The Institute for Organizational Viability (IOV) sees organizations as organs and tools of society that contribute to a sustainable world worth living in. Organizations are social or socio-technical systems and places of human collaboration. Through its activities, the IOV contributes to the socially responsible shaping of this collaboration through structures, people, and alignment.

To achieve its aims, the IOV is oriented towards three strategic focal points, which are essentially built up and established through application-oriented research, but also through continuing education and service projects:

• Governance structures and control systems
• Organizational learning- and change processes
• Organizational culture and mindset

Our research serves to describe and explain organizational forms, the behavior of people in and around organizations, and the development of organizational design principles. This contributes to a broader picture of organizations as components and players in society and the environment. This is in line with the ZHAW principle of contributing to a sustainable society. Through these focal points, the IOV positions itself as a partner for internationally connectable, practice-relevant research and development.