Abschlussarbeitsthemen

Vielen Dank für Ihr Interesse, eine Bachelor- oder Masterarbeit am Lehrstuhl für Wirtschafts- informatik insb. Informationssystemmanagement zu schreiben. Nachfolgend finden Sie die aktuelle Liste unserer Forschungsthemen. Sofern nicht anders angegeben, sind die Themen sowohl für Bachelor- als auch Masterstudierende und die Bearbeitung kann sofort begonnen werden. Die bevorzugte Sprache ist Englisch.

Wenn Sie sich für eines der Themen interessieren, nutzen Sie bitte das Anmeldeformular am Ende der Website. Bewerben Sie sich idealerweise 8 Wochen vor Ihrem geplanten Start.

Wichtig für Bachelor-Studierende: Erfahrung im wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten im Bereich IS/MIS wird vorausgesetzt, d.h. erfolgreicher Abschluss des Moduls WAWI und/oder erfolgreiche Teilnahme an einem ISM-Seminar.

Bedingungen für eine Abschlussarbeit am ISM-Lehrstuhl: Bei einer Anfertigung einer Abschlussarbeit am Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik insb. Informationssystemmanagement verpflichten sich die Studierenden zu einer regelmäßigen Teilnahme am Kolloquium für Abschlussarbeiten. Während dieses Kolloquiums sind zwei Vorträge (Zwischenvortrag + Abschlussvortrag/Verteidigung) zu halten. Das Kolloquium findet ungefähr alle drei Wochen am Dienstagabend statt.

 

Themen

(AI-based) ranking of the content-relatedness of linked semi-structured text content

(KI-basiertes) Ranking der inhaltlichen Verwandtschaft von verlinkten teilstrukturierten Textinhalten

Ausgangsbasis ist eine Menge von JIRA Tickets, die Themenclustern zugeordnet sind. Jedes Ticket gehört dabei zu genau einem Themencluster. Für ein Ticket, das noch keinem Themencluster zugeordnet ist, soll ein Ranking für die Zugehörigkeit zu den bestehenden Themenclustern ermittelt werden. Grundlage für das Ranking soll die inhaltliche Verwandtschaft mit bereits eindeutig zugeordneten Tickets sein. Das Ranking der Zugehörigkeit eines JIRA Tickets zu den Themenclustern stellt letztlich eine priorisierte Vorschlagsliste der Zuordnungsmöglichkeiten dar. Am Ende entscheidet ein Spezialist über die korrekte Zuordnung eines Tickets zu einem Themencluster. Die JIRA Tickets enthalten einen Titel, eine Beschreibung, diverse Metadaten und sind untereinander und in manchen Fällen mit Confluence-Inhalten verlinkt – z.B. mit Spezifikationen.

Die Arbeit wird in Zusammenarbeit mit mgm technology partners bearbeitet.

mgm technology partners ist ein internationales Softwareunternehmen und auf die Entwicklung von individuellen Geschäftsanwendungen spezialisiert. Für die Umsetzung setzt mgm auf die eigene Low-Code-Plattform A12 sowie model-driven Software Engineering. An weltweit 19 Standorten arbeiten über 1.000 Kolleg:innen für mgm.

Methodik: Praxisarbeit, Design Science

Betreuer: Prof. Dr. Daniel Beimborn


English version

The starting point is a set of JIRA tickets that are assigned to topic clusters. Each ticket belongs to exactly one topic cluster. For a ticket that is not yet assigned to a topic cluster, a ranking is to be determined for the affiliation to the existing topic clusters. The basis for the ranking should be the relationship in terms of content with tickets that have already been clearly assigned. The ranking of the affiliation of a JIRA ticket to the topic clusters ultimately represents a prioritised suggestion list of possible assignments. In the end, a specialist decides on the correct assignment of a ticket to a topic cluster. The JIRA tickets contain a title, a description, various metadata and are linked to each other and in some cases to Confluence content - e.g. specifications.

This thesis will be conducted in cooperation with mgm technology partners.

mgm technology partners is an international software company specialized in the development of individual business applications. For implementation, mgm relies on its own low-code platform A12 and model-driven software engineering.More than 1,000 colleagues work for mgm at 19 locations worldwide.

