Thesis Topics
Thank you for your interest in writing a Bachelor's or Master's thesis at the Chair of Information Systems Management. Below you find the current list of our research topics. Unless otherwise noted, thesis topics are open to Bachelor and Master students, can start immediately and should be preferably written in English language. Get in touch with us ideally 8 weeks before your intended start.
If you think one of these topics sounds promising, please use the registration form at the end of the page.
Important for bachelor students: Experience in scientific work in the field of IS/MIS is required, i.e. successful completion of the WAWI module and/or successful participation in an ISM seminar.
Topics
The Role of the Digital Mindset in Employee Driven Digital Innovation
Mindsets constitute a part of this humanistic behavior and thinking, enabling and supporting humans at solving tasks in a specific context through cognitive processes, filters or beliefs (Dweck 2006; Gollwitzer 1990; Gupta and Govindarajan 2002). The IS literature frequently mentions the “digital mindset” as a crucial factor of digitalization (Nambisan et al. 2017; Warner and Wäger 2019). Further, during the last ten years, employee-driven innovation has emerged as a new approach to explain innovation. Ciriello et al. (2016) describe employee-driven innovation as a new form of direct participation in which employees take the initiative to generate, develop, and implement ideas. In a digital context, employee-driven digital innovation is defined as the initiation, development and implementation of new digital products, services or processes originating from “ordinary employees”, or the use of digital tools to support employee-driven innovation processes. This topic addresses questions that investigate the relationships between these concepts, especially between the impacts of the digital mindset on the processes or outcomes of employee-driven digital innovation.
Method: Surveys, Case Study, Interviews
Language: preferably english
Literature for getting started:
- Hildebrandt, Y., & Beimborn, D. (2022). A Cognitive Conveyor for Digital Innovation-Definition and Conceptualization of the Digital Mindset.
- Opland, L. E., Pappas, I. O., Engesmo, J., & Jaccheri, L. (2022). Employee-driven digital innovation: A systematic review and a research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 143, 255-271.
- Felstead, A., Gallie, D., Green, F., & Henseke, G. (2020). Getting the Measure of Employee‐Driven Innovation and Its Workplace Correlates. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(4), 904-935.
- Echebiri, C., Engen, M., & Amundsen, S. (2021). Employee-driven innovation: conceptualisation, scale development and preliminary validation. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 25(2-3), 233-255.
- Literature for the measurement of the Digital Mindset upon request.
Supervisor: Yannick Hildebrandt
A Taxonomy for Employee Driven Digital Innovation Outcomes - Can We Classify EDDI Outcomes?
Ciriello et al. (2016) describe employee-driven innovation as a new form of direct participation in which employees take the initiative to generate, develop, and implement ideas. In a digital context, employee-driven digital innovation (EDDI) is defined as the initiation, development and implementation of new digital products, services or processes originating from “ordinary employees”, or the use of digital tools to support employee-driven innovation processes. Therefore, as EDDI is a relatively new form of innovation, as the innovation actors is pursues both, innovation by design and innovation by use. This potentially leads to different kind of innovation outcomes such as changing use contexts, changing functions, repurposing, recombining etc.. To date, there is no classification scheme to identify and classify the different innovation outcomes of EDDI. Therefore, this topics aims for the creation of literature- or qualitative based taxonomy
Method: Literature Review or interviews (e.g. Case Study)
Language: Preferably english, German possible
Literature to start:
- Opland, L. E., Pappas, I. O., Engesmo, J., & Jaccheri, L. (2022). Employee-driven digital innovation: A systematic review and a research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 143, 255-271.
- Hildebrandt, Y. (2022). Hunting Darwins Counterpart: Tracing the Exaptation Phenomenon in IS Research.
- Holmström, J. (2018). Recombination in digital innovation: Challenges, opportunities, and the importance of a theoretical framework. Information and organization, 28(2), 107-110.
Supervisor: Yannick Hildebrandt
Repurposing the concept of repurposing: Tracing Exaptation in IS Research
Due to digital technologies and their recombinatorial characteristics and new paradigms like the modular layered architecture of digital innovations the recombinatorial opportunities are exploding. A special result of recombination is exaptation, where recombinated components change their originally intended function. Exaptation can be viewed as an outcome, classifying artifacts in design science research but also as behavior of individuals in the context of pervasive digitalization. Existing research aimed for structuring the field, but neither covers the area of design science research, nor a differentiation between exaptations as outcomes and exaptations as behavior.
