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
Orchestrating Firm Resources to Create Digital Opportunities – The Case of Corporate Venture Building
To stay competitive in a dynamic digitalization-driven environment, firms must accumulate, (re)combine, and exploit resources. However, many pre-digital firms, i.e., those that belong to traditional industries such as manufacturing, struggle to connect their existing “old” resources with “new” digital resources. Consequently, they increasingly collaborate with corporate venture builders (experts in generating digital opportunities). The aim of this thesis is to explore how such entities (i.e., corporate venture builders) orchestrate different types of resources to create novel digital opportunities for established firms.
Method: case study research
Language: preferably english
Literature for getting started:
- Oberländer, A. M., Röglinger, M., and Rosemann, M. 2021. “Digital opportunities for incumbents – A resource-centric perspective,” The Journal of Strategic Information Systems (30:3), pp. 1-27.
- Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., and Ireland, R. D. 2007. “Managing Firm Resources in Dynamic Environments to Create Value: Looking Inside the Black Box,” Academy of Management Review (32:1), pp. 273-292.
Supervisor: Ferdinand Mittermeier
Why Digital Technologies Are Not Enough – Understanding Digital Startups’ Failure in Resource-Heavy Industries (e.g., Automobile, Construction, Chemistry, Energy,…)
Digital technologies tremendously affect entrepreneurship and new venture creation. For instance, digital artifacts such as 3D printing technologies and low-code app development tools allow for fast prototyping, enabling easy entry into entrepreneurship. Crowdfunding platforms provide alternative funding opportunities, increasing the survival of startups. Finally, digital infrastructures such as Amazon web services allow for rapid scaling and generative mechanisms that positively affect the growth and success of digital startups. However, 9 out of 10 startups still fail.
For this reason, it is necessary to find out what the reasons for this failure are. The aim of this work is therefore to use qualitative (interviews) or quantitative (survey research) methods to investigate the extent to which the use of digital technologies in the start-up process is not sufficient for success. In addition, the study seeks to determine what the problem areas of the founders are and what support measures would be helpful from the founders' point of view.
Method: case study research, survey research
Language: preferably english
Literature for getting started:
- Zaheer, H., Breyer, Y., Dumay, J., and Enjeti, M. 2019. “Straight from the horse's mouth: Founders' perspectives on achieving ‘traction’ in digital startups,” Computers in Human Behavior (95), pp. 262-274.
- Zaheer, H., Breyer, Y., Dumay, J., and Enjeti, M. 2022. “The entrepreneurial journeys of digital start-up founders,” Technological Forecasting and Social Change (179).
Supervisor: Ferdinand Mittermeier
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