Selected Thesis Topics for BScBA students
Bachelor´s Thesis 2014-2015
Please use this list of the fields of International Business for thesis work and potential thesis topics when choosing and informing us the field of
your thesis + the thesis topic in the form Indication of Interest Area for Thesis 2014-2015.
General Business Area
Subfield of General Area
Selected Thesis Topics in the Subfield
International Business/ Management
Global Management The future of food – wild cards and weak signals of changing food consumption
The future of food production – alternative scenarios until 2035 consumption
The utilization of locality as a competitive advantage in global food business (case or area) Evolving health care access dilemmas in emerging as well as developed economies
Business potential of the nanotechnology in environmental engineering Commercialization of the real time environmental monitoring systems Impact of climate change on water resources/local economies
How should absenteeism at work be managed?
Strategic Management Firm capability (or knowledge/resources/innovations etc.) development for competitive advantage
Foresight methods/tools in developing business strategy
Testing business strategy with scenario planning (case or general) Alternative business concepts of local food supply (case or general) Strategy processes
How should an energy management strategy be developed for a manufacturing firm and what should it include?
Knowledge Management An attention based view of knowledge and decision making in firms: Knowledge
characteristics
What types of knowledge are driving value creation in firms? Knowledge challenges faced by first-time CEOs
Role of information alignment in managerial decision making to internationalize Multinational Corporations Exploring the evolution of becoming a center of excellence
Parent-subsidiary relationships in MNCs
MNC organizational complexities-Challenges for Managing the MNC Operations Management and
Logistics
Disruption of logistics by fast production methods (e.g. 3D printing) Value creation in the local food business chain
How well does “lean” work in service operations?
Innovation Management Customer driven innovation Green innovation strategies
Project level innovation (knowledge) development and the case of issue selling to decision makers
Team innovativeness - the case of absorptive capacity and learning Network and Relationship
Management
Knowledge protection in networks - going beyond IPR regimes Orchestration of Innovation networks
Value creation in a renewable energy production chain/network Investigating relationship partnering in a company’s supply chain Corporate Social Responsibility Base of the pyramid (BOP) Strategies
Sustainable Tourism Development
Internationalization Process The quantifiable importance of culture for the internationalization process (2 countries) Home country explanations to firm internationalization
Drivers of internationalization choice and the intensity of internationalization Project Management Why, how and when firms are using projects in their business/international business
Possible challenges of managing international business projects What kind of project selection methods firms are using and why? International project teams
Project cost and performance management Project resource management
Project risk management International Business/
Marketing
International Marketing Influence of culture concerning advertising strategies of international companies Marketing to different cultures within a country (e.g., Russian speakers in Finland) Assessing the value of transformative events in building a sustainable competitive advantage in global markets
Strategic Marketing Management A marketing view of transforming news into entertainment The influence of Guerilla Marketing on consumer perception Nostalgia as a marketing strategy
Understanding the role of competitive intelligence strategies in achieving market success Bottom of the Pyramid markets and consumers: Role of MNCs as well as local firms
Consumer Behavior Consumer commitment to luxury branding
Impact of organizational efforts on consumer concerns online Why do people show off?
