Research with impact in the MSc International Business program
Research plays a crucial role in the MSc International Business program. Students not only write their master thesis but also have several research modules during the year and conduct research during the business project modules to develop solutions that impact companies.
MSc IB students' research focuses on finding solutions to cope with today's societal and corporate challenges. On this page, you will find examples of master theses by MSc IB students, that in collaboration with the MSc IB supervising faculty have created an international research impact.
You can also find out about business projects we carry out together with corporate partners as part of the MSc International Business.
Example Student Theses
Indicators for Urban Circular Bioeconomy Development – A systematic review of EU-wide national bioeconomy monitoring frameworks and their utility to urban policymakers
Keywords: Circular bioeconomy; Indicators; Policy development; Urban metabolism
In 2018 the EU Commission issued its updated Bioeconomy Strategy and as the next step, the EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System, was launched: an indicator set used to monitor the progress of the circular bioeconomy. While both European and national efforts are reflected within the Monitoring System, it remains unclear whether national strategies and indicator sets are suitable for urban governments.
To better understand the suitability of national bioeconomy strategies for guiding urban circular bioeconomy transitions, this paper examines the composition, features, and topical coverage of national bioeconomy indicator sets with a threefold analysis.
Although national measuring tools are not intended to cover all urban needs, the findings of this study gives insight into their remaining gaps and highlights improvement pathways for an efficient EU-wide circular bioeconomy transition.
The Dynamic of Organizational Crisis: Impact of a Crisis Development and Changing Crisis Communication on Consumer Reaction
Keywords: crisis, consumer perception, communication strategies
Over the past decade, not only the number of organizational crises has grown but also their complexity and dynamic have increased. A crisis type is rarely known from the onset and can change over time, due to new information that emerges, changing stakeholder perception and improper organizational crisis management and communication. This changing nature of a crisis is a major problem for the crisis handling and is the reason why companies employ scenarios for better preparation for and increased flexibility during a crisis.
So far, the main focus of crisis research has been on static and abrupt crises and the suitable communication strategies. It has not yet been investigated, how stakeholders react when a known for them crisis changes its course and how susceptible this reaction is to corporate communication and media influence. Only recently, the importance of consumers’ reactions for crisis research has emerged, as they have the power to influence the organization’s performance.
This study contributes to the research gap by examining the impact of crisis development and changing corporate crisis communication on consumer reactions - perception, emotions and behavioral intentions.
Preparing Agile Transformation: A Framework for Assessment of Organizational Culture Readiness
Keywords: Organizational Culture; Agile Organization; Readiness Assessment
With disruptions reshaping the global economy, companies need to find a way to embrace constant change. Recently, “becoming Agile” has been the motto of organizational change. However, more than half of all organizations have at least one agile transformation project fail, often due to an unsuitable organizational culture. This research provides a framework to assesses organizational culture’s readiness for Agile, by integrating existing models in the areas of change management, organizational, and Agile culture which may help companies to identify possible deficiencies in the organizational culture that can then be targeted prior to the Agile transformation.
Check out the publication: Journal of Applied Business and Economics
