Research at Webster Vienna

New Edition of Danish Stakeholder Engagement Textbook Co-Authored by Prof. Pernille Eskerod

On April 22, 2025, Prof. Dr. Pernille Eskerod of Webster Vienna Private University and Associate Prof. Dr. Anna Lund Jepsen of the University of Southern Denmark published the second edition of their Danish-language textbook on project stakeholder analysis and engagement. The volume, titled Projektets Interessenter, is released by Djøf Forlag, Denmark’s leading academic publisher for research-based literature in business and management. Grounded in recent scholarly developments, the book is intended for both undergraduate and graduate students in project management courses. Its use of contemporary, practice-oriented case studies also makes it a relevant resource for professionals involved in project-based work.

Reference: Eskerod, P., & Jepsen, A. L. (2025). Projektets interessenter: Analyse og samspil (2nd ed.). Djøf Forlag.

 

• Articles
• Books
• Chapters
• Conferences
• News Archives

Faculty — Business and Management

Faculty and Staff

Franco Algieri has analyzed the conflict-ridden EU-China relationship in his latest contribution to the Yearbook on European Integration. In another article for Risk Monitor 2025 of the Austrian Defense Ministry, he discusses the issue of neutrality in the EU and the need for member states to adapt to a changing security and defense political environment.

Franco Algieri: Die Europäische Union und China (The European Union and China), in: Werner Weidenfeld/Wolfgang Wessels (Hrsg): Jahrbuch der Europäischen Union 2023. Baden-Baden: Nomos 2023, 349-354. 

Franco Algieri: Neutralität in der EU (Neutrality in the EU), in: Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung: Risikobild 2025. Vienna: Austrian Defence Ministry 2025.

 

• Articles
• Books
• Chapters
• Conferences
• Policy Papers
• News Archives

Faculty — International Relations

Faculty and Staff

Associate Prof. Dr. Bradley Wiggins was recently invited to submit a summary article for review of a special issue of Frontiers in Political Science with the special issue titled “Political Communication Strategies and the Instrumentalization of Hate Speech in Electoral Campaigns.” Following a positive review, final submissions of a full article is Sept. 30, 2025. Wiggins submitted a summary article titled “From Memes to Mobilization: The Strategic Deployment of Hate Speech.” Below is an abstract of the piece:

This article investigates the strategic use of hate speech within political campaigns, focusing specifically on memes as powerful persuasive devices. Historically, political campaigns relied on traditional media, but the widespread adoption of social media has significantly transformed political persuasion, making platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok central to electoral communication. Notably, recent campaigns, particularly the U.S. 2024 presidential election, have prominently featured memes to disseminate divisive rhetoric and hate speech.

A critical review of existing literature underscores definitional complexities around hate speech, emphasizing cultural variances and the ambiguity inherent in online interactions. Such ambiguity, often masked by humor and irony, complicates efforts in categorizing and addressing hate speech effectively. Building on van Dijk's theory of manipulative discourse and Eco's semiotic theory, the article presents a framework for understanding how memes utilize visual and textual strategies to manipulate public sentiments and reinforce discriminatory hierarchies.

Employing a mixed-method semiotic analysis, the study systematically examines memes from recent political campaigns, with particular attention to rhetorical strategies like credibility indicators, ironic ambiguity, and emotionally evocative imagery. The study anticipates enhancing theoretical understandings of meme-driven political persuasion, highlighting implications for critical media literacy. Ultimately, this research aims to provide educators and policymakers with valuable insights into recognizing and responding effectively to persuasive yet potentially harmful meme-based political communication.

 

• Articles
• Chapters
• Conferences
• News Archive

Faculty — Strategic Communication

Faculty and Staff

Exploring the Psychology of Helping: Dr. Mehu Presents Field and Experimental Findings in Washington, DC at APS Convention

Dr. Marc Mehu, Associate Professor and Head of the Psychology Department at Webster Vienna Private University, delivered two presentations at the 2025 Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Convention in Washington, DC (May 22–25, 2025).

The first presentation, titled “To Help or Not to Help: A Field Experiment Investigating Subtle Nonverbal Cues to Inter-Group Attitudes and Prosocial Behavior,” detailed a field experiment carried out in Vienna metro stations, examining how subtle nonverbal cues are related to inter-group attitudes and prosocial behavior. Dr. Mehu and colleagues observed commuters responding to confederates who displayed overt religious cues. The study found that passenger and confederate gender had a stronger impact on helping behavior than religious signs. Male participants were more likely to assist female confederates when they did not display religious symbols. Behavioral coding of nonverbal signals (facial expressions, speech, body movement) further suggested that helping decisions and group membership of interlocutors are linked to complex patterns of social signaling.

The second presentation, “Smiling, Trustworthiness, and Prosocial Behavior: Looking Beyond Smile Types,”  reported on two experiments involving 120 observers and 60 individuals displaying spontaneous and deliberate smiles while requesting help or making trust-related promises. Results indicated that helping decisions were primarily influenced by the cost to the helper and the signaler's gender—women received more assistance—while smile type had a secondary effect. Experiment 2 demonstrated that verbal intentions exerted a stronger influence on trust-based investments than smile characteristics, with smile intensity affect perceived trustworthiness in an indirect manner.

These presentations contribute to understanding how verbal and nonverbal signals—within both controlled experiments and real-world settings—influence prosocial decisions, with implications for socio-cognitive models of communication.

---

How Faces Speak: Research on Facial Behavior and Speech Acts Presented at Cambridge University

In June 2025, Dr. Marc Mehu, Associate Professor and Head of the Psychology Department at Webster Vienna Private University, and co-author Savannah Sweeting presented their latest study at a seminar organized by the Semantics, Pragmatics and Philosophy (SPP) Research Group atCambridge University. Their paper, published in the Journal of Pragmatics, explores how facial behavior relates to performative functions of speech—examining its role in authenticating statements, expressing valence, and modulating the illocutionary force of speech acts.

Using speech act theory and observational methods, the authors conducted a case study of a U.S. Senate hearing. Their analysis compared facial behavior intensity across speech act types and assessed relationships between facial expressivity and illocutionary strength. Results showed that facial behavior was more pronounced during performative speech acts than declarative ones and that an inverse relationship exists between somefacial expression and the illocutionary strength of speech acts. Facial signals also corresponded to speech act valence, though more subtly. While individual facial Action Units showed multiple associations, no clear one-to-one link emerged between specific facial movements and speech act features.

These findings advance the understanding of the pragmatic functions of facial behavior in public discourse. They suggest that speakers may use facial signals to indicate authenticity and adjust the force of their verbal messages. Additionally, the study implies that cognitive and emotional states underlying speech production are structurally and functionally connected to facial expressivity.

Mehu, M., & Sweeting, S. (2025). Automatic behaviour analysis reveals links between facial expression and speech acts’ illocutionary point, strength, and valence. Journal of Pragmatics, 241, 41-60. 

 

• Articles
• Chapters
• Conferences
• News Archive

Faculty — Psychology

Faculty and Staff