The Pädagogische Hochschule St. Gallen (PHSG) aims to expand its educational services for profit-oriented organisations but currently lacks a clearly defined market positioning and strategy. To support this development, PHSG commissioned a market study to better understand the learning and development challenges of large companies, how they address these challenges, and what they expect from external education providers.

The study combined a literature review on corporate learning and development, organisational learning, market segmentation, and corporate academy development with a competitor analysis of selected Swiss providers. In addition, five semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with Learning and Development professionals from large organisations in Switzerland. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring.

The findings show that companies increasingly view learning and development as a strategic capability driven by digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and changing skill requirements. Organisations favour tailored, practice-oriented learning solutions that address their specific context and support long-term capability building. When selecting external providers, practical relevance, contextual understanding, and collaborative programme design are valued more highly than academic reputation alone. Based on these insights, the thesis develops recommendations for PHSG on target segment prioritisation, market positioning, corporate outreach, and communicating its educational expertise in a way that addresses business challenges. The results provide PHSG with an evidence-based foundation for expanding its corporate education activities and strengthening its competitiveness in the Swiss Learning and Development market.