Impression management motives to conspicuous consumption Role of envy in consumer choice
Antecedents and consequences of consumer confusion Emotions that drive luxury consumption
Conspicuous consumption and social media Impulse buying
Aesthetics and the packaging of luxury products
Branding and Promotion Positioning of brands
Planning/developing a service design for SMEs B-to-B branding
Social media and brand perception
Co-creation and crowdsourcing in brand management Transferability of brand image across product categories Brand personality
Ethics and branding
Marketing and Branding in Art Organizations: The Case Study of Kiasma Role of B2B and B2C Branding in building customer retention
Use of Social Media in generating awareness, brand equity, and trials of new and existing products Investigating relationship partnering in a company’s supply chain
Developing a Branding Campaign in a cross-cultural setting Investigating relationship partnering in a company’s supply chain
Environmental and Ethical Marketing
Green marketing
Ethics of big data marketing Socially responsible marketing
Sales Management Use of technology in maintaining and motivating an international sales force
Entrepreneurial selling: Pushing the Lean Startup Paradigm
Entrepreneurial Marketing Entrepreneurial marketing
E-marketing Issues Social media as a marketing tool in the music industry
Digital Marketing Strategies in Service Industries ROI of Social Media
International Business/ Business Culture and Communication
Business Culture Does politics influence business culture? (e.g. comparison Russia-Finland)
Asian Business Culture
Business Communication Relationship management
Design management: corporate image of an international company Communication of environmental issues
Gender Issues Gender and leadership style
Work-life balance
Creating/sustaining an equitable workplace
Negotiating differences in gender norms in an intercultural workplace Gender and expatriate work experience
Intercultural communication Applications of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to the international workplace International Business/
Accounting and Finance
Managerial Accounting Methods to determine the pricing of services
Methods used to determine pricing of a product
Financial Accounting Institutions, standards and international agreements influencing firm accounting behavior
Taxation Corporate tax payments of foreign-owned vs. domestic companies
Financial Management Short-term finance and related management challenges
Cash holdings Cash management Trade credit
Short versus long term debt decision Leasing obligations
Receivable financing Derivate usage
Nonprofit/Social Enterprise financial management & performance
Financial Markets Transition from domestic to MNC
Stock market performance given the above International Business/
Human Resources
Human Resource Management Comparative analysis of the delivery of HRM/D services Critical evaluation of the effectiveness of managing coaching
Evaluating the methods and effectiveness of learning in the workplace Cultural comparisons in leadership preferences and/or effectiveness
Results of an acquisition: How can HR contribute to create a common corporate feeling? Born globals, internationalization and the development of HR structures
Human Resource Policies and Practices
Ageing workforce implications
Evaluating workforce diversity and inclusion policies Performance management and organisational justice Evaluation of employee engagement strategies
Approaches to employee participation and involvement in business decision making International Business/
Economics
Microeconomics Trade and investment opportunities between Finland and China
What are the drivers of productivity in organic farming? The impact of multinationals on host countries?
Macroeconomics The effectiveness of the international response to Climate change
Asset price Inflation: A monetary perspective
Should developing countries to adopt nuclear energy as an alternative energy source? Labor productivity: US vs. EU
What future for the Eurozone?
Access to higher education in Finland: An international comparison Peak oil and the development of alternative sustainable energy sources
International Business/ Entrepreneurship
Internationalization of SMEs Born globals, internationalization and the relevance of country culture
Internationalization among Finnish new technology based firm new technology based firms Strategic Entrepreneurship Firm growth strategies
Innovation and international competitiveness
The impact of networks on small firm success/growth Market orientation and market communication in SMEs Ecopreneurship
A business concept development of producing renewable energy consumption (case or general)
Cooperatives as business model to produce renewable energy (case or general) Business models for the commercialization of the research results
Develop a business plan for 3D printing shop/company/service
High-Tech Entrepreneurship Innovation and technological orientation in Finnish new technology based firms Appropriation of innovation benefits in Finnish new technology based firms
Growth orientation and risk seeking attitudes among Finnish new technology based firms The role of resources in new technology based firms
Goal setting and ability to achieve goals in entrepreneurial high-tech firms new technology based firms
Social Entrepreneurship The concept and strategies of social entrepreneurship The role of social media in social entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Policy,
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Support
Business acceleration/incubation models
External environments of new technology based firms new technology based firms International Business/
Regional Development and Area Studies
Regional Development Policies The Political-Legal Context of International Business: The case of Company xx Evaluation of national Arctic strategies
Asia/Africa/Latin America Market studies concerning areas of Asia/Africa/Latin America
Russia Does company culture influence national culture and what are the implications for business
activities?
Influence of culture concerning advertising strategies of international companies Environmental-related topics Environmental Policy
Natural resources Climate change