Abschlussarbeitsthemen

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

The ongoing digitalization requires companies and their employees to continuously develop their skills. The existing literature refers in particular to the development of digital and entrepreneurial competencies. To make this possible alongside maintaining the existing business, established companies often deploy digital units (i.e., innovation labs, accelerators, and venture builders). Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to investigate which types of skills are promoted by which activities of digital units. The topic can be assigned three times, as three forms of digital units in particular (i.e., innovation labs, accelerators, and venture builders) are to be examined.

Method: case study research, survey research, secondary data analysis

Language: preferably english

Literature for getting started:

• Prüfer, J., and Prüfer, P. 2020. “Data science for entrepreneurship research: studying demand dynamics for entrepreneurial skills in the Netherlands,” Small Business Economics (55:3), pp. 651-672.

• Rayna, T., and Striukova, L. 2021. “Fostering skills for the 21st century: The role of Fab labs and makerspaces,” Technological Forecasting & Social Change (164).

• Deist, M. K., McDowell, W. C., and Bouncken, R. B. 2023. “Digital units and digital innovation: Balancing fluidity and stability for the Creation, Conversion, and Dissemination of sticky knowledge,” Journal of Business Research (161), pp. 1-11.

Supervisor: Ferdinand Mittermeier

Searching, analyzing, and structuring studies in IS research that use crowdsourcing platforms such as Prolific, Amazon Mechanical Turk, or Qualtrics. The analysis should include multiple dimensions, such as validity approaches, topics, level of research (individual or organizational), used platforms, used filtering methods, significance of results (maybe also in comparison to non-artificial datasets).

Method: literature review, meta-analysis

Language of master’s thesis: English

Literature for getting started:

• Behrend, T. S., Sharek, D. J., Meade, A. W., & Wiebe, E. N. (2011). The viability of crowdsourcing for survey research. Behavior research methods, 43(3), 800-813.
• As impulse for how meta studies are conducted: Blut, M., Chong, A., Tsiga, Z., & Venkatesh, V. (2021). Meta-analysis of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT): challenging its validity and charting A research agenda in the red ocean. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, forthcoming.

• Spindeldreher, K., & Schlagwein, D. (2016). What drives the crowd? A meta-analysis of the motivation of participants in crowdsourcing.

Supervisor: Yannick Hildebrandt

Many pre-digital firms have problems establishing the appropriate organizational structures to sustainably master the digital transformation. At the same time, there are a large number of approaches in information systems and organizational design research as to how organizations can set up effective designs. In this thesis, students should therefore conduct a literature review in order to consolidate the current state of knowledge in a structured manner. The thesis is open for bachelor and master students.

Start date: 15.08.

Method: literature review

Language: preferably english

Literature for getting started:

• Hanelt, A., Bohnsack, R., Marz, D., & Antunes Marante, C. (2021). A systematic review of the literature on digital transformation: Insights and implications for strategy and organizational change. Journal of Management Studies, 58(5), 1159-1197.
• Paré, G., Trudel, M. C., Jaana, M., & Kitsiou, S. (2015). Synthesizing information systems knowledge: A typology of literature reviews. Information & Management, 52(2), 183-199.
• Vial, G. (2019). Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. The journal of strategic information systems, 28(2), 118-144.
• Wessel, L., Baiyere, A., Ologeanu-Taddei, R., Cha, J., & Blegind-Jensen, T. (2021). Unpacking the difference between digital transformation and IT-enabled organizational transformation. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 22(1), 102-129.

Supervisor: Julian Frey

Chatbots wie ChatGPT werden immer häufiger eingesetzt, um Kundenfragen zu beantworten, Informationen bereitzustellen oder sogar komplexe Aufgaben zu erledigen. Auf der anderen Seite verändert das digitale Mindset, wie Individuen mit Technologien umgehen. Es ist anzunehmen, dass das digitale Mindset einen signifikanten Einfluss darauf hat, wie Chatbots wie ChatGPT genutzt werden, insbesondere hinsichtlich der Nutzungsart und des Nutzungszwecks.

Zielsetzung: Das Ziel dieser Masterarbeit ist es, die Effekte des digitalen Mindsets auf die Nutzung des Chatbots ChatGPT zu untersuchen. Dabei sollen insbesondere die Nutzungsarten und -kontexte in den Blick genommen werden. Im Rahmen einer quantitativ-qualitativen Analyse sollen folgende Forschungsfragen beantwortet werden:

• Welche Nutzungsarten von Chatbots wie ChatGPT sind typisch für Nutzer mit einem bestimmten digitalen Mindset?
• In welchen Nutzungskontexten werden Chatbots wie ChatGPT von Nutzern mit unterschiedlichem digitalen Mindset bevorzugt eingesetzt?
• Wie beeinflusst das digitale Mindset die Art und Weise, wie Nutzer mit Chatbots wie ChatGPT interagieren (Art der Prompts)?
• Welche Faktoren tragen dazu bei, dass Nutzer mit einem bestimmten digitalen Mindset Chatbots wie ChatGPT bevorzugen oder ablehnen?

Methodik: Zur Beantwortung dieser Forschungsfragen können sowohl quantitative als auch qualitative Methoden eingesetzt werden. In einer Online-Umfrage könnten Nutzer mit unterschiedlichem digitalen Mindset befragt werden, wie sie Chatbots wie ChatGPT nutzen und in welchen Kontexten sie bevorzugt eingesetzt werden. Zudem sollen in Einzelinterviews Nutzer mit unterschiedlichem digitalen Mindset befragt werden, wie sie mit Chatbots wie ChatGPT interagieren (bspw. Prompts) und welche Faktoren ihre Interaktion beeinflussen. Die Ergebnisse sollen mittels statistischer Analysen und qualitativer Inhaltsanalysen ausgewertet werden.

Sprache: Englisch bevorzugt, Deutsch möglich

Literature for getting started:

• Hildebrandt, Y., & Beimborn, D. (2022). A Cognitive Conveyor for Digital Innovation-Definition and Conceptualization of the Digital Mindset.
• Riefle, Lara; Benz, Carina; and Tomar, Tuhina, "“May I Help You?”: Exploring the Effect of Individuals’ Self-Efficacy on the Use of Conversational Agents" (2022). ICIS 2022 Proceedings. 2.

Supervisor: Yannick Hildebrandt

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