Therefore, based on previous research the following question arise:
- What is the current state of research and how can we structure the field of exap-
tation theory in IS research?
Method: Literature Review
Language: Preferably english, German possible
Literature to start:
- Hildebrandt, Y. (2022): Hildebrandt, Y. (2022)Hunting Darwins Counterpart: Tracing the Exaptation Phenomenon in IS Research Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik, Nürnberg, Germany
- Beltagui, A., Rosli, A., & Candi, M. (2020). Exaptation in a digital innovation ecosystem: The disruptive impacts of 3D printing. Research policy, 49(1), 103833.
- Andriani, P., & Cattani, G. (2016). Exaptation as source of creativity, innovation, and diversity: introduction to the special section. Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(1), 115-131.
Supervisor: Yannick Hildebrandt
The catalyst of serendipity: Exaptation and the digital mindset
Due to digital technologies and their recombinatorial characteristics and new paradigms like the modular layered architecture of digital innovations the recombinatorial opportunities are exploding. A special result of recombination is exaptation, where recombinated components change their originally intended function. Mostly this happens through serendipity. As people in the digital age - with a digital mindset - systematically think in recombinatorial patterns and potentially enforce unintentional functions of digital components, exaptations gain relevance in the digital age.
To unravel the phenomenon and its characteristics like serendipity, various research questions arise e.g.:
- Is Exaptation and its characteristics like serendipity still applicable in the digital age?
- Is there a link between the digital mindset or aspects of the digital mindset and exaptations in the digital age?
Method: Various as it depends on the research question (Lit. Review, Case Study, Interviews, Survey)
Language: Preferably english, German possible
Literature to start:
- Holmström, J. (2018). Recombination in digital innovation: Challenges, opportunities, and the importance of a theoretical framework. Information and organization, 28(2), 107-110.
- Beltagui, A., Rosli, A., & Candi, M. (2020). Exaptation in a digital innovation ecosystem: The disruptive impacts of 3D printing. Research policy, 49(1), 103833.
- Andriani, P., & Cattani, G. (2016). Exaptation as source of creativity, innovation, and diversity: introduction to the special section. Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(1), 115-131.
Supervisor: Yannick Hildebrandt
Technology Forecasting - How reliable is the Gartner Hype Cycle?
Gartner’s Hype Cycle is one of the most frequently published and cited technology forecasts. But, how reliable, consistent, and accurate is it? Objective of this thesis is to set up a data base of historical Gartner hype cycle reports and compare both their consistency over time and their accuracy mapping it with other data sources.
Method: Secondary data analysis, potential for use of AI-based pattern recognition techniques
Language: preferably English
Literature for getting started:
- Mullany (2016): 8 Lessons from 20 Years of Hype Cycles. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-lessons-from-20-years-hype-cycles-michael-mullany/
- Fenn, Raskino, Burton (2013, 2017): Understanding Gartner’s Hype Cycles. https://wiki.harvard.edu/confluence/download/attachments/213389796/Shaffer_Understanding%20Gartners%20Hype%20Cycles.pdf?version=2&modificationDate=1485889905000&api=v2
- Cho, Daim (2013): Technology Forecasting Methods. In: Daim, Oliver, Kim (eds.): Research and Technology Management in the Electricity Industry, Springer, pp. 67-112.
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4471-5097-8_4
- https://www.computerwoche.de/a/diese-technologien-veraendern-ihre-welt,3549644
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Beimborn
Response Rates in Empirical Organizational IS Research – Conducting a Meta-Analysis of Success Factors of Survey Design
Achieving high response rates in survey-based empirical studies is a challenging endeavor. Managers have little time and receive more questionnaires, which reduces their willingness to participate in surveys. In turn, for researchers, it is mission-critical to design survey processes in a way that the study attracts participation of as many managers as possible.
Aim of this master’s thesis is to review existing empirical studies in the Information Systems discipline which did survey-based studies at the organizational level (e.g., outsourcing management, IT business value, IT change & transformation, organizational adoption of IT/IS). A meta-analysis shall compare the studies with regard to their design (which companies, which manager roles, which “incentives”, which countries etc.) and try to identify factors that lead to higher vs. lower response rates.
An example for a comparable study of another research discipline can be found in (Hiebl/Richter 2018).
Method: literature review, meta-analysis
Language of master’s thesis: English
Literature for getting started:
- Hiebl, M.R., Richter, J.F. (2018): Response Rates in Management Accounting Survey Research. Journal of Management Accounting Research (30:2), pp. 59-79.
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Beimborn