MCI graduate wins Tourissimus 2019

The final round of the Austrian Tourism Research Award "Tourissimus" recently brought another success for the Entrepreneurial School®: Anika Stärk, graduate of the MCI Master's program "Entrepreneurship & Tourism", won the category "Tourism Business" with her thesis "Familiness and Leadership Competencies in Family Businesses". More than 29 candidates from 9 institutions faced the demanding hearings of the expert jury.

Anika Stärk's master's thesis deals with leadership competencies and their connection with the typical constellation in family businesses, where owners and family members play a very special role as leaders. MCI professor Anita Zehrer, who supervised the Master's thesis, praises the work, which "deals with a practical, current and important topic for family businesses". Methodologically, it is an individual case study in which a coordinated mix of methods is used.

MCI Tourism Director Hubert Siller sees the consistent efforts of the MCI study programmes to achieve excellent quality in teaching and research confirmed once again. "My heartfelt congratulations go to all who have contributed to this recent success, first and foremost of course to our graduate Anika Stärk, her supervisor and the entire team."

The Tourissimus is awarded annually by the Austrian Society for Applied Tourism Research (ÖGAF). Individual prizes are awarded in the categories "Tourism Business", "Marketing & Destination Management" and "Sustainability in Tourism".