits prove to be important and necessary for developing financial leadership competencies. The analysis of the interviews provides some surprising insights into a changing professional profile.

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Motives and Behaviors of American and European CEOs. A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Leadership Styles

2013, Pichler, Robert, Zehetner, Karl, Trappl, Stefan

This paper and the underlying research looks at the needs and motives of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in Europe and the United States. The first objective of this study is to gain insight into the personality of CEOs and to better understand the motives that drive their behaviors. The second objective is a comparison between American and European leadership styles at the top management level. In order to measure the motives of CEOs, David G. Winter’s “motive imagery”, a method of measuring personality, will be applied. The findings will provide information about the dominant motives of American and European CEOs and contribute to a better understanding of the behavioral aspects of corporate leadership.

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The Effect of the Introduction of a» Pay Per Use «Option within motor TPL insurance

2014, Trappl, Stefan, Zehetner, Karl, Pichler, Robert

In this paper the effects of the introduction of the so called “pay per use” -insurance products are examined. These products collect data of kilometers driven by policy holders. As a result of this data, policy holders can get a refund on the insurance-premium paid. Since there is a positive correlation between mileage and the risk of causing an accident the refund is granted to low-mileage drivers, so in theory the “pay per use” product is more attractive to low-mileage drivers than to long-distance drivers. The authors examine empirical evidence to find out whether or not it is mainly low-mileage-drivers who choose the “pay per use” product. Secondly, the authors examine whether there are other significant differences between characteristics of “pay per use” policy-holders and “traditional” policy- holders. Therefore a random sample of 4,000 car-insurance - clients (2,000 “pay per use” policy- holders and 2,000 “traditional” policy-holders) is reviewed. In addition the effects of the introduction of “pay per use” products are discussed, in case of a selection effect between low- and high -mileage drivers is observed.

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The Impact of Financial Leadership on the Success of SMEs in the Management of Crisis

2013, Trappl, Stefan, Pichler, Robert, Zehetner, Karl

In this paper we present the results of an empirical study about Financial Leadership. A questionnaire with 17 questions in 6 categories were de-veloped and sent to 4069 SMEs in the producing sector in Austria. The questionnaire was answered by 318 companies. With the data we wanted to find out if Financial Leadership can prevent companies from suffering a company-crisis or can help companies to overcome a company crisis.

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Motives and Behaviours of Financial Leaders in Austria

2012, Pichler, Robert, Zehetner, Karl, Trappl, Stefan

The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as a Financial Leader encompasses much more than the mere mastery of the financial issues of an organization. The personality and the leadership style of CFOs have gained little attention so far although the need for a better understanding of behavioral aspects of Financial Leadership clearly exists. This paper and the underlying research attempt to fill this gap by measuring the motives and personalities of Austrian CFOs. Pioneering work on measuring personality has been done by David McClelland, who identified three human motives including power, achievement, and affiliation-intimacy. In order to measure these three motives, David G. Winter developed "motive imagery", a method of measuring content for the above mentioned motives. It is therefore the purpose of this paper to gain insight into the motivation and personality of Austrian CFOs by analyzing 31 interviews with Austrian CFOs. The findings will provide information about the dominant motives of Austrian CFOs and contribute to a better understanding of the behavioral aspects of Financial Leadership.

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Publication

Educating the Ones Who Count

2012, Zehetner, Karl, Pichler, Robert, Trappl, Stefan

A qualitative study was the basis for the design of an academic post-graduate program geared to the education of CFOs. A later quantitative survey stimulated refinements of the program. The findings of the studies were directly incorporated into the program. The paper gives an overview of the studies’ conclusions and gives clues on how to integrate them into post-graduate financial management programs.