Strong German language competences are required (min. C1).

Approach: Design Science

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Beimborn

Digital Entrepreneurship - Understanding the Role of Digital Technologies in Entrepreneurship

Digital technologies not only transform business strategies, models, and processes in established firms (Bharadwaj et al., 2013) but also impact the field of entrepreneurship and innovation (Nambisan et al., 2019). However, so far we do not really understand how exactly these changes look like. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of digital artifacts and how they influence entrepreneurial processes, contexts and outcomes.

Method: Various research methods are possible (e.g., case study research, survey research, literature review,...)

Language: preferably english

Literature for getting started:

  • von Briel, F., Davidsson, P., and Recker, J. 2018. “Digital Technologies as External Enablers of New Venture Creation in the IT Hardware Sector,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (42:1), pp. 47-69.
  • von Briel, F., Recker, J., and Davidsson, P. 2018. “Not all digital venture ideas are created equal: Implications for venture creation processes,” The Journal of Strategic Information Systems (27:4), pp. 278-295.
  • Steininger, D. M., Kathryn Brohman, M., and Block, J. H. 2022. “Editorial: Digital Entrepreneurship: What is New if Anything?” Business & Information Systems Engineering (64:1), pp. 1-14.

Supervisor: Ferdinand Mittermeier

Current State of Knowledge on Entrepreneurial Support Systems in Times of Digitalization

Entrepreneurial Support is defined as the "provision of valuable resources to entrepreneurs by individuals or organizations, which carry structured activities to facilitate the
imminent establishment of a new independent firm, increase survival chances, or promote long-term growth” (Hanlon & Saunders 2007, p. 620). There are several well establisehd types of such systems, such as accelerators, incubators, or venture studios. In the context of digitalization, the relevance of such location-based systems is often questioned. The question therefore arises as to what digital alternatives are available. The aim of this thesis is to conduct a structured literature review on digital entrepreneurial support systems.

Method: structured literature review

Language: preferably english

Literature for getting started:

  • Ratinho, T., Amezcua, A., Honig, B., and Zeng, Z. 2020. “Supporting entrepreneurs: A systematic review of literature and an agenda for research,” Technological Forecasting and Social Change (154), 119956.
  • Bergman, B. J., and McMullen, J. S. 2022. “Helping Entrepreneurs Help Themselves: A Review and Relational Research Agenda on Entrepreneurial Support Organizations,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (46:3), pp. 688-728.
  • Webster, J., and Watson, R. T. 2002. “Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review,” MIS Quarterly (26:2), pp. xiii-xxiii.

Supervisor: Ferdinand Mittermeier

Current State of Knowledge on Digital Innovation Units

Digital innovation units refer to specialized teams or departments within an organization that are dedicated to driving and fostering digital innovation. These units are focused on exploring, developing, and implementing new and advanced digital technologies, processes, and solutions to enhance the organization's overall performance and competitiveness. There are many different types of digital innovation units, such as innovation labs, corporate incubators, venture studios, or technology centers. This diversity makes it difficult to understand their differences. The aim of this study is to conduct a structured literature review on digital innovation units and to outline different types, differentiation criteria and the most important research areas in this domain.

Method: structured literature review

Language: preferably english

Literature for getting started:

  • 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), 113827.
  • Schumm, M., André Hanelt, and Firk, S. 2022. “Digital Innovation Units: An Empirical Investigation of Performance Implications,” in Proceedings of the 43rd International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Webster, J., and Watson, R. T. 2002. “Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review,” MIS Quarterly (26:2), pp. xiii-xxiii.

Supervisor: Ferdinand Mittermeier

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:

  • von Briel, F., Davidsson, P., and Recker, J. 2018. “Digital Technologies as External Enablers of New Venture Creation in the IT Hardware Sector,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (42:1), pp. 47-69.
  • von Briel, F., Recker, J., and Davidsson, P. 2018. “Not all digital venture ideas are created equal: Implications for venture creation processes,” The Journal of Strategic Information Systems (27:4), pp. 278-295.
  • 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   

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