Operations research is a cross-sectional discipline that combines areas of applied mathematics, quantitative business administration and algorithmic computer science. In Operations Research, mathematical models are developed, theoretically analysed and applied in order to find better decisions for economic planning problems. The Institute is particularly active in the field of "Discrete Optimisation" with numerous publications in top international journals. Our research focusses on approximation algorithms, worst-case analysis of heuristics, complexity analysis and algorithmic graph theory. Further fields of research are social choice theory and applied statistics. The institute is in active dialogue with numerous international research partners.
Practical application problems are regularly worked on in co-operation with industrial and institutional clients and partners, often as funded projects. Both exact solution methods, usually in the form of integer optimisation models (ILP), and heuristic approximation algorithms are developed and implemented. Typical areas of application can be found in production planning, scheduling, transport and route planning, packing and cutting problems, personnel deployment and efficient resource allocation.
The focus of research in this area is on supporting companies in their decision-making with regard to the circular economy. In addition to exploring established concepts such as remanufacturing, refurbishment or recycling, the main focus is on repair, which is a low-threshold strategy for extending product utilisation. Research questions arise with regard to supply-side network structures, the influence of incentive systems, the operational deployment planning of service technicians and the availability of spare parts, as well as the demand-side drivers and barriers to repair. In addition to analytical models, simulation and empirical approaches are used to meet the requirements of the issues under consideration.
The second research pillar in this area focuses on matheuristic approaches to optimise specific variants of the round trip, allocation and location problem. Our research is published in the leading journals in the field, such as European Journal of Operational Research or Decision Sciences, and we are also very active in serving the research community. On the one hand, this manifests itself through the leadership of working groups within the Austrian Society for Operations Research, but also the European umbrella organisation EURO. On the other hand, we co-organise and host workshops and regularly contribute articles to various specialist journals.
The Information Systems department conducts research in the field of business informatics and information science.
As part of Design Science Research, information systems are designed for economic problems and research prototypes are developed and evaluated. In addition to the automation of operational processes, the focus is on improved decision support.
The effects of information systems on society are also analysed using empirical methods.
The research focus of the department also includes evaluation (e.g. in the university sector, such as research evaluation) and selected areas of information law (in particular data protection and copyright law, including plagiarism problems).
Another research area deals with informetric and scientometric (measurement and quantification of information and science) and social media analyses.
Another focus is on analysing the potential of information technology to change existing business models and develop new ones.
The potential of digital media for changes in informal learning in different cultures, which have not yet been researched in this respect, is also being analysed. Innovative forms of e-learning are a particular focus here.
The members of the department are integrated into an international network of research partners and regularly participate in EU projects. In addition, there are close links to COMET centres in Graz and practical application problems are regularly worked on in cooperation with partners from business and administration as part of